Deploy Medusa — Open-Source Commerce Platform — to Your Own Server

Medusa is an open-source commerce platform with a modular architecture. It's designed for building DTC stores, B2B commerce, marketplaces, and point-of-sale systems — without locking you into a monolithic platform like Shopify or WooCommerce.

Think of it as the headless, developer-friendly alternative: you get a powerful commerce backend with a clean admin panel, and full control over the frontend experience.

Self-hosting Medusa typically means setting up PostgreSQL, Redis, Node.js, and configuring payment and email integrations. With HowToDeploy, the entire backend is running in minutes.

Why Medusa?

• Modular architecture — swap in or out any module: payments, fulfillment, notifications, tax, and more
• Headless by design — build any frontend you want (Next.js, Gatsby, custom) using the REST or GraphQL API
• Admin dashboard — a built-in admin panel for managing products, orders, customers, and settings
• Multi-currency & multi-region — sell globally with region-specific pricing and tax rules
• No platform fees — unlike Shopify (which takes a cut of every sale), Medusa is free and open source
• Custom domain + SSL — serve your admin and API on your own domain with automatic HTTPS

Prerequisites

Before you start, you'll need:

• A HowToDeploy account (sign up free)
• A cloud provider API key (DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Vultr, Linode, or AWS)

Step 1: Connect your cloud provider

Go to Settings → Cloud Providers and paste your API key.

Tip: Medusa needs a bit more power than a simple blog. The default 4GB RAM / 2 CPU server handles a production store well. You can scale up later in Advanced Settings if traffic grows.

Step 2: Deploy Medusa

Head to the Dashboard and find Medusa in the app catalog. Click the card to open the deploy form.

Fill in two fields:

• Admin Email — your login email for the Medusa admin panel
• Admin Password — at least 8 characters

Server size (4GB RAM, 2 CPU, 80GB disk), region, PostgreSQL, and Redis are all pre-configured.

Step 3: Connect payments and email (optional)

Expand Advanced Settings to configure integrations:

• Stripe Secret Key — for payment processing (you can also configure this later from the admin panel)
• SendGrid API Key — for order confirmations and transactional emails

Both are optional during initial deployment. Medusa works without them — you just won't be able to process payments or send automated emails until they're configured.

Step 4: Add a custom domain (optional)

Want your store API at api.yourstore.com? Enter your domain in Advanced Settings.

After deployment, point an A record for your domain to the server IP, click Verify DNS, and Caddy handles SSL automatically.

Step 5: Start selling

Once deployment completes, access the admin panel at /app. From there you can:

• Add products — with variants, images, and pricing
• Configure regions — set currencies, tax rates, and shipping options per region
• Set up payments — connect Stripe, PayPal, or manual payment providers
• Manage orders — process, fulfill, and refund orders
• Build your storefront — connect a Next.js frontend using the Medusa API

What's included

Every Medusa deployment includes:

• PostgreSQL — pre-configured as the primary database
• Redis — for caching, sessions, and event queuing
• Medusa Admin — the built-in dashboard for store management
• REST & GraphQL APIs — for building custom storefronts
• Caddy — automatic HTTPS with Let's Encrypt (when using a custom domain)
• Full SSH access — your server, your store, your data

Medusa vs. Shopify

Choose Medusa if: you want full control over your commerce stack, no transaction fees, and the flexibility to build exactly the storefront you need.

Pricing

You pay your cloud provider directly for the server (typically $12-24/month for the recommended spec). HowToDeploy charges a small monthly management fee for monitoring and support.

Start with a 7-day free trial — no credit card required.

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Ready to own your commerce platform? Deploy Medusa now →