GitHub - mauriceboe/TREK: A self-hosted travel/trip planner with real-time collaboration, interactive maps, PWA support, SSO, budgets, packing lists, and more.

9 min read Original article โ†—

TREK โ€” 60-second tour

Dashboard Trip planner with 3D map Journey journal Budget tracker Atlas ยท visited countries Vacay planner Iceland Ring Road Admin panel


What you get

TREK feature tiles
See all features

๐Ÿงญ Trip planning

  • Drag & drop planner โ€” organise places into day plans with reordering and cross-day moves
  • Interactive map โ€” Leaflet or Mapbox GL with 3D buildings, terrain, photo markers, clustering, route visualization
  • Place search โ€” Google Places (photos, ratings, hours) or OpenStreetMap (free, no API key)
  • Day notes โ€” timestamped, icon-tagged notes with drag-and-drop reordering
  • Route optimisation โ€” auto-sort places and export to Google Maps
  • Weather forecasts โ€” 16-day via Open-Meteo (no key) + historical climate fallback
  • Category filter โ€” show only matching pins on the map

๐Ÿงณ Travel management

  • Reservations โ€” flights, accommodations, restaurants with status, confirmation numbers, files
  • Budget tracking โ€” category-based expenses with pie chart, per-person / per-day splits, multi-currency
  • Packing lists โ€” categories, templates, user assignment, progress tracking
  • Bag tracking โ€” optional weight tracking with iOS-style distribution
  • Document manager โ€” attach docs, tickets, PDFs to trips / places / reservations (โ‰ค 50 MB each)
  • PDF export โ€” full trip plan as PDF with cover page, images, notes

๐Ÿ‘ฅ Collaboration

  • Real-time sync โ€” WebSocket. Changes appear instantly across all connected users
  • Multi-user trips โ€” invite members with role-based access
  • Invite links โ€” one-time or reusable links with expiry
  • SSO (OIDC) โ€” Google, Apple, Authentik, Keycloak, or any OIDC provider
  • 2FA โ€” TOTP + backup codes
  • Collab suite โ€” group chat, shared notes, polls, day check-ins

๐Ÿ“ฑ Mobile & PWA

  • Installable โ€” iOS and Android, straight from the browser, no App Store needed
  • Offline support โ€” Service Worker caches tiles, API, uploads via Workbox
  • Native feel โ€” fullscreen standalone, themed status bar, splash screen
  • Touch optimised โ€” mobile-specific layouts with safe-area handling

๐Ÿงฉ Addons (admin-toggleable)

  • Lists โ€” packing lists + to-dos with templates, member assignments, optional bag tracking
  • Budget โ€” expense tracker with splits, pie chart, multi-currency
  • Documents โ€” file attachments on trips, places, and reservations
  • Collab โ€” chat, notes, polls, day-by-day attendance
  • Vacay โ€” personal vacation planner with calendar, 100+ country holidays, carry-over tracking
  • Atlas โ€” world map of visited countries, bucket list, travel stats, streak tracking, liquid-glass UI
  • Journey โ€” magazine-style travel journal with entries, photos (Immich/Synology), maps, moods
  • Naver List Import โ€” one-click import from shared Naver Maps lists
  • MCP โ€” expose TREK to AI assistants via OAuth 2.1

๐Ÿค– AI / MCP

  • Built-in MCP server โ€” OAuth 2.1 authenticated. 150+ tools, 30 resources
  • Granular scopes โ€” 27 OAuth scopes across 13 permission groups
  • Full automation โ€” AI can create trips, plan days, build packing lists, manage budgets, mark countries visited
  • Pre-built prompts โ€” trip-summary, packing-list, budget-overview
  • Addon-aware โ€” exposes Atlas, Collab, Vacay when those addons are on

โš™๏ธ Admin & customisation

  • Dashboard views โ€” card grid or compact list ยท Dark mode โ€” full theme with matching status bar
  • 15 languages โ€” EN, DE, ES, FR, IT, NL, HU, RU, ZH, ZH-TW, PL, CS, AR (RTL), BR, ID
  • Admin panel โ€” users, invites, packing templates, categories, addons, API keys, backups, GitHub history
  • Auto-backups โ€” scheduled with configurable retention ยท Units โ€” ยฐC/ยฐF, 12h/24h, map tile sources, default coordinates

Get started in 30 seconds

ENCRYPTION_KEY=$(openssl rand -hex 32) docker run -d -p 3000:3000 \
  -e ENCRYPTION_KEY=$ENCRYPTION_KEY \
  -v ./data:/app/data -v ./uploads:/app/uploads mauriceboe/trek

Open http://localhost:3000. On first boot TREK seeds an admin account โ€” if you set ADMIN_EMAIL/ADMIN_PASSWORD those are used, otherwise the credentials are printed to the container log (docker logs trek).

  ยท  Docker Compose  ยท  Helm / Kubernetes  ยท  Install as PWA  ยท  Reverse Proxy  ยท  

Tech stack

Node.js Express SQLite React Vite TypeScript Tailwind Leaflet Docker

Real-time sync via WebSocket (ws). State with Zustand. Auth via JWT + OAuth 2.1 + OIDC + TOTP MFA. Weather via Open-Meteo (no key required). Maps with Leaflet and Mapbox GL.

Docker Compose (production)

Full compose example with secure defaults
services:
  app:
    image: mauriceboe/trek:latest
    container_name: trek
    read_only: true
    security_opt:
      - no-new-privileges:true
    cap_drop:
      - ALL
    cap_add:
      - CHOWN
      - SETUID
      - SETGID
    tmpfs:
      - /tmp:noexec,nosuid,size=64m
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - PORT=3000
      - ENCRYPTION_KEY=${ENCRYPTION_KEY:-}   # generate with: openssl rand -hex 32
      - TZ=${TZ:-UTC}
      - LOG_LEVEL=${LOG_LEVEL:-info}
      - ALLOWED_ORIGINS=${ALLOWED_ORIGINS:-}
      - APP_URL=${APP_URL:-}                 # required for OIDC + email links
      # - FORCE_HTTPS=true                   # behind a TLS-terminating proxy
      # - TRUST_PROXY=1
      # - OIDC_ISSUER=https://auth.example.com
      # - OIDC_CLIENT_ID=trek
      # - OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET=supersecret
      # - OIDC_DISPLAY_NAME=SSO
      # - OIDC_ADMIN_CLAIM=groups
      # - OIDC_ADMIN_VALUE=app-trek-admins
    volumes:
      - ./data:/app/data
      - ./uploads:/app/uploads
    restart: unless-stopped
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "wget", "-qO-", "http://localhost:3000/api/health"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 15s

Then:

HTTPS notes: FORCE_HTTPS=true is optional โ€” it adds a 301 redirect, HSTS, CSP upgrade-insecure-requests, and forces the secure cookie flag. Only use it behind a TLS-terminating reverse proxy. TRUST_PROXY=1 tells Express how many proxies sit in front so real client IPs and X-Forwarded-Proto work.

Helm (Kubernetes)

helm repo add trek https://mauriceboe.github.io/TREK
helm repo update
helm install trek trek/trek

See charts/README.md for values.

Install as App (PWA)

TREK works as a Progressive Web App โ€” no App Store needed.

  1. Open TREK in the browser (HTTPS required)
  2. iOS: Share โ–ธ Add to Home Screen
  3. Android: Menu โ–ธ Install app (or Add to Home Screen)

TREK then launches fullscreen with its own icon, just like a native app.

Updating

Docker Compose:

docker compose pull && docker compose up -d

Docker run โ€” reuse the original volume paths:

docker pull mauriceboe/trek
docker rm -f trek
docker run -d --name trek -p 3000:3000 -v ./data:/app/data -v ./uploads:/app/uploads --restart unless-stopped mauriceboe/trek

Not sure which paths you used? docker inspect trek --format '{{json .Mounts}}' before removing the container.

Your data stays in the mounted data and uploads volumes โ€” updates never touch it.

Rotating the Encryption Key

If you need to rotate ENCRYPTION_KEY (e.g. upgrading from a version that derived encryption from JWT_SECRET):

docker exec -it trek node --import tsx scripts/migrate-encryption.ts

The script creates a timestamped DB backup before making changes and prompts for old + new keys (input is not echoed).

Reverse Proxy

For production, put TREK behind a TLS-terminating reverse proxy. TREK uses WebSockets for real-time sync, so the proxy must support WebSocket upgrades on /ws.

Nginx
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name trek.yourdomain.com;
    return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name trek.yourdomain.com;

    ssl_certificate     /etc/ssl/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/ssl/privkey.pem;

    # 500 MB covers backup-restore uploads (capped at 500 MB server-side).
    client_max_body_size 500m;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }

    location /ws {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_read_timeout 86400;
    }
}
Caddy
trek.yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:3000
}

Caddy handles TLS and WebSockets automatically.

Environment variables

Full reference
Variable Description Default
Core
PORT Server port 3000
NODE_ENV Environment (production / development) production
ENCRYPTION_KEY At-rest encryption key for stored secrets (API keys, MFA, SMTP, OIDC). Recommended: generate with openssl rand -hex 32. If unset, falls back to data/.jwt_secret (existing installs) or auto-generates a key (fresh installs). Auto
TZ Timezone for logs, reminders and cron jobs (e.g. Europe/Berlin) UTC
LOG_LEVEL info = concise user actions, debug = verbose details info
DEFAULT_LANGUAGE Default language on the login page for users with no saved preference. Browser/OS language is auto-detected first; this is the fallback. Supported: de, en, es, fr, hu, nl, br, cs, pl, ru, zh, zh-TW, it, ar en
ALLOWED_ORIGINS Comma-separated origins for CORS and email links same-origin
FORCE_HTTPS Optional. When true: 301-redirects HTTP to HTTPS, sends HSTS, adds CSP upgrade-insecure-requests, forces the session cookie secure flag. Useful behind a TLS-terminating reverse proxy. Requires TRUST_PROXY. false
HSTS_INCLUDE_SUBDOMAINS When true: adds the includeSubDomains directive to the HSTS header, extending HTTPS enforcement to all subdomains. Only effective when HSTS is active (FORCE_HTTPS=true or NODE_ENV=production). Leave false if you run other services on sibling subdomains over plain HTTP. false
COOKIE_SECURE Controls the secure flag on the trek_session cookie. Auto-derived: on when NODE_ENV=production or FORCE_HTTPS=true. Escape hatch: set false to allow session cookies over plain HTTP. Not recommended in production. auto
TRUST_PROXY Number of trusted reverse proxies. Tells Express to read client IP from X-Forwarded-For and protocol from X-Forwarded-Proto. Defaults to 1 in production; off in dev unless set. 1
ALLOW_INTERNAL_NETWORK Allow outbound requests to private/RFC-1918 IPs (e.g. Immich on your LAN). Loopback and link-local addresses remain blocked. false
APP_URL Public base URL of this instance (e.g. https://trek.example.com). Required when OIDC is enabled; used as base for email notification links. โ€”
OIDC / SSO
OIDC_ISSUER OpenID Connect provider URL โ€”
OIDC_CLIENT_ID OIDC client ID โ€”
OIDC_CLIENT_SECRET OIDC client secret โ€”
OIDC_DISPLAY_NAME Label shown on the SSO login button SSO
OIDC_ONLY Force SSO-only mode: disables password login + registration, regardless of Admin > Settings. The first SSO login becomes admin. false
OIDC_ADMIN_CLAIM OIDC claim used to identify admin users โ€”
OIDC_ADMIN_VALUE Value of the OIDC claim that grants admin role โ€”
OIDC_SCOPE Space-separated OIDC scopes. Fully replaces the default โ€” always include openid email profile. openid email profile
OIDC_DISCOVERY_URL Override the auto-constructed OIDC discovery endpoint (e.g. Authentik: .../application/o/trek/.well-known/openid-configuration) โ€”
Initial setup
ADMIN_EMAIL Email for the first admin on initial boot. Must be set together with ADMIN_PASSWORD. If either is omitted a random password is printed to the server log. No effect once a user exists. admin@trek.local
ADMIN_PASSWORD Password for the first admin on initial boot. Pairs with ADMIN_EMAIL. random
Other
DEMO_MODE Enable demo mode (hourly data resets) false
MCP_RATE_LIMIT Max MCP API requests per user per minute 300
MCP_MAX_SESSION_PER_USER Max concurrent MCP sessions per user 20

Data & Backups

  • Database โ€” SQLite, stored in ./data/travel.db
  • Uploads โ€” stored in ./uploads/
  • Logs โ€” ./data/logs/trek.log (auto-rotated)
  • Backups โ€” create and restore via Admin Panel
  • Auto-Backups โ€” configurable schedule and retention in Admin Panel

License

TREK is AGPL v3. Self-host freely for personal or internal company use. If you modify and offer TREK as a network service to third parties, your modifications must be open-sourced under the same licence.