Getting Started
Everything you need to go from zero to running lifecycle journeys with Hogsend. Pick a setup path and follow it through.
Hogsend is a self-hosted lifecycle orchestration engine for teams using PostHog and Resend. You define journeys in TypeScript, connect them to PostHog events, and Hogsend handles the durable execution -- email sequences, timing, branching, and exit conditions.
This section walks you through setup. There are three paths depending on how you want to run Hogsend.
Choose your setup path
Railway template deploy (recommended)
The fastest way to get running. One click deploys the full stack -- API, worker, Hatchet, Postgres, Redis -- on Railway. Then the CLI configures everything: secrets, PostHog webhook, Resend, and verifies the pipeline end-to-end.
Time: ~10 minutes. Follow the Installation guide.
Local development
For contributors or teams who want to run Hogsend locally before deploying. Uses Docker Compose for infrastructure and runs the API and worker on your machine.
Time: ~15 minutes. Start with Installation, then PostHog Setup.
Manual setup
For teams deploying to infrastructure other than Railway. You provision Postgres, Redis, and Hatchet yourself, set environment variables manually, and configure the PostHog webhook by hand.
Time: ~30 minutes. Read Configuration for the full variable reference, Deployment for architecture details, and PostHog Setup for webhook configuration.
Prerequisites
Before you start, you need accounts with these services:
- Railway account -- sign up here. Free tier works for getting started. Only needed if using the template deploy path.
- PostHog account with a personal API key -- generate one at PostHog > Settings > Personal API Keys. The key starts with
phx_. This is required for the CLI to create the webhook destination automatically. - Resend account -- sign up free. Grab your API key from the Resend dashboard. You need this for email delivery.
If you are deploying locally, you also need:
- Docker installed and running -- for TimescaleDB, Redis, and Hatchet-Lite
- Node.js 22 -- pinned via
.node-versionin the repo - pnpm -- the monorepo uses pnpm workspaces
What's next
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Installation | Deploy the template, install the CLI, verify the pipeline |
| PostHog Setup | Connect PostHog events to Hogsend via webhook destinations |
| Configuration | Every environment variable, what it does, and which service needs it |