Knowledgebase

How to Install Unleash on Ubuntu 24.04

If you’re looking to host your own Unleash feature management platform on Ubuntu 24.04 this guide walks through everything you need to set up Unleash manually, complete with PostgreSQL and UFW firewall configuration.

What is Unleash?

Unleash is an open-source feature management solution that lets teams control feature rollouts, enable A/B testing, and deploy features safely. Hosting Unleash yourself ensures full control over your data and infrastructure.

Step 1: Update and Prepare the System

Start by updating your system packages to ensure everything is current:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Then install required dependencies:

sudo apt install -y git curl build-essential libssl-dev python3 python3-pip python3-venv postgresql postgresql-contrib libpq-dev python3-psycopg2

Step 2: Set Up PostgreSQL

Ensure PostgreSQL is active:

sudo systemctl enable --now postgresql

Create the Unleash database and user:

sudo -u postgres psql
CREATE USER unleash_user WITH PASSWORD 'unleash_password_123' CREATEDB LOGIN;
CREATE DATABASE unleash OWNER unleash_user;
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON DATABASE unleash TO unleash_user;
\q

Step 3: Install Node.js and Yarn

Unleash requires Node.js and Yarn. Add NodeSource and install Node.js 20:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

Then install Yarn globally:

sudo npm install -g yarn

Step 4: Clone and Build Unleash

Download the Unleash repository and switch to version v5.6.2:

sudo git clone https://github.com/Unleash/unleash.git /opt/unleash
cd /opt/unleash
sudo git checkout v5.6.2

Install dependencies and build:

yarn install
cd frontend && yarn install && yarn build && cd ..
yarn build:backend
yarn copy-templates

Step 5: Configure Unleash

Create a configuration file for the server:

sudo mkdir -p /etc/unleash
sudo nano /etc/unleash/config.js

Paste in:

lmodule.exports = {
  db: {
    user: 'unleash_user',
    password: 'unleash_password_123',
    host: 'localhost',
    port: 5432,
    database: 'unleash',
    ssl: false,
  },
  server: {
    port: 4242,
    host: '0.0.0.0',
  },
  logLevel: 'info',
};

Create a startup script:

sudo nano /etc/unleash/start-unleash.js

Paste:

const { start } = require('/opt/unleash/dist/lib/server-impl');
const { createConfig } = require('/opt/unleash/dist/lib/create-config');
const config = require('/etc/unleash/config.js');

start(createConfig(config)).then(instance => {
  console.log(`Unleash running on port ${instance.app.get('port')}`);
});

Step 6: Create a Systemd Service

Create a service unit file:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/unleash.service

Check generated files:

[Unit]
Description=Unleash Feature Toggle Server
After=network.target postgresql.service

[Service]
Type=simple
WorkingDirectory=/opt/unleash
ExecStart=/usr/bin/node /etc/unleash/start-unleash.js
Restart=always
RestartSec=5
Environment="NODE_ENV=production"
Environment="PORT=4242"
Environment="DATABASE_URL=postgres://unleash_user:unleash_password_123@localhost:5432/unleash"

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Reload and start Unleash:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now unleash

Check the status:

sudo systemctl status unleash

Step 7: Configure UFW Firewall

Allow SSH and Unleash’s web port (4242):

sudo ufw allow 22
sudo ufw allow 4242
sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw status

Step 8: Access Your Unleash Dashboard

Once the service is running, open your browser and visit:

http://<your_server_ip>:4242

Default credentials:

• Username: admin

• Password: unleash4all

Conclusion

With this setup, Unleash is running natively on Ubuntu 24.04 — powered by PostgreSQL and secured by UFW. You now have a full-featured, self-hosted feature flag system to manage releases, experiments, and toggles.

This allows teams to deploy features safely, test configurations, and control rollouts with complete infrastructure autonomy.