English
Semaphore UI Hosting
Semaphore UI is a web console for Ansible, Terraform, OpenTofu, and PowerShell jobs, used from a browser rather than a tower install.
- One click deploy
- 15 GB Disk Space Needed
- 1 GB RAM Memory needed
- From 2 € Price
No setup fees
Official links
Semaphore UI’s official links and original website
- Go to Repository
Semaphore UI GitHub
- More
Semaphore UI Website
What you get
on AvaHost
One-click deployment, a custom domain, free HTTPS, automatic application updates, and scheduled backups come with every Cloud App. You can run multiple apps on one server, and terminal access is included.
This template does not include a database container.
Tech
- Docker image
- semaphoreui/semaphore:latest
- Default port
- 0
How Semaphore UI works
Semaphore UI is the web application from the semaphoreui project. Operators sign in, store inventories and key material the app encrypts, and launch Ansible, Terraform, OpenTofu, or PowerShell tasks from templates. The Docker image is semaphoreui/semaphore. The documented environment supports MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQLite. This baseline uses SQLite so no separate database container is required. You can move to MySQL or PostgreSQL later if you outgrow a file.
The server can run tasks itself or hand them to Semaphore Runner processes that register with a token. Runners are a separate AvaHost app in this catalog because they are a different container, semaphoreui/runner, and they do not serve the website. The UI image can install extra Python packages from a requirements file mounted into the config directory. That file is yours to supply.
Key Semaphore UI features
You get projects, templates, schedules, and a task log in the browser. LDAP is optional and pointed at a directory you already have. An admin account is created from environment variables on first start. An access-key encryption secret must be set by you and kept, because it protects stored secrets. Losing it is an application recovery problem, not something the platform backup can invent again if you did not save it.
AvaHost updates the UI automatically and backs up its data on a schedule. Playbooks still come from the Git repositories you attach. Those remotes, and any cloud accounts the tasks touch, are outside the hosting price. Application mail is not included with Semaphore UI.
Semaphore UI vs Ansible AWX
Semaphore UI
Semaphore UI is a smaller console for the same family of automation jobs. Ansible AWX is the upstream project aligned with Ansible's tower product, with its own install size and release cadence. Choose AWX when you need that specific project. Choose Semaphore UI when you want the lighter web app and, if needed, external runners.
Ansible AWX
They can both launch Ansible. They are not the same database layout or the same upgrade path.
Who uses Semaphore UI
Teams who outgrew running playbooks from a workstation use Semaphore UI. It also fits a homelab that wants a task history. Skip it if your standard is AWX, or if you only needed a runner and you already have the UI elsewhere. In that case look at the Semaphore Runner app.
Self-hosting Semaphore UI: requirements and cost
The baseline is 1024 MB of RAM and half a CPU core, image semaphoreui/semaphore, SQLite on disk. On AvaHost the recommended minimum for Semaphore UI is Plan 1 at €2. The Semaphore UI package includes one-click deployment, a hostname, automated HTTPS, automatic updates, and scheduled backups. A dedicated public IP is not required for Semaphore UI. Runners, external databases, and the machines your playbooks configure are separate.
F.A.Q
Semaphore UI starts at €2 on Plan 1. That covers the web console and a SQLite file, not a fleet of runners and not the servers your playbooks change. MySQL or PostgreSQL is available upstream if you prefer it, and it would be extra capacity. Cloud accounts used inside tasks remain on those providers’ bills.
Yes. Point DNS at the deployment and automated HTTPS covers the browser console. Runners you add later must be able to reach that URL to register. You manage the zone, the admin account, and the encryption secret for stored keys.
AvaHost updates Semaphore UI automatically and backs up the application data on a schedule, including the SQLite database when that is what you use. The encryption secret and your Git remotes need to be recoverable by you as well. After an update, open a past task and run a harmless template before you trust a production playbook.
Not for every install. Semaphore UI can execute tasks in its own container. Add Semaphore Runner when you want the job to run on another host, in another network, or away from the web process. The runner is a separate app and a separate container. It has no visitor website of its own.