Practical overview
When it fits
Consider Psibase when evaluating or building a self-hosted web application environment and when you need to distinguish core node infrastructure from optional sample applications. Use the hosted demonstration to explore an example, not as a production deployment.
Who it is for
- Communities planning to operate their own web applications.
- Developers building web services for a Psibase deployment.
- Teams assessing a protocol-based foundation for community-operated web3 applications.
Documented uses
- Operate web applications on community-run infrastructure.
- Interact with a Psibase infrastructure node from scripts using the command-line utility.
- Develop web services using the included SDK.
Requirements & limits
- The repository is open source under the MIT license.
- The project documents native development support for Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04 and 26.04; other Linux distributions may work if dependency versions are at least as high as those listed for Ubuntu.
- The documented build environment includes C++/LLVM, Rust, Node.js, WebAssembly tooling and supporting build utilities.
- The demo applications are samples and are not intended for production deployment.
Check current requirements in the official documentation. Source-based guidance does not mean OpenViST has run or independently tested this project.
Prepare a native environment for building Psibase
Set up the documented prerequisites for developing Psibase from source on a supported Ubuntu release.
Before you start
- Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04, or 26.04 for officially supported native development; other Linux distributions may work if dependency versions meet or exceed those in the supported Ubuntu releases.
- Install the listed dependencies at or above their minimum versions: autoconf 2.69, binaryen 113, boost 1.78, clang and LLVM 16, cmake 3.22.1, g++ 11, libssl-dev 1.1.1, libtool 2.4.6, make 4.3, node 24.20.0, pkg-config 0.29.1, Rust toolchain 1.98, Wasi SDK 24.0, yarn 4.18.0, and zstd 1.4.4.
Steps
Choose Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04, or 26.04 for officially supported native development, or use another Linux distribution with dependency versions at least as high as the supported Ubuntu versions.
Install the dependencies listed in the repository's environment setup requirements at their specified minimum versions or newer.
Add the paths to node, npm, yarn, cargo, and wasm-opt to the PATH environment variable.
Set WASI_SDK_PREFIX to the root of the LLVM installation, or plan to set it during the build with the documented CMake flag.
Expected outcome
The documented native development prerequisites and environment variables are prepared for a subsequent source-build stage.
Guide limitations
- This guide covers environment setup only; it does not document the source-build commands or execution of Psibase.
- For distributions other than Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04, and 26.04, the repository says they may work but does not officially support them.
Sources & review
Source record details
- Source availability
- Active
- Sources checked
- 13 October 2026
- Original website title
- gofractally/psibase · Official homepage title · retained in its source language

