Self-host Eclipse Mosquitto on a VPS

Why self-host Eclipse Mosquitto?

Mosquitto is the standard MQTT broker for self-hosted IoT and automation, light enough for any VPS.

How to install Eclipse Mosquitto

1. 1

   Provision a VPS

   Choose a plan with room for your data as well as the app.

2. 2

   Install the stack

   Install Single C binary.

3. 3

   Deploy the application

   Follow the project’s official install guide for your distribution.

4. 4

   Enable HTTPS

   Serve it on your own domain behind a reverse proxy with a certificate.

5. 5

   Back it up

   Schedule a database dump plus a copy of any uploaded files to an off-box location.

Practical tips

• Give Eclipse Mosquitto its own database user with rights only on its own schema.
• Reverse-proxy Eclipse Mosquitto and terminate TLS at the proxy so certificates are managed in one place.
• Take a VPS snapshot before major upgrades so you can roll back cleanly.
• Keep Eclipse Mosquitto patched — most self-hosting incidents are unpatched software.

Frequently asked questions

How much RAM does Eclipse Mosquitto need?

Plan on 256 MB–512 MB for typical use; add headroom if you expect many concurrent users.

What stack does Eclipse Mosquitto run on?

Single C binary.

Can I run other things on the same VPS?

Yes — size the plan so Eclipse Mosquitto plus your other workloads fit in RAM with room to spare.

Looking for something else? Popular alternatives include EMQX, NanoMQ, HiveMQ — browse all app guides.