Self-hosting open source is easy. Running it in production is not.

You picked an open source tool on purpose. Maybe it was n8n instead of a per-task automation SaaS, Keycloak instead of paying per active user for auth, Postgres and Grafana and Mattermost instead of three separate subscriptions that each want a seat license. The pitch is good: own your data, no per-seat bill, no vendor deciding your roadmap.

You run docker compose up. It works. You show the team. Everyone is happy.

Then it goes to production, and the actual job starts.

The work that is not in the README

The README gets you a running process. Keeping that process healthy, safe, and recoverable for the next two years is a different list: