Pfotenweb for Free: Install Your Animal Rescue Website, Step by Step

Your rescue needs a website. You should not have to build one from scratch just to introduce your animals, publish news and receive enquiries.

Pfotenweb is my own project. Its free, self-hosted edition provides a website for one organisation per installation, including animal profiles, photos, news, contact enquiries and separate team accounts. There is no software subscription, animal limit or requirement to connect a Pfotenweb account. The source code is available under the MIT licence.¹

This guide takes you from an empty server to your first animal profile. You do not need to program anything. You will need to copy some commands and take responsibility for keeping the server updated.

Free software does not mean free hosting. Your server, domain and backup storage can still cost money. And the free edition is its own product: do not assume that every feature of the hosted service is included.

Already know you do not want to manage a server? You can sign up through pfotenweb.de instead. That is the separately hosted option, not a prerequisite or an extra step in this guide.

The route we are taking

We will use Docker Compose, which starts Pfotenweb and its supporting services together. Think of it as following the installation recipe already included in the project, rather than assembling all the pieces yourself.

The included setup contains the website, a database that stores your records, an initial setup task and Caddy, which handles the encrypted HTTPS connection.²

Your domain → Caddy / HTTPS → Pfotenweb
                                ↕
                      Database and photos

There is no ready-made Pfotenweb one-click deployment template in the release reviewed for this guide. Docker is the supported route, but preparing your domain and entering your settings still takes a few steps. A provider's “Docker” server image is not a complete Pfotenweb installation.

Version used: v1.0.1, the latest published release when checked on 24 September 2026. We deliberately select that version instead of main, the changing development branch. Before installing later, check the release page for newer releases and their instructions.³

1. Get a suitable server

A server is simply a computer that stays online. For this walkthrough, use a new Linux VPS or cloud server with Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, 64-bit, and administrator access. A normal webspace package intended only for PHP or WordPress is not the setup described here.

In your hosting provider's control panel, choose Create server, select Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and save the server's IP address and login instructions. The exact button names vary by provider. Prefer SSH-key login where the provider offers it.

As a practical starting point, I would choose 2 virtual CPUs, 4 GB of memory and 40 GB of storage, with room to grow. These are my planning suggestions, not published Pfotenweb minimum requirements or a tested capacity guarantee. Building the application also needs memory, and photos and backups consume storage.

Use a fresh server for this guide. A server already running websites, Coolify, Dokploy or another web-management system needs a different networking setup; do not overwrite or stop its existing services.

In the provider's firewall settings, allow incoming TCP 80 and 443 for the website. Keep SSH access, usually TCP 22, available to your own IP address. Do not open database port 5432 or application port 3000 to the Internet. An additional firewall on the server must also permit the required connections. Docker-published ports can bypass ordinary UFW rules, so do not rely on those alone.⁴

2. Point a domain at the server

Your domain is the website address people will type. The examples use tierheim.example.org; replace it with an address you control.

In the control panel where you manage your domain, open DNS settings. For a subdomain such as tierheim.your-domain.org, create this record:

For the main domain instead, the name is often @ or an empty field; follow your provider's guidance. Do not replace an existing website's records accidentally. Leave email records such as MX unchanged.

Only add an AAAA record when your server has working public IPv6. An old AAAA record pointing elsewhere can break access and certificate setup. Where the provider offers a proxy option, start with DNS only for this direct-to-server walkthrough.

Caddy needs the chosen domain to resolve to this server and ports 80/443 to be reachable before it can set up public HTTPS.⁵ DNS changes are not always visible immediately. Use your domain provider's DNS checker to confirm the destination before continuing.

3. Connect to the server

On a Mac, open Terminal. On Windows, open PowerShell. Use the username and IP address from your server provider:

ssh SERVER_USER@SERVER_IP

Replace both capitalised placeholders. A provider's browser-based server console is another option. On the first SSH connection, check the server fingerprint against the provider's information before accepting it. Password entry may show no characters; that is normal.

From here on, commands run on the server, not on your own computer, unless a step explicitly says otherwise. The examples assume your server account can use sudo, which grants administrator rights for a command. Stop and read any error before moving on.

4. Install Docker once

First check whether the server already has Docker and Compose:

sudo docker --version
sudo docker compose version

If both show version numbers, skip the installation commands below. If Docker is present but Compose is missing, use the official Ubuntu installation guide rather than mixing different Docker packages.

For a fresh Ubuntu 24.04 server without Docker, install it from Docker's official package repository.⁴ Copy one block at a time. These commands are for Ubuntu, not for your Mac or Windows computer.

First install the small tools used in this guide:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y ca-certificates curl git nano openssl
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc

Then add Docker's package source. Copy the whole block, including the last EOF line:

sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.sources > /dev/null <<EOF
Types: deb
URIs: https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu
Suites: noble
Components: stable
Architectures: $(dpkg --print-architecture)
Signed-By: /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
EOF

Install and verify:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin
sudo systemctl enable --now docker
sudo docker run --rm hello-world
sudo docker compose version

Success looks like: a “Hello from Docker!” message and a Compose version number. You do not need to install Node.js or a database separately for this Docker route.²

On an Ubuntu server where you skipped Docker installation because it was already present, install the remaining helper tools:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y git nano openssl

5. Download Pfotenweb

Run these commands on the server:

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/Livvux/pfotenweb.git
cd pfotenweb
git checkout v1.0.1
cp .env.example .env
chmod 600 .env

git clone downloads the project. git checkout v1.0.1 selects the release used here. A message about a detached HEAD is normal when selecting a release; it is not an installation failure.

The .env file is your private settings sheet. chmod 600 limits access to its owner. Do not upload this file to GitHub or paste it into support requests.

If a pfotenweb folder already exists, stop and check what it contains rather than deleting it. After reconnecting to the server later, return to this folder with cd ~/pfotenweb before running Compose commands.

6. Enter your website details and passwords

Generate two different random values, one command at a time:

openssl rand -hex 32
openssl rand -hex 32

Save the first as your database password and the second as your website administrator password in a password manager. Do not reuse your server login password. The generated values avoid special-character problems in the database address and exceed the initial administrator's 16-character minimum.⁶

Open the settings file:

nano .env

Replace the corresponding lines with your own values. The capitalised values below are placeholders, not usable passwords. Replace tierheim.example.org and the example email address too.

POSTGRES_PASSWORD=PASTE_FIRST_RANDOM_VALUE
SITE_URL=https://tierheim.example.org
DOMAIN=tierheim.example.org
[email protected]
INITIAL_ORG_NAME="My Animal Rescue"
INITIAL_ADMIN_USERNAME=vorstand
INITIAL_ADMIN_PASSWORD=PASTE_SECOND_RANDOM_VALUE

SITE_URL is the full website address, including https://. DOMAIN is the same hostname without https:// or a path. ACME_EMAIL should be a real email address you monitor for certificate-related contact. Use your organisation's name and keep the quotation marks around it.

vorstand is just the example username in the supplied settings, not a universal Pfotenweb login. You may choose another username with 3–50 characters. Keep the organisation name within 2–60 characters.⁶

Leave the existing DATABASE_URL line alone for this route: Docker Compose supplies the correct internal connection automatically. Leave the SMTP_* email settings as supplied for now; sending email is optional.²

In Nano, press Ctrl+O, then Enter to save. Press Ctrl+X to exit. On a Mac, this is the Control key, not Command.

Check that Compose can read the settings:

sudo docker compose --profile https config --quiet

No output and no error means the configuration parsed successfully. It does not prove that the domain or every password is correct. Keep --quiet: the full configuration output can contain secrets.

7. Start the website

Still inside ~/pfotenweb, run:

sudo docker compose --profile https up -d --build

This builds the application, starts the database, creates the initial organisation and administrator, and starts the website with Caddy. Let it finish; the first build is not instantaneous. The -d option lets the services continue running after you disconnect.²

Check the result:

sudo docker compose --profile https ps -a

Look for a running database, app and Caddy. The one-time setup service finishing with Exited (0) is expected. A non-zero exit code or a repeatedly restarting app needs investigation, not another empty installation.

For diagnostic messages:

sudo docker compose --profile https logs --tail=80 setup app caddy

These messages are for your review. Remove passwords, tokens and personal information before sharing any logs publicly.

8. Open your site and sign in

In your browser, open your actual domain, followed by /admin:

https://tierheim.example.org/admin

Sign in using INITIAL_ADMIN_USERNAME and the second generated password. This is a username login, not a Pfotenweb cloud account or an email registration.

Open the main domain in another tab too. Success looks like: a website over HTTPS without a certificate warning, and an administrator area you can enter. A new installation has no demo animals or news; an empty animal list is normal.⁶

Once login works and your credentials are safely stored, remove the INITIAL_ADMIN_USERNAME and INITIAL_ADMIN_PASSWORD lines from .env, then run the same up -d --build command again to recreate services with the cleaned environment. Existing accounts are not recreated or changed on subsequent setup runs.⁶

Do not change POSTGRES_PASSWORD afterwards as a casual settings edit. Changing .env alone does not change the password inside an already-created PostgreSQL database. Likewise, editing an INITIAL_ADMIN_* value is not a password reset.

Make it your rescue's website

The reviewed release's interface is in German. The labels below are deliberately the ones you will see, with English explanations alongside them.

Open Verein at /admin/verein. The sections are Verein, Kontakt, Startseite, Über uns, Impressum and Erscheinungsbild.⁷

Start with your organisation's details and contact information. Then write a short homepage introduction, explain your work under “Über uns”, and adjust your visual identity. Save each section before moving to the next; the sections are separate forms.

Review the public site after each change. Before sharing it widely, check your legal notice and privacy information for your actual organisation and hosting arrangement. A populated template is not a guarantee that your legal obligations are covered.

For ideas on what to include, see my article about useful, current animal rescue websites.

Add your first animal

Open Tiere, then the new-animal form at /admin/tiere/neu.

Enter the animal's name, species (Art) and sex (Geschlecht). Add the birth year, size and breed when known. Write a useful Beschreibung: personality, needs and the home you are looking for. The description requires at least 20 characters.⁸

Upload your photos using Fotos hochladen. Start with a few clear pictures you have permission to publish. Select Vermittelbar for an animal seeking a home, Reserviert for a reservation or Vermittelt after adoption. Select Auf der Startseite zeigen only when you want the profile featured on the homepage.

Press Tier anlegen. Treat this as publishing the animal, not saving a private draft: the animal form does not offer the news section's draft checkbox. Check the result on the public /tiere page in a private browser window. To change the profile later, open it under Tiere and save with Änderungen speichern.⁸

Use real information rather than leaving a fictional test animal on the live website.

Publish news and read enquiries

For a news item, open Aktuelles and go to /admin/aktuelles/neu. Fill in Titel and Beitrag. Leave Veröffentlicht (öffentlich sichtbar) unchecked to keep a draft; check it when the text is ready, then press Beitrag anlegen. Confirm published news appears on /aktuelles.⁹

For messages, open Anfragen at /admin/anfragen. Reply using the sender's email address in your normal email application, then use Als erledigt markieren when finished. This is not a promise of an in-app conversation thread.⁷

Send a test message through your public contact page and confirm it arrives here. Enquiries are stored even without SMTP email delivery. Until notifications are configured and tested, someone needs to check this page regularly.¹

Give helpers their own access

Under Team at /admin/team, create a separate username and strong password for each helper, choose the role and press Zugang anlegen. Send credentials privately, not in a public group.¹⁰

Redaktion can maintain animals, news and enquiries. Verantwortlich can also change organisation settings and manage accounts. Give people only the access they need, rather than sharing the main administrator password.¹¹

Your own password can also be changed in this area. The initial-password settings file is not the place to manage existing accounts.

Optional: receive email notifications

SMTP means the settings Pfotenweb uses to send mail through an email provider. It does not create a mailbox.

Ask your mail provider for its server name, port, encryption setting, username, password and permitted sender address. Enter those values in the existing SMTP_HOST, SMTP_PORT, SMTP_SECURE, SMTP_USER, SMTP_PASS and SMTP_FROM fields in .env, then run the same Compose start command again.¹

Use the provider's exact combination of port and encryption; do not guess. Send another contact-form test and check both Anfragen and the receiving mailbox. Until delivery works, keep checking the administrator area.

Keep a backup before you need one

Your animals and messages live in the database; their photos live in a separate upload area. You need both. A GitHub copy of the application is not a backup of your rescue's content.²

The following manual backup briefly stops the app so its database and photos stay consistent. It uses a timestamped folder under ~/pfotenweb-backups, outside the project folder, so private backups are not accidentally included in a later Docker build. It arranges for the app to start again when the block exits. Run it on the server, inside ~/pfotenweb:

(
  set -eu
  umask 077
  backup_dir="$HOME/pfotenweb-backups/$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)"
  mkdir -p "$backup_dir"
  sudo -v
  trap 'sudo docker compose start app' EXIT
  sudo docker compose stop app
  sudo docker compose exec -T db pg_dump -U pfotenweb -d pfotenweb -Fc > "$backup_dir/database.dump"
  sudo docker compose run -T --rm --no-deps --entrypoint tar app -czf - -C /data/uploads . > "$backup_dir/uploads.tar.gz"
  cp .env compose.yaml Caddyfile "$backup_dir/"
  git describe --tags --always > "$backup_dir/version.txt"
  test -s "$backup_dir/database.dump"
  gzip -t "$backup_dir/uploads.tar.gz"
  printf 'Backup: %s\n' "$backup_dir"
)

Check that it finished without errors and your website is back. The checks above are basic file checks, not a restore test. A failed backup must not be treated as usable.

Copy the backup off the server. In a new terminal on your own computer, this copies the backup folder, including its hidden settings file:

scp -r SERVER_USER@SERVER_IP:~/pfotenweb-backups ./pfotenweb-backups

Replace the login details again. Protect your computer and keep the backup in encrypted storage: it contains personal enquiries and your .env secrets. A second folder on the same server does not protect against losing that server.

Arrange daily backups with the person maintaining your server; the manual command does not set up a schedule. Test recovery on a separate, empty installation using the release's restore instructions. Do not experiment with destructive restore commands on your only live copy.

Never use docker compose down -v as a troubleshooting shortcut. The -v option removes the named storage volumes that hold your data.

Update deliberately, not by accident

Before an update, make and check a backup, read the release notes, and keep any source-code customisations safe. Fetch the available version labels:

git fetch --tags
git tag --list --sort=-version:refname

Only after choosing an actual published release, replace RELEASE_TAG below with its version label. It is a placeholder, not a command to run unchanged:

git checkout RELEASE_TAG && sudo docker compose --profile https up -d --build

Check the public site, administrator login, photos and contact form again. Updates can change the database structure. Returning to an older application version may require restoring the matching backup, not just selecting an older version label.¹

There is a separate caution for moving existing data: v1.0.1 only imports archive format 1. Newer development code supports additional formats, but that does not make those capabilities part of this release. Check the current compatibility notes before a migration. Import requires a fresh, otherwise empty installation; keep the original export protected.¹²

When something does not work

The project's issue tracker is available for bug reports. Include the release version and a sanitised error message, never your settings file or personal enquiries.

The goal is not to become a server specialist. It is to get a useful website online, keep animal information current and make sure a real person receives and handles enquiries.

Checked against the linked v1.0.1 files and official Docker/Caddy documentation on 24 September 2026. This is a source-reviewed walkthrough, not a claim that a new production deployment was performed for this article.