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For IT teams

Brainstack Self-hosted for IT

What you'll run, how it's locked down, and how to set it up.

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Architecture

How the server is laid out.

One Linux server or VM, on-premises or in your own AWS, Azure or Google Cloud account, with Docker Engine 28.1 or later. Everything runs in containers on that server. There is no AI model to run: Brainstack stores the notes people save and searches them with its own built-in search.

Your teambrowser AI assistantsMCP Sign-in provideryour IdP YOUR SERVER EdgeTLS, your domainonly published routes Brainstack appnon-owner DB roleaudited writes PostgreSQLprivate network Encrypted backupkeys held elsewhere the only outbound path: sign-in
The violet path is the only way out of the server: the app talks to your sign-in provider when people sign in. Browsers and assistants come in through the edge on port 443.

Scroll the diagram sideways to see all of it.

Sign-in

Your IdP, your rules

People sign in through Google Workspace, Microsoft Entra or any OIDC provider you already run. Nobody needs a separate Brainstack login.

No model

Nothing to run but the app

Brainstack runs no AI model. People save notes from their assistant, and Brainstack stores them and searches them with its own built-in search. When someone asks, their assistant gets only the notes they may see.

Keys

Encrypted where it rests

Notes live in PostgreSQL on your server. Backups are encrypted to recipients whose secret keys never sit on the server.

Integrations

Sign-in and assistants.

People sign in with the work account they already have and connect their own assistant. A note is visible only to the person who saved it until they share it, and removing someone cuts their access everywhere at the same moment.

Sign-in your identity provider

  • Google WorkspaceInternal app in your org
  • Microsoft EntraSingle-tenant app
  • Any OIDC providerSuch as Okta, Auth0, Keycloak or Authentik

Assistants over MCP

  • ClaudeSave, search and share notes; manage lists and teams
  • ChatGPTSave, search and share notes; manage lists and teams
  • Microsoft 365 CopilotCan connect through your IT admin: search with a Copilot connector, save and share with a Copilot Studio agent
  • Any MCP clientStandard OAuth, per-person access

Roll-out one person or everyone

  • For everyoneAn admin adds the Brainstack connector once in your assistant's admin settings, and people just sign in.
  • For one personAnyone can add it to Claude, ChatGPT or another MCP client with your Brainstack address and sign in with their work account.

Assistants connect over MCP with standard OAuth and each person's own access, so an assistant only ever gets the notes that person may see. Claude and ChatGPT connect directly; some plans need your admin to turn on custom connectors. Microsoft 365 Copilot can connect through your IT admin: an admin-added Copilot connector lets people search and open their notes (Microsoft's connector only reads today), and a Copilot Studio agent published into Copilot gives the full save and share. Every share from an assistant shows who will be able to read the note and waits for a yes, and you can turn off sharing from assistants for the whole site; people then share in the web app.

Specs

The details, in one place.

Runs on
One Linux server or VM, on-premises or in your own AWS, Azure or Google Cloud account, with Docker Engine 28.1 or later. Everything runs in containers on that server.
Search
Brainstack's own built-in search over saved notes. No AI model runs on the server.
Sizing
2 CPU cores and 4 GB of memory for a team of about 25; no GPU.
Sign-in
Google Workspace (internal app in your org), Microsoft Entra (single-tenant app), or any OIDC provider such as Okta, Auth0, Keycloak or Authentik.
Assistants
Claude, ChatGPT or any MCP client, with standard OAuth and per-person access; some plans need your admin to turn on custom connectors. Microsoft 365 Copilot can connect through your IT admin: a Copilot connector to search and open notes (Microsoft's connector only reads today), and a Copilot Studio agent to save and share.
Network
Inbound 443; outbound only to your sign-in provider. The edge serves TLS on your domain and only published routes.
Connected apps
Each person sees the AI apps connected to their account and can disconnect one: it stops renewing at once, and access it already holds ends within the token lifetime. If nobody else uses that app, it is withdrawn and must be set up again. An admin sees everyone's apps and can remove an app for everyone, after a confirmation page.
Offboarding
Sessions and assistant tokens end in the same step. After restoring an old backup, one command re-applies removals before anyone can sign in.
Audit
Every assistant connection, removal and role change writes its audit record in the same transaction as the change.
Health
manage.py doctor checks the image, the database roles, the network isolation, sign-in and the backup keys, and names exactly what to fix.
Backups
Encrypted backups stream straight into GnuPG. The runbook walks you through restoring onto a fresh machine.
Upgrades
Migrations run in a one-shot step, one transaction each, before the app starts. If anything looks off, it stops and tells you how to go back.
Logs
The database logs only the name of a failed rule, never the row. Customer text stays out of the logs.
Access
A note is visible only to the person who saved it until they share it with a person, one of their own lists or a company team. Company teams are made by an admin; members can ask to join, and an admin or the team's lead adds people and answers requests. Removing someone cuts their access everywhere at the same moment.

Setup

Set up in an afternoon.

Three things to have ready (a server, a domain and a sign-in app), then a five-step setup wizard: the setup code, your organization's name, the sign-in app, a sign-in check, and the first admin. We give you the exact settings for Google or Microsoft. Then you invite your team, and they just sign in.

  1. A Linux server or VMOn-premises, or in your own AWS, Azure or Google Cloud account, with Docker Engine 28.1 or later. 2 CPU cores and 4 GB of memory for a team of about 25; no GPU, and no AI model to run.
  2. Your domainPoint a name like brain.yourcompany.com at it. Certificates are automatic.
  3. A sign-in appCreate an internal app in Google Workspace or Microsoft Entra, or use any OIDC provider. We give you the exact settings.
  4. Run the wizardFive short steps: setup code, organization, sign-in app, identity provider, first admin. Then invite your team and add Brainstack to your assistants.

Tested like someone is attacking it

We tried to break it. Repeatedly.

Before every release, independent reviewers who didn't write the code try to leak notes across people and teams, get past sign-in, stall the server and misread the runbook. Each finding is fixed and re-checked before anything ships.

6adversarial audit rounds, from insider abuse to hostile providers
Every releasegoes through the product and deployment test suites before it ships
End to endsign-in drill, from claiming the site to refusing a removed member
$ drill --mode local-idp   ok: claim · ok: invite-and-join · ok: stranger-refused · ok: remove-member-cli · ok: removed-member-refused · ok: issuer-pin-holds · ALL STEPS PASSED (0 skipped)

Questions about your setup?

Get in touch and we'll set up a short call. If it's a fit, we'll help you set Brainstack up.

Get in touch