Installation - Cal.com

Installation options

Cal.com offers multiple deployment options to fit your needs:

Cal.com Cloud

Managed hosting with automatic updates and enterprise SLA

Docker

Containerized deployment for any infrastructure

Vercel

One-click deploy on Vercel’s edge network

Railway

Simple deployment with automatic scaling

Manual setup

Full control over your development environment

Prerequisites

Before installing Cal.com, ensure you have:

All installations
Docker
Manual setup

Database: PostgreSQL 13 or newer
Node.js: Version 18.x or newer
Environment variables: See configuration section

Cal.com Cloud

The fastest way to get started with zero setup:

Visit cal.com/signup to create your account.

Choose a plan

Free: Unlimited bookings, basic features
Pro: Advanced workflows, integrations, and support
Teams: Team scheduling and collaboration
Enterprise: SSO, SAML, dedicated support

View pricing →

Start scheduling

Your account is ready immediately - no installation required.

Cloud benefits: Automatic updates, 99.9% uptime SLA, managed database backups, and enterprise security compliance.

Docker deployment

Quick start with Docker Compose

The recommended way to self-host Cal.com:

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/calcom/cal.com.git
cd cal.com

Configure environment variables

cp .env.example .env

Required environment variables:

# Generate secrets
NEXTAUTH_SECRET=$(openssl rand -base64 32)
CALENDSO_ENCRYPTION_KEY=$(openssl rand -base64 24)

# Database (default for docker-compose)
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://unicorn_user:magical_password@database:5432/calendso"

# Application URL
NEXT_PUBLIC_WEBAPP_URL="http://localhost:3000"

# Web Push notifications (optional)
npx web-push generate-vapid-keys
NEXT_PUBLIC_VAPID_PUBLIC_KEY="your_public_key"
VAPID_PRIVATE_KEY="your_private_key"

Never commit real secrets to version control. Use .env (git-ignored) for actual credentials.

Start the services

Full stack (includes database):

docker compose up -d

Application only (with external database):

docker compose up -d calcom

Services included:

calcom: Main application (port 3000)
database: PostgreSQL database (port 5432)
studio: Prisma Studio for database management (port 5555)

Access Cal.com

Visit http://localhost:3000
Complete the setup wizard
Create your admin account

Access Prisma Studio at http://localhost:5555 to view and edit database records directly.

Docker configuration

Customize your Docker deployment:

Using custom images

Specify a custom image or tag:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  calcom:
    image: calcom/cal.com:latest
    # or for ARM architecture
    image: calcom/cal.com:v5.6.19-arm

ARM images use the -arm suffix. Check Docker Hub for available tags.

External database

Connect to an existing PostgreSQL database:

.env

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@your-db-host:5432/calcom"
DATABASE_DIRECT_URL="postgresql://user:password@your-db-host:5432/calcom"

Then start only the application:

docker compose up -d calcom

Production deployment

For production, consider:

Remove Prisma Studio (security):

# Comment out or remove the studio service
# studio:
#   ...

Use external database with connection pooling (PgBouncer)

Set proper URLs:

NEXT_PUBLIC_WEBAPP_URL="https://cal.yourdomain.com"
NEXTAUTH_URL="https://cal.yourdomain.com"

Enable SSL for database connections:

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/db?sslmode=require"

Configure email (SendGrid, SMTP):

EMAIL_FROM="notifications@yourdomain.com"
EMAIL_SERVER_HOST="smtp.sendgrid.net"
EMAIL_SERVER_PORT=587
EMAIL_SERVER_USER="apikey"
EMAIL_SERVER_PASSWORD="your_sendgrid_api_key"

Updating Docker deployment

Stop services

docker compose down

Pull latest changes

git pull
docker compose pull

Restart services

docker compose up -d

Vercel deployment

Vercel Pro required: The free plan doesn’t support the number of serverless functions Cal.com requires.

Prepare database

Set up a PostgreSQL database:

Deploy to Vercel

Or manually:

git clone https://github.com/calcom/cal.com.git
cd cal.com
vercel

Configure environment variables

Add these in Vercel project settings:

DATABASE_URL=your_postgres_connection_string
NEXT_PUBLIC_WEBAPP_URL=https://your-app.vercel.app
NEXTAUTH_URL=https://your-app.vercel.app
NEXTAUTH_SECRET=your_secret_here
CALENDSO_ENCRYPTION_KEY=your_encryption_key
CRON_API_KEY=your_cron_api_key

Deploy

Push to your repository or trigger deployment in Vercel dashboard.

Railway deployment

One-click deploy with automatic database provisioning:

Click deploy button

Railway will:

Fork the Cal.com repository to your GitHub
Create a PostgreSQL database
Set up environment variables
Deploy the application

Configure custom domain

In Railway settings:

Add your custom domain
Update NEXT_PUBLIC_WEBAPP_URL environment variable
Redeploy

Read Railway’s detailed guide →

Manual setup

For local development or custom deployments:

Clone repository

git clone https://github.com/calcom/cal.com.git
cd cal.com

Windows users: Use Git Bash with admin privileges:

git clone -c core.symlinks=true https://github.com/calcom/cal.com.git

See symbolic link troubleshooting →

Install dependencies

yarn install

Node version: Use nvm use to switch to the required Node.js version (specified in .nvmrc).

Configure environment

cp .env.example .env

Generate secrets:

# NEXTAUTH_SECRET (32 bytes)
openssl rand -base64 32

# CALENDSO_ENCRYPTION_KEY (24 bytes)
openssl rand -base64 24

Set database URL:

DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/calendso"

Set up database

Option 1: Quick start with Docker (recommended)

yarn dx

This starts:

PostgreSQL database
Mailhog (email testing)
Seeds test users

Option 2: Manual database setup

# Install PostgreSQL locally
# Then run migrations
yarn workspace @calcom/prisma db-migrate

Start development server

yarn dev

Access at http://localhost:3000

Test users (with yarn dx)

Development environment includes pre-seeded users:

Email	Password	Role
`free@example.com`	`free`	Free user
`pro@example.com`	`pro`	Pro user
`trial@example.com`	`trial`	Trial user
`admin@example.com`	`ADMINadmin2022!`	Admin
`onboarding@example.com`	`onboarding`	Incomplete setup

View all seeded users in Prisma Studio: yarn db-studio → http://localhost:5555

Environment variables

Required variables

Minimum configuration for Cal.com to run:

.env

# Database
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:password@host:5432/calendso"
DATABASE_DIRECT_URL="postgresql://user:password@host:5432/calendso"

# Application
NEXT_PUBLIC_WEBAPP_URL="http://localhost:3000"
NEXTAUTH_URL="http://localhost:3000"

# Secrets (generate with openssl)
NEXTAUTH_SECRET="your-32-byte-secret"
CALENDSO_ENCRYPTION_KEY="your-24-byte-encryption-key"

# Cron jobs
CRON_API_KEY="your-random-api-key"

Calendar integrations

Google Calendar

Create project in Google Cloud Console
Enable Google Calendar API
Configure OAuth consent screen
Create OAuth 2.0 credentials
Add redirect URIs:
- https://your-domain.com/api/integrations/googlecalendar/callback
- https://your-domain.com/api/auth/callback/google
Download JSON credentials

.env

GOOGLE_API_CREDENTIALS='{"web":{"client_id":"...","client_secret":"..."}}'
GOOGLE_LOGIN_ENABLED=true

Detailed setup guide →

Microsoft Office 365

Register app in Azure Portal
Set redirect URI: https://your-domain.com/api/integrations/office365calendar/callback
Create client secret
Add API permissions:
- Calendars.Read
- Calendars.ReadWrite

.env

MS_GRAPH_CLIENT_ID="your-client-id"
MS_GRAPH_CLIENT_SECRET="your-client-secret"

Apple Calendar (CalDAV)

No API keys required. Users connect individually with:

Server: caldav.icloud.com
Username: Apple ID email
Password: App-specific password

Generate app-specific password →

Video conferencing

Zoom

Create app on Zoom Marketplace
Choose “General App” → “User-managed”
Add OAuth redirect URL: https://your-domain.com/api/integrations/zoomvideo/callback
Add scopes:
- meeting:write:meeting
- user:read:settings

.env

ZOOM_CLIENT_ID="your-client-id"
ZOOM_CLIENT_SECRET="your-client-secret"

Daily.co

Visit Daily.co Partnership Form
Get API key from dashboard

.env

DAILY_API_KEY="your-api-key"
DAILY_SCALE_PLAN=true  # If you have Scale plan

Email configuration

SMTP

Gmail:

.env

EMAIL_SERVER_HOST="smtp.gmail.com"
EMAIL_SERVER_PORT=465
EMAIL_SERVER_USER="your-email@gmail.com"
EMAIL_SERVER_PASSWORD="your-app-password"
EMAIL_FROM="your-email@gmail.com"

Office 365:

.env

EMAIL_SERVER_HOST="smtp.office365.com"
EMAIL_SERVER_PORT=587
EMAIL_SERVER_USER="your-email@office365.com"
EMAIL_SERVER_PASSWORD="your-password"
EMAIL_FROM="your-email@office365.com"

Custom SMTP:

.env

EMAIL_SERVER_HOST="smtp.yourdomain.com"
EMAIL_SERVER_PORT=587
EMAIL_SERVER_USER="your-smtp-username"
EMAIL_SERVER_PASSWORD="your-smtp-password"
EMAIL_FROM="notifications@yourdomain.com"

SendGrid

For workflow emails and reminders:

Create SendGrid account
Verify sender email
Create API key

.env

SENDGRID_API_KEY="your-api-key"
SENDGRID_EMAIL="verified@yourdomain.com"
NEXT_PUBLIC_SENDGRID_SENDER_NAME="Your Company"

SMS reminders

Twilio

Create Twilio account
Get a phone number
Copy credentials from dashboard

.env

TWILIO_SID="your-account-sid"
TWILIO_TOKEN="your-auth-token"
TWILIO_MESSAGING_SID="your-messaging-service-sid"
TWILIO_PHONE_NUMBER="+1234567890"
NEXT_PUBLIC_SENDER_ID="YourCompany"  # Max 11 characters

Database setup

PostgreSQL requirements

Version: 13 or newer
Collation: UTF8
Extensions: None required (Prisma manages schema)

Local PostgreSQL

macOS
Ubuntu/Debian
Windows
Docker

# Install via Homebrew
brew install postgresql@14
brew services start postgresql@14

# Create database
createdb calendso

# Install
sudo apt update
sudo apt install postgresql postgresql-contrib

# Create database
sudo -u postgres createdb calendso
sudo -u postgres createuser your_username

Download from postgresql.org
Run installer
Use pgAdmin to create database calendso

docker run -d \
  --name cal-postgres \
  -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=password \
  -e POSTGRES_DB=calendso \
  -p 5432:5432 \
  postgres:14

Managed database providers

Neon

Serverless Postgres with generous free tier

Supabase

Open-source Firebase alternative with Postgres

Railway

Easy PostgreSQL with automatic backups

Vercel Postgres

Integrated with Vercel deployments

Connection pooling

For production, use connection pooling:

PgBouncer
Supabase

.env

# Pooled connection
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:pass@pooler:6543/calendso"

# Direct connection for migrations
DATABASE_DIRECT_URL="postgresql://user:pass@db:5432/calendso"

Supabase provides both connection types:

# Transaction mode (pooled)
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://user:pass@...supabase.co:6543/postgres"

# Session mode (direct)
DATABASE_DIRECT_URL="postgresql://user:pass@...supabase.co:5432/postgres"

Running migrations

Development environment

yarn workspace @calcom/prisma db-migrate

Production environment

yarn workspace @calcom/prisma db-deploy

Verify migration

yarn db-studio

Opens Prisma Studio at http://localhost:5555

Troubleshooting

Database connection failed

Error: P1001: Can't reach database serverSolutions:

Verify PostgreSQL is running
Check connection string format
Ensure database exists: createdb calendso
Test connection: psql $DATABASE_URL
Check firewall rules (cloud databases)

NEXTAUTH_URL error

Error: [next-auth][error][CLIENT_FETCH_ERROR]Solution: Ensure NEXTAUTH_URL matches your actual URL:

# Development
NEXTAUTH_URL="http://localhost:3000"

# Production
NEXTAUTH_URL="https://cal.yourdomain.com"

Module not found errors

Error: Cannot find module '@calcom/...'Solutions:

# Reinstall dependencies
rm -rf node_modules
yarn install

# Rebuild packages
yarn build

# Generate Prisma client
yarn workspace @calcom/prisma generate

Port already in use

Error: Port 3000 is already in useSolutions:

# Find process using port
lsof -ti:3000

# Kill process
kill -9 $(lsof -ti:3000)

# Or use different port
PORT=3001 yarn dev

VAPID keys error

Error: No key set vapidDetails.publicKeySolution: Generate Web Push keys:

npx web-push generate-vapid-keys

Add to .env:

NEXT_PUBLIC_VAPID_PUBLIC_KEY="your_public_key"
VAPID_PRIVATE_KEY="your_private_key"

Windows symbolic link issues

Error: EPERM: operation not permitted, symlinkSolution:

Clone with symlink support:

git clone -c core.symlinks=true https://github.com/calcom/cal.com.git

Replace symlink with real copy:

rm packages/prisma/.env
cp .env packages/prisma/.env

Full troubleshooting guide →

Production checklist

Before going live:

Next steps

Configuration guide

Advanced configuration options and environment variables

Quickstart

Get your first booking in 5 minutes

Integrations

Connect calendars, video, payments, and more

Contributing

Help improve Cal.com

Need help? Join our GitHub Discussions or contact support for enterprise assistance.

​Installation options

Cal.com Cloud

Docker

Vercel

Railway

Manual setup

​Prerequisites

​Cal.com Cloud

​Docker deployment

​Quick start with Docker Compose

​Docker configuration

​Updating Docker deployment

​Vercel deployment

​Railway deployment

​Manual setup

​Test users (with yarn dx)

​Environment variables

​Required variables

​Calendar integrations

​Video conferencing

​Email configuration

​SMS reminders

​Database setup

​PostgreSQL requirements

​Local PostgreSQL

​Managed database providers

Neon

Supabase

Railway

Vercel Postgres

​Connection pooling

​Running migrations

​Troubleshooting

​Production checklist

​Next steps

Configuration guide

Quickstart

Integrations

Contributing

Installation options

Prerequisites

Cal.com Cloud

Docker deployment

Quick start with Docker Compose

Docker configuration

Updating Docker deployment

Vercel deployment

Railway deployment

Manual setup

Test users (with yarn dx)

Environment variables

Required variables

Calendar integrations

Video conferencing

Email configuration

SMS reminders

Database setup

PostgreSQL requirements

Local PostgreSQL

Managed database providers

Connection pooling

Running migrations

Troubleshooting

Production checklist

Next steps