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+---
+stage: Enablement
+group: Distribution
+info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
+---
+
+# How to self-host the docs site **(FREE SELF)**
+
+If you have a self-managed instance of GitLab, you may not be able to access the
+product documentation as hosted on `docs.gitlab.com` from your GitLab instance.
+
+Be aware of the following items if you self-host the product documentation:
+
+- You must host the product documentation site under a subdirectory that matches
+  your installed GitLab version (for example, `14.5/`). The
+  [Docker images](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-docs/container_registry/631635)
+  hosted by the GitLab Docs team provide this by default. We use a
+  [script](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-docs/-/blob/2995d1378175803b22fb8806ba77adf63e79f32c/scripts/normalize-links.sh#L28-82)
+  to normalize the links and prefix them with the respective version.
+- The version dropdown will display additional versions that don't exist, selecting
+  those versions will display a 404 Not Found page.
+- Results when using the search box will display results from `docs.gitlab.com`
+  and not the local documentation.
+- When you use the Docker images to serve the product documentation site, by
+  default the landing page redirects to the respective version (for example, `/14.5/`),
+  which causes the landing page <https://docs.gitlab.com> to not be displayed.
+
+## Documentation self-hosting options
+
+You can self-host the GitLab product documentation locally using one of these
+methods:
+
+- Docker
+- GitLab Pages
+- From your own webserver
+
+The examples on this page are based on GitLab 14.5.
+
+### Self-host the product documentation with Docker
+
+The Docker images use a built-in webserver listening on port `4000`, so you need
+to expose that.
+
+In the server that you host GitLab, or any other server that your GitLab instance
+can talk to, you can use Docker to pull the docs site:
+
+```shell
+docker run -it --rm -p 4000:4000 registry.gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-docs:14.5
+```
+
+If you use [Docker compose](../install/docker.md#install-gitlab-using-docker-compose)
+to host your GitLab instance, add the following to `docker-compose.yaml`:
+
+```yaml
+version: '3.6'
+services:
+  docs:
+    image: registry.gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-docs:14.5
+    hostname: 'https://gitlab.example.com'
+    ports:
+      - '4000:4000'
+```
+
+### Self-host the product documentation with GitLab Pages
+
+You use GitLab Pages to host the GitLab product documentation locally.
+
+Prerequisite:
+
+- The Pages site URL must not use a subfolder. Due to the nature of how the docs
+  site is pre-compiled, the CSS and JavaScript files are relative to the
+  main domain or subdomain. For example, URLs like `https://example.com/docs/`
+  are not supported.
+
+To host the product documentation site with GitLab Pages:
+
+1. [Create a new blank project](../user/project/working_with_projects.md#create-a-blank-project).
+1. Create a new or edit your existing `.gitlab-ci.yml` file, and add the following
+   `pages` job, while ensuring the version is the same as your GitLab installation:
+
+   ```yaml
+   image: registry.gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-docs:14.5
+   pages:
+     script:
+     - mkdir public
+     - cp -a /usr/share/nginx/html/* public/
+     artifacts:
+       paths:
+       - public
+   ```
+
+1. Optional. Set the GitLab Pages domain name. Depending on the type of the
+   GitLab Pages website, you have two options:
+
+   | Type of website         | [Default domain](../user/project/pages/getting_started_part_one.md#gitlab-pages-default-domain-names) | [Custom domain](../user/project/pages/custom_domains_ssl_tls_certification/index.md) |
+   |-------------------------|----------------|---------------|
+   | [Project website](../user/project/pages/getting_started_part_one.md#project-website-examples) | Not supported | Supported |
+   | [User or group website](../user/project/pages/getting_started_part_one.md#user-and-group-website-examples) | Supported | Supported |
+
+### Self-host the product documentation on your own webserver
+
+Because the product documentation site is static, you can grab the directory from
+the container (in `/usr/share/nginx/html`) and use your own web server to host
+it wherever you want.
+
+Use the following commands, and replace `<destination>` with the directory where the
+documentation files will be copied to:
+
+```shell
+docker create -it --name gitlab-docs registry.gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-docs:14.5
+docker cp gitlab-docs:/usr/share/nginx/html <destination>
+docker rm -f gitlab-docs
+```
+
+## Redirect the `/help` links to the new docs page
+
+After your local product documentation site is running, [redirect the help
+links](../user/admin_area/settings/help_page.md#redirect-help-pages) in the GitLab
+application to your local site.
+
+Be sure to use the fully qualified domain name as the docs URL. For example, if you
+used the [Docker method](#self-host-the-product-documentation-with-docker), enter `http://0.0.0.0:4000`.
+
+You don't need to append the version, as GitLab will detect it and append it to
+any documentation URL requests, as needed. For example, if your GitLab version is
+14.5, the GitLab Docs URL becomes `http://0.0.0.0:4000/14.5/`. The link
+inside GitLab displays as `<instance_url>/help/user/admin_area/settings/help_page#destination-requirements`,
+but when you select it, you are redirected to
+`http://0.0.0.0:4000/14.5/ee/user/admin_area/settings/help_page/#destination-requirements`.
+
+To test the setting, select a **Learn more** link within the GitLab application.