# Overview

Published 2026-10-21 · Canonical: https://setucp.com/docs/overview

---

A control panel for single-binary web apps: pick an app, get a domain, a database, TLS, backups, updates and resource limits, on servers you own. One binary (`setu`), one Ubuntu 24.04 box to start.

## Documentation

- Install: [INSTALL.md](/docs/install) — `install.sh`, then the browser wizard at `https://<panel host>/setup` with the printed setup token.
- Operations: [OPERATIONS.md](/docs/operations) — backups and the scheduler, backing up and restoring the control plane, upgrading, changing the TLS mode, rotating a server token, rebuilding a server.
- App manifests: [MANIFEST.md](/docs/manifest) — the only app-specific knowledge Setu has.
- Agents: [AGENT.md](/docs/agent) — `setu agent install|install-system|join|run|doctor`, `state.json`, reconcile and the agent protocol.
- Trust model in plain words: [TRUST.md](/docs/trust).
- Security model: [SECURITY.md](/docs/security) — trust model, the privileged helper, what hosted sites share, secrets at rest.
- Cutting a release: [RELEASING.md](/docs/releasing).
- End-to-end and installer tests: [E2E.md](/docs/e2e).
- Design: [spec](/docs/specs/10-09-setu-design) (revision 4, as built) and its [review record](/docs/specs/10-09-setu-review). The phase 1 plan and its ledger of rulings (the "R70"-style ids) live in the private planning repository.
- Later phases: [ROADMAP.md](/docs/roadmap).

## How it works

`setu serve` is the control plane (REST API, embedded web UI, job runner and scheduler, its own Postgres), listening on a unix socket behind Caddy. `setu agent run` supervises sites on a managed server as systemd units, one system user per site, with a local Postgres and Caddy in front; its only root access is a typed helper behind sudo. The control plane talks to agents only through long-polled commands; every command is idempotent, so retries are always safe.

```text
browser → Caddy (TLS) → setu serve → agents → setu-site@<short>.service
                                          → Postgres (one db per site)
                                          → Caddy routes (one per domain)
```

## Five minutes

On a fresh Ubuntu 24.04 VPS with a DNS name pointing at it, as root:

```sh
curl -fsSLO https://github.com/setucp/setu/releases/latest/download/install.sh
bash install.sh --panel-host setu.example.com
```

Open the printed `https://setu.example.com/setup`, paste the printed setup token, create the owner, and run the shown `setu agent install …` line with the join token in `SETU_JOIN_TOKEN`. Then **New site → app → domain** gives a working app with TLS, Postgres and backups.

## Status

Phase 1 (0.1.0) is built on branch `mvp`, not yet released: single server or a small fleet, native binary runtime, local backups, updates with rollback. Roadmap for later phases: [ROADMAP.md](/docs/roadmap).