Quick Start: Evaluate Rocket.Chat

This guide gets you from nothing to a running Rocket.Chat workspace you can evaluate. The fastest self-managed path is a Starter workspace deployed with Docker Compose.

A Starter workspace is provisioned automatically when you deploy Rocket.Chat (as of version 6.5). It is free, supports up to 50 users, and includes most paid capabilities with usage limits. See Our Plans for details.

Before you begin

• A Linux server that meets the System Requirements.

• A domain whose A record (or CNAME record) points to your server's public IP address.

Deploy an evaluation workspace

1. Install Docker and Git on your server:

   curl -L https://get.docker.com | sh
   sudo apt install git

2. Clone the official Rocket.Chat compose repository and enter the directory:

   git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/RocketChat/rocketchat-compose.git
   cd rocketchat-compose

3. Create your configuration file from the example:

   cp .env.example .env

4. Edit .env and set the RELEASE variable to an exact Rocket.Chat version and your workspace domain. Pin a fixed version instead of latest for predictable behavior. The Deploy with Docker and Docker Compose guide explains each variable, including the monitoring stack options.

5. Start the deployment:

   docker compose up -d

6. Open your workspace URL in a browser and follow the on-screen prompts to create the first admin user. Your workspace and email are registered to the Rocket.Chat Cloud portal during this setup.

What to evaluate first

• Create channels and teams, and invite a few test users.

• Connect your identity provider. LDAP, SAML, OAuth, and OpenID Connect setup guides are in the Secure Rocket.Chat section.

• Install an app or two from the Marketplace.

If Starter cannot represent your target deployment

For classified or air-gapped environments, sovereign cloud requirements, federation scenarios, or architectures beyond Starter limits, request a guided evaluation. Rocket.Chat offers a scoped Proof of Concept for these engagements. See the PoC section in Our Plans.

If you exceed Starter limits, the workspace is restricted from adding new users. Existing users and data remain accessible, and you can upgrade to a paid plan without data migration.