import imgArch from "./images/architecture.png"; import imgByocVsSelfHost from "./images/byoc-vs-self-host.png";

Self-Host vs BYOC

Rivet supports both BYOC (Bring Your Own Cloud) and self-hosting to fit your deployment needs.

	Self-Hosting	BYOC with Rivet Cloud
You Manage	Full stack (your backend, engine, Rivet Engine, database)	Only your backend
Complexity	Higher (full stack deployment)	Lower (connect and deploy)
Cost	Higher operational overhead	Usually lower usage-based cost
Supports Serverless	Requires extra infrastructure	Yes
Air-Gapped Deployments	Yes	No
Best For	Air-gapped environments, strict compliance, custom security policies	All other production deployments
Support	Contact sales or community	Community, Slack, and email (varies by plan)
Documentation	Continue below	See connect guides

Architecture

Rivet has 3 core components:

• Your Backend: Your application server that handles user requests and includes a runner component that executes actor code
• Rivet Engine: Main orchestration service that manages actor lifecycle, routes messages, and provides APIs
• Storage: Persistence layer for actor state and messaging infrastructure for real-time communication

Storage Backends

Rivet supports multiple storage backends:

• File System: Recommended for smaller single-node deployments today
• PostgreSQL: Recommended for multi-node deployments today, but still experimental
• FoundationDB: Best scalability and performance for production-ready deployments (requires enterprise)

Deployment Platforms

Deploy Rivet on your preferred platform:

• Docker Container
• Docker Compose
• Railway
• Render
• Kubernetes
• AWS Fargate
• Google Cloud Run
• Hetzner
• VM & Bare Metal

Self-hosting guides coming soon.

Next Steps

• Install Rivet Engine
• Connect your backend
• Configure your deployment
• Multi-region setup