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OpenGMB

Self-host the OpenGMB community edition

You can run the OpenGMB community edition on your own server with Docker Compose. One owner login manages as many clients and locations as you need. You bring a public HTTPS hostname, your own Google Cloud project and your own API keys, and Google must approve Business Profile API access first.

Last updated 2026-10-25

Get started

What does a self-hosted OpenGMB run?

  • Postgres, started by the Compose file. All state lives there, including the job queue.
  • The web app, which also serves the MCP address at its own domain.
  • The MCP server, which the web app passes requests to.
  • The worker, which does review syncs, history backfills and rank-tracking runs.
  • A one-shot migration step that runs before the apps start.

What is in the community edition?

The community edition is the open-source core of OpenGMB. It has posts, reviews, approvals, performance, reports with shareable links, location groups, white-label branding, rank tracking, AI drafts, the MCP server and API tokens, the REST API, webhooks, review request links and QR codes, public location pages, two-factor sign-in and the audit log.

You sign in as one owner, whose email and password you set in the settings file. There is no sign-up page. Your API keys for Anthropic, DataForSEO, Resend and the image providers go in the same file. Teams and roles, the client portal, billing with credits and custom domains are part of the hosted plan and are not in the community edition.

What do I need before I start?

  • A Linux server or workstation with Docker Engine 24 or newer and the Compose plugin.
  • About 4 GB of free RAM while the image builds, and 2 GB of disk for the image.
  • A public hostname with HTTPS for the web app and the worker. The stack does not handle TLS, so put Caddy, nginx or Traefik in front.
  • A Google Cloud project of your own, with Business Profile API access approved by Google.
  • Optional: your own Anthropic key for AI drafts, a Resend account for email, and a DataForSEO account for live rank tracking.

What does self-hosting cost?

Self-hosted OpenGMB has no OpenGMB charges, no billing and no credits. You pay your own providers: your server, Google Cloud, Anthropic if you use AI drafts, Resend, and DataForSEO if you use rank tracking.

Which license does it use?

OpenGMB uses the MIT license. The LICENSE file in the repository is the authoritative text. The code is at github.com/synectus/OpenGMB. Read the license.

How does Google access work?

You create the Google Cloud project, so quota and approval belong to you. Request Business Profile API access with Google's form. Access is requested with Google's contact form (Application for Basic API Access) for your Cloud project number, using an email that owns or manages the profile. The profile must be verified and active for 60 days or more and have a website listed. Google gives no review time. A quota of 0 queries a minute means not approved yet. Checked on 2026-10-24: developers.google.com/my-business/content/prereqs.

Until Google approves the project, keep the app in its default mock mode. It makes no live Google calls, so you can still click around.

The OAuth client asks for one scope, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/business.manage. Checked on 2026-10-24: developers.google.com/my-business/content/implement-oauth.

While your consent screen is unverified it stays in Testing. Google then expires refresh tokens after 7 days, and you can list up to 100 test users, so plan to reconnect weekly until you pass verification. Checked on 2026-10-24: developers.google.com/identity/protocols/oauth2. The test user cap is on support.google.com/cloud/answer/15549945.

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