Railway - FalkorDB Docs

Railway is a modern platform-as-a-service (PaaS) that makes it easy to deploy and manage applications. FalkorDB provides verified Railway templates so you can start a graph database in minutes without managing infrastructure.

Available Templates

FalkorDB offers two verified deployment templates on Railway. Choose the template that matches your workload:

Template	Best for	Notes
Single Instance	Development, testing, demos, and small production workloads	Runs one FalkorDB instance with the Browser enabled by default. Use Railway volumes and backups for persistence.
Cluster	Production workloads that need high availability or horizontal scaling across multiple graphs	Runs multiple FalkorDB nodes. Each graph is stored as a single Redis key and belongs to one hash slot, so a single large graph is not automatically split across shards.

Prerequisites

Before deploying FalkorDB on Railway, ensure you have:

A Railway account
Basic understanding of FalkorDB and graph databases
A Redis-compatible client, such as redis-cli, for command-line testing

Option 1: Single Instance Deployment

The single instance template deploys a standalone FalkorDB server with the browser interface enabled by default.

Deploy the Template

Visit the FalkorDB Single Instance template
Click the Deploy button
Sign in to your Railway account or create one if needed
Railway will automatically provision and deploy your FalkorDB instance
Once deployment completes, open the service Variables tab to review the generated connection details

Railway template deployment screen for FalkorDB

Railway deployment progress screen for FalkorDB

Accessing Your Instance

After deployment, you can access FalkorDB through the Browser UI, from another Railway service, or from your local machine. These paths use different endpoints:

Endpoint or variable	Use it for	Reachability
`RAILWAY_PUBLIC_DOMAIN`	Opening the FalkorDB Browser over HTTPS	Public internet
`FALKORDB_PRIVATE_URL`	Application services running in the same Railway project and environment	Railway private network only
`FALKORDB_PUBLIC_URL`	Local development, external clients, or `redis-cli` outside Railway	Public TCP proxy, if enabled
`FALKORDB_PASSWORD`	Browser login and client authentication	Secret value in Railway service variables

Using the Browser Interface

Navigate to your Railway project dashboard
Click on the FalkorDB service
Click the public domain to open the FalkorDB Browser

Railway service page showing the public domain for the FalkorDB Browser

Find FALKORDB_PASSWORD in the service Variables tab
Use FALKORDB_PASSWORD in your browser to log in to your database

If the Browser prompts for connection fields, copy the current values from your Railway service Variables tab (FALKORDB_HOST, FALKORDB_PORT, and the username shown there) and authenticate with FALKORDB_PASSWORD. FalkorDB Browser login screen with host, port, username, and password fields

FalkorDB Browser login screen with host, port, username, and password fields

Connecting from Another Railway Service

Use the private URL when your application runs in the same Railway project and environment as FalkorDB. Private networking keeps database traffic inside Railway and avoids exposing the FalkorDB protocol port to the public internet.

Open the FalkorDB service Variables tab
Copy FALKORDB_PRIVATE_URL
Add it as a variable to your application service, or reference it from the application service

Example with Python:

import os

from falkordb import FalkorDB

db = FalkorDB.from_url(os.environ["FALKORDB_PRIVATE_URL"])
graph = db.select_graph("mygraph")

result = graph.query("RETURN 'connected' AS status")
print(result.result_set)

Private URLs are not reachable from your laptop or from services in other Railway projects or environments.

Connecting from Your Local Machine

For local development or external clients, use FALKORDB_PUBLIC_URL. Railway Variables tab showing FalkorDB private and public connection URLs

Connect using redis-cli and run a test query in a single invocation:

redis-cli -u "$FALKORDB_PUBLIC_URL" GRAPH.QUERY mygraph "RETURN 'connected' AS status"

If FALKORDB_PUBLIC_URL is not available, enable a Railway TCP Proxy for the FalkorDB service and expose the internal FalkorDB protocol port.

Option 2: Cluster Deployment

The cluster template deploys a multi-node FalkorDB cluster for production workloads requiring high availability and horizontal scalability across graph keys.

Deploy the Template

Visit the FalkorDB Cluster template
Click the Deploy button
Sign in to your Railway account
Railway will provision multiple FalkorDB nodes and configure them as a cluster
Wait for all nodes to be deployed and the cluster to be initialized

Railway project canvas showing the FalkorDB cluster template services

Cluster Architecture

FalkorDB Cluster uses Redis Cluster hash slots to distribute graph keys across primary nodes:

Primary nodes - Own hash slot ranges and serve writes for the graphs assigned to those slots
Replica nodes - Provide redundancy and failover for primaries
Cluster-aware clients - Follow Redis Cluster redirects and route commands to the node that owns the target graph key

Each graph lives on one shard. Clustering helps when you have many graphs or workloads that can be distributed across graph names; it does not partition a single graph across multiple shards. For more details, see Setting Up a FalkorDB Cluster.

Connecting to the Cluster

To connect to your FalkorDB cluster:

Apps deployed within Railway – use FALKORDB_PRIVATE_URL. Traffic stays inside Railway’s private network and never touches the public internet.
External clients and local development – use FALKORDB_PUBLIC_URL. This requires a Railway TCP Proxy to be enabled for the FalkorDB service.
Use cluster-aware clients so MOVED redirects are handled correctly.

Example with Python (internal app — swap in FALKORDB_PUBLIC_URL for external access):

import os

from falkordb import FalkorDB

# Internal: use FALKORDB_PRIVATE_URL for apps running inside the same Railway project
# External: replace with FALKORDB_PUBLIC_URL for local development or external clients
# FalkorDB.from_url() automatically detects cluster mode at connection time
# (probes INFO server) so no extra cluster flag is needed.
db = FalkorDB.from_url(os.environ["FALKORDB_PRIVATE_URL"])

graph = db.select_graph("mygraph")

graph.query("CREATE (:Person {name: 'Bob', age: 25})")
result = graph.query("MATCH (n:Person) RETURN n.name, n.age")

Using redis-cli in cluster mode:

# From inside Railway (private endpoint)
redis-cli -c -u "$FALKORDB_PRIVATE_URL"

# From your local machine or an external client (public endpoint)
redis-cli -c -u "$FALKORDB_PUBLIC_URL"

Best Practices

Security

Use FALKORDB_PRIVATE_URL for production application traffic whenever possible
Expose FALKORDB_PUBLIC_URL only when you need local or external access
Treat FALKORDB_PASSWORD and connection URLs as secrets
Rotate credentials if they are copied into logs, tickets, or shared terminals
Disable public access paths that are not required for your workload

Data Persistence

The template provides persistent Railway volumes for FalkorDB data storage:

Data persists across deployments and restarts
Volumes are mounted when the service starts, not during build time
Regular backups are recommended for production workloads
Persistence protects against container restarts, but it is not a replacement for backups

For production deployments:

Confirm the FalkorDB data directory is backed by a Railway volume
Configure manual or automated Railway volume backups
Review FalkorDB durability settings for RDB snapshots and AOF logging in Data Durability

Monitoring and Logs

Railway provides built-in monitoring and logging:

Navigate to your FalkorDB service in the Railway dashboard
View real-time logs in the Logs tab
Monitor metrics in the Metrics tab
Set up alerts for service health and resource usage

Troubleshooting

Symptom	What to check
Browser login fails	Confirm the username is `default`, copy the latest `FALKORDB_PASSWORD`, and use the `FALKORDB_HOST` and `FALKORDB_PORT` values from your Railway service Variables tab.
Local `redis-cli` cannot connect	Use `FALKORDB_PUBLIC_URL`, not `FALKORDB_PRIVATE_URL`. Private URLs only work inside the same Railway project and environment.
`FALKORDB_PUBLIC_URL` is missing	Enable Railway TCP Proxy for the FalkorDB service and expose the internal FalkorDB protocol port.
Application cannot connect from Railway	Confirm both services are in the same project and environment, then use `FALKORDB_PRIVATE_URL`.
Cluster client receives `MOVED` replies	Use a cluster-aware client or `redis-cli -c`.
Data is missing after redeploy	Confirm the FalkorDB data directory is mounted on a Railway volume and review the service logs for startup errors.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to deploy FalkorDB on Railway?

Deployment typically completes in under 2 minutes. Railway provisions the service, pulls the Docker image, and starts FalkorDB automatically from the verified template.

What is the difference between FALKORDB_PRIVATE_URL and FALKORDB_PUBLIC_URL?

Private URLs only work within the same Railway project and environment (service-to-service). Public URLs use a Railway TCP Proxy and are reachable from your local machine or external clients.

Does my data persist across Railway redeployments?

Yes, if the FalkorDB data directory is mounted on a Railway volume. Volumes persist across deployments and restarts. Without a volume, data is lost on redeploy.

Can I deploy a FalkorDB cluster on Railway?

Yes. Use the FalkorDB Cluster template which provisions multiple nodes. You need a cluster-aware client to handle MOVED redirects.

How do I connect from my local machine to Railway FalkorDB?

Use FALKORDB_PUBLIC_URL with redis-cli -u. If the public URL is not available, enable Railway TCP Proxy for the FalkorDB service and expose the internal FalkorDB protocol port.

​Available Templates

​Prerequisites

​Option 1: Single Instance Deployment

​Deploy the Template

​Accessing Your Instance

​Using the Browser Interface

​Connecting from Another Railway Service

​Connecting from Your Local Machine

​Option 2: Cluster Deployment

​Deploy the Template

​Cluster Architecture

​Connecting to the Cluster

​Best Practices

​Security

​Data Persistence

​Monitoring and Logs

​Troubleshooting

​Frequently Asked Questions

Available Templates

Prerequisites

Option 1: Single Instance Deployment

Deploy the Template

Accessing Your Instance

Using the Browser Interface

Connecting from Another Railway Service

Connecting from Your Local Machine

Option 2: Cluster Deployment

Deploy the Template

Cluster Architecture

Connecting to the Cluster

Best Practices

Security

Data Persistence

Monitoring and Logs

Troubleshooting

Frequently Asked Questions