Self-Hosting Steel Browser

Fresh

Run Steel Browser on your own infrastructure for full control, data privacy, and no usage limits.

Deployment Options

Platform	Complexity	Best For
Docker	Low	Local development, CI/CD
Railway	Low	Quick cloud deployment
Render	Low	Managed containers
Clustering	High	High-volume production

Steel Local vs Steel Cloud

Feature	Steel Local	Steel Cloud
Concurrency	1 session	100+ sessions
Stealth	Limited	Advanced stealth
CAPTCHA Solving	Not available	Supported
Proxies	BYOP only	BYOP + Steel managed
Multi-Region	Host it yourself	Built-in (lax, ord, iad)
Credentials API	Not supported	Full support
Extensions	Local folder loading	Extensions API
Files API	Not supported	Full support

Key Difference

The defining factor is concurrency. Steel Local is limited to 1 concurrent session. Steel Cloud supports 100+ concurrent sessions with advanced stealth and anti-detection.

Extensions in Steel Local

Place extension folders in api/src/extensions/ and Steel Local will automatically build and inject them into sessions:

steel-browser/
└── api/
    └── src/
        └── extensions/
            ├── my-extension/
            │   ├── manifest.json
            │   └── content.js
            └── another-extension/
                ├── manifest.json
                └── background.js

Railway

Deploy Steel Browser to Railway with one click.

Deploy Link: railway.com/deploy/steelbrowser

Post-Deployment

1. Navigate to the Railway-provided public domain
2. Verify health: curl https://your-domain.railway.app/v1/health
3. Connect your application:

import { chromium } from "playwright";
import Steel from "steel-sdk";

const client = new Steel({
  baseUrl: `https://${process.env.RAILWAY_PUBLIC_DOMAIN}`,
});

const session = await client.sessions.create();
const browser = await chromium.connectOverCDP(session.websocketUrl);

Railway Benefits

• Automatic HTTPS/SSL
• Built-in health monitoring
• Easy scaling
• Simple environment variable management

Security Considerations

• Add authentication if exposing publicly
• Monitor for unusual traffic patterns
• Set up rate limiting for production use

Render

Deploy using Render's Blueprint mechanism with the Steel Docker image (steeldev/steel).

1. Sign into Render
2. Use Blueprint deployment with image steeldev/steel
3. Configure environment variables
4. Deploy

Clustering

Coming Soon

Clustering documentation for running multiple Steel Browser instances is being developed. Check back for updates on load balancing and high-availability configurations.

WebRTC Configuration

Steel's headful sessions use WebRTC for real-time browser streaming:

• 25 fps video at H.264
• Low-latency OS-level capture
• Full visual fidelity

For self-hosted deployments, ensure your infrastructure supports WebRTC traffic (UDP ports, TURN/STUN configuration).

Profiles in Self-Hosted

Coming Soon

Self-hosted profile management documentation is being developed. For now, use Steel Cloud for persistent browser profiles.

See Also

• SOP-009: Self-Host with Docker
• SOP-012: Embed Sessions
• Quick Reference: Commands