Self-hosting

Run your own Porch server with in-memory or Convex storage.

Porch is open source (MIT). Run your own copy for a private instance, different limits, or a domain of your own. It's a Node.js 22+ server with two storage options:

Storage	Use it for	Notes
Memory (default)	Development, single-instance servers	Everything is lost on restart. No setup.
Convex	Production	Durable, shared by any number of server instances, cleans up on its own. Waits subscribe to queries, so they wake the moment a request is stored.

Run it locally#

bash

git clone https://github.com/computer-agent-labs/porch.git
cd porch
yarn install
yarn dev

Connect a client to http://localhost:8787/mcp. Senders need to reach your machine for inbox URLs to work, so for real webhooks run Porch somewhere public.

Docker#

bash

docker build -t porch .
docker run -p 8787:8787 -e PORCH_PUBLIC_URL=https://porch.example.com porch

Use Convex for storage#

Deploy the functions in convex/ to your Convex project:
bash
```
npx convex deploy
```
Choose a long random secret and set it on the deployment:
bash
```
npx convex env set PORCH_CONVEX_SECRET <secret> --prod
```
Start the server with CONVEX_URL set to your deployment URL and PORCH_CONVEX_SECRET set to the same secret.

Every Convex function checks the secret, because Convex functions are reachable by anyone who knows the deployment URL.

Deploy it#

Any platform that runs a long-lived container works. A few things matter:

Not serverless functions. Waiting tools hold an HTTP request open for up to PORCH_MAX_WAIT_SECONDS and stream progress over SSE.
Raise idle timeouts on your load balancer or proxy above the longest wait (Porch's own deployment uses 360 seconds), and don't buffer responses on /mcp.
Set PORCH_PUBLIC_URL to your public origin, and PORCH_TRUST_PROXY so client IPs are read correctly behind a proxy (1 behind a single load balancer).
Use GET /healthz as the health check.

The repository includes the AWS setup behind https://porch.okibi.ai: CloudFormation templates for ECS Fargate behind an Application Load Balancer, and a deploy script (deploy/aws).

Configuration#

All settings are environment variables.

Variable	Default	Meaning
`PORT`	`8787`	Port to listen on.
`PORCH_HOST`	`0.0.0.0`	Interface to bind.
`PORCH_PUBLIC_URL`	from the `Host` header	Base URL used in inbox links. Set it in production.
`PORCH_TRUST_PROXY`	`false`	Express trust proxy setting: `true`, a hop count, or subnets.
`CONVEX_URL`	unset	Convex deployment URL. When set, Porch stores everything in Convex.
`PORCH_CONVEX_SECRET`	unset	Shared secret the Convex functions check. Required with `CONVEX_URL`.
`PORCH_MAX_INBOXES`	`1000`	Server-wide cap on active inboxes.
`PORCH_CAPACITY_MODE`	`reject`	`reject` refuses new inboxes at the cap. `per-ip` lets IPs holding fewer than `PORCH_PER_IP_MAX_INBOXES` past it.
`PORCH_PER_IP_MAX_INBOXES`	`3`	Per-IP allowance once the cap is reached, in `per-ip` mode.
`PORCH_HARD_MAX_INBOXES`	2 × the cap	Absolute ceiling in `per-ip` mode.
`PORCH_DEFAULT_INBOX_TTL_MINUTES`	`1440`	Inbox lifetime when the agent doesn't choose one.
`PORCH_MIN_INBOX_TTL_MINUTES`	`5`	Shortest lifetime an agent can choose.
`PORCH_MAX_INBOX_TTL_MINUTES`	`10080`	Longest lifetime an agent can choose (7 days).
`PORCH_INBOX_IDLE_TIMEOUT_MINUTES`	`240`	Inboxes are deleted after this long without a keyed tool call.
`PORCH_MAX_REQUESTS_PER_INBOX`	`1000`	Requests kept per inbox.
`PORCH_REQUEST_TTL_MINUTES`	`240`	How long each request is kept.
`PORCH_MAX_BODY_BYTES`	`262144`	Largest body recorded (256 KB).
`PORCH_MAX_INBOX_BYTES`	`8388608`	Body bytes kept per inbox (8 MB).
`PORCH_MAX_WAIT_SECONDS`	`300`	Longest wait an agent can ask for.
`PORCH_ADMIN_TOKEN`	unset	Enables `GET /admin/stats` with `Authorization: Bearer <token>`.
`PORCH_LOG_LEVEL`	`info`	`debug`, `info`, `warn`, `error` or `silent`. Logs never include request contents.

A per-IP cap isn't on by default because many agents share an IP: MCP calls from hosted assistants, for example, come from the assistant provider's servers.

Monitoring#

With PORCH_ADMIN_TOKEN set, GET /admin/stats?days=30 reports daily counts: inboxes created and refused, requests captured, approval links, custom responses, and redirects, including the hosts redirects point to. Use it to spot abuse of custom responses.