Deploying Overleaf Open-Source LaTeX Collaboration Platform on Ubuntu 24.04

Overleaf is an open-source, collaborative LaTeX editor that bundles MongoDB, Redis, and the ShareLaTeX application into a single self-hosted stack. This guide deploys Overleaf Community Edition using the official Toolkit plus a Traefik override that adds automatic HTTPS via Let's Encrypt, following LaTeX collaboration platform deployment practices documented in Vultr Docs.

Set Up the Project Directory

1. Clone the Overleaf Toolkit:

git clone https://github.com/overleaf/toolkit.git ~/overleaf-toolkit
cd ~/overleaf-toolkit

2. Initialize the configuration:

bin/init

This creates config/overleaf.rc, config/variables.env, and config/version.

3. Create a directory for Traefik file-provider routes:

mkdir traefik-routes

Configure Overleaf for a Reverse Proxy

1. Edit config/variables.env:

nano config/variables.env

OVERLEAF_APP_NAME="My Overleaf Instance"
OVERLEAF_SITE_URL=https://overleaf.example.com
OVERLEAF_NAV_TITLE="Overleaf CE"
OVERLEAF_BEHIND_PROXY=true
OVERLEAF_SECURE_COOKIE=true

The last two flags are required when Overleaf is fronted by an HTTPS reverse proxy.

2. Edit config/overleaf.rc:

nano config/overleaf.rc

SIBLING_CONTAINERS_ENABLED=false

3. Create the project-level .env file used by the Traefik Compose file:

nano .env

DOMAIN=overleaf.example.com
LETSENCRYPT_EMAIL=admin@example.com
SERVER_IP=192.0.2.1

SERVER_IP should be the server's public IP (Traefik binds 80/443 to it).

Add the Traefik Route

1. Create the dynamic route:

nano traefik-routes/overleaf.yml

http:
  routers:
    overleaf:
      rule: "Host(`overleaf.example.com`)"
      service: overleaf
      entryPoints:
        - websecure
      tls:
        certResolver: le
  services:
    overleaf:
      loadBalancer:
        servers:
          - url: "http://sharelatex:80"

2. Create the Traefik Compose file:

nano docker-compose.traefik.yml

services:
  traefik:
    image: traefik:v3.6
    container_name: traefik
    restart: unless-stopped
    command:
      - "--providers.docker=true"
      - "--providers.docker.exposedbydefault=false"
      - "--providers.file.directory=/etc/traefik/routes"
      - "--entrypoints.web.address=:80"
      - "--entrypoints.websecure.address=:443"
      - "--entrypoints.web.http.redirections.entrypoint.to=websecure"
      - "--entrypoints.web.http.redirections.entrypoint.scheme=https"
      - "--certificatesresolvers.le.acme.httpchallenge=true"
      - "--certificatesresolvers.le.acme.httpchallenge.entrypoint=web"
      - "--certificatesresolvers.le.acme.email=${LETSENCRYPT_EMAIL}"
      - "--certificatesresolvers.le.acme.storage=/letsencrypt/acme.json"
    ports:
      - "${SERVER_IP}:80:80"
      - "${SERVER_IP}:443:443"
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro
      - ./letsencrypt:/letsencrypt
      - ./traefik-routes:/etc/traefik/routes
    networks:
      - overleaf_default

networks:
  overleaf_default:
    external: true

Start the Stacks

1. Add your user to the Docker group:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

2. Run the Toolkit doctor:

bin/doctor

3. Start Overleaf (sharelatex + mongo + redis):

bin/up -d
bin/docker-compose ps

4. Start Traefik in the same Docker network:

docker compose -f docker-compose.traefik.yml up -d
docker compose -f docker-compose.traefik.yml ps
docker compose -f docker-compose.traefik.yml logs traefik

Create the Admin and First Project

1. Open the launchpad and register the admin user:

https://overleaf.example.com/launchpad

2. Sign in, then open Admin → Manage Users to create more accounts.

3. Create your first LaTeX project:

• Visit https://overleaf.example.com/project.

• Click Create a new project → Example project.

• Enter a name and click Create.

• Edit the default template and click Recompile to render the PDF preview.

Next Steps

Overleaf CE is running and served securely over HTTPS. From here you can:

• Configure SMTP under config/variables.env for invitations and notifications

• Mount external storage volumes for data/sharelatex_data to scale capacity

• Pin the Overleaf release in config/version and use bin/upgrade for controlled updates

For the full guide with additional tips, visit the original article on Vultr Docs.