Self-Serve
Download the apps, run on your own hardware, connect to any S3-compatible cloud. Free and open-source ingest engine with community support.
What you get
The Self-Serve tier gives you the complete DataBridge software stack at no cost. DataBridge Core — the ingest engine that handles device detection, buffer copy, SHA-256 manifest generation, multi-cloud upload, and post-upload ETag verification — is open source and available on GitHub. DataBridge Tag and DataBridge Ops are distributed as native desktop applications for macOS and Windows, free to download for any team running their own infrastructure.
You bring the hardware, the datacenter space, the network connectivity, and the cloud storage account. DataBridge provides the software that ties it all together — from the moment a field operator labels a device to the moment that data is verified in cloud storage. Every file is SHA-256 hashed during buffer copy and ETag-verified after upload, regardless of tier. Integrity verification is not a premium feature; it is fundamental to how DataBridge works.
Self-Serve is designed for teams that already have operational expertise managing datacenter infrastructure — teams with existing server fleets, network engineers on staff, and established relationships with cloud providers. If you are comfortable provisioning servers, configuring network interfaces, and managing systemd services, Self-Serve gives you everything you need to run a production-grade ingest pipeline without paying for managed operations.
System Requirements
Getting Started
Download DataBridge Core
Clone the open-source ingest engine from our GitHub repository. Core is a single Go binary with zero external dependencies beyond the OS. Run the install script, which places the binary at /usr/local/bin/databridge-core, creates the systemd service file, and generates a default configuration template at /etc/databridge/core.yaml.
Configure Your Cloud Backend
Edit core.yaml to specify your target storage backend. DataBridge Core supports S3-compatible storage out of the box — AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage (via S3 interop), Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, Wasabi, MinIO, and Azure Blob Storage. Provide your bucket name, region, access credentials (or IAM role ARN if running on EC2), and optional prefix path. Core validates the connection on startup and exits with a clear error if credentials are invalid or the bucket is unreachable.
Install Native Apps
Download DataBridge Tag (.dmg for macOS, .exe for Windows) for your field teams and DataBridge Ops for your datacenter operators. Both apps connect to the same backend API endpoint specified in their settings. Tag handles device labeling and metadata capture; Ops provides the real-time ingest dashboard showing lane status, queue depth, and transfer progress on each workstation.
Start Ingesting
Label your first device with Tag, plug it into the ingest server, and watch Core detect it via udev monitoring, validate the label, copy data to the NVMe buffer, generate the SHA-256 manifest, and upload to your cloud backend. The entire workflow is automatic once the device is inserted. Monitor progress through Ops or the Core CLI — both show real-time throughput, file counts, and verification status.
Community Support
Self-Serve includes community support through our GitHub repository. File issues for bugs, request features, and browse documentation and runbooks contributed by the DataBridge team and community. We actively maintain the repository and triage issues weekly. For teams that need guaranteed response times, dedicated support channels, or 24/7 incident response, see our Standard and Premium support tiers.
The DataBridge documentation covers installation, configuration reference for every core.yaml parameter, cloud backend setup guides for each supported provider (AWS S3, GCS, R2, B2, Wasabi, MinIO, Azure Blob), troubleshooting common USB detection issues, network tuning for high-throughput uploads, and manifest file format specification. The documentation is versioned alongside the software and always reflects the latest stable release.
Need more than self-serve?
If you want us to handle deployment, monitoring, and operations, explore our Managed and Turnkey tiers.