Getting started

HQBase runs in your Cloudflare account. Before you install it, you only need a paid Workers plan, an active R2 subscription, and a domain using Cloudflare DNS.

What you need

Complete these three steps in the Cloudflare account where HQBase will run:

1. Enable Workers Paid. Review the Workers plans and enable Workers Paid for the account. This is separate from any Free, Pro, or Business plan attached to your domain.
2. Activate the R2 subscription. In the Cloudflare dashboard, open Storage & databases → R2 → Overview and complete the R2 checkout. R2 includes free monthly usage, but its subscription must be active before you install HQBase.
3. Have an active domain using Cloudflare DNS. If your domain is not active in this account, add it to Cloudflare, review the imported DNS records, update the nameservers at your registrar, and wait for Cloudflare to mark the domain Active.

You do not need to turn on Email Routing or Email Sending yourself. HQBase configures both after you give it permission during setup.

Install HQBase

Use the official Deploy to Cloudflare button:

Cloudflare will ask you to choose an account and approve the resources HQBase needs. It then opens HQBase’s setup page.

You can safely leave and return to setup later. HQBase remembers where you stopped.

Finish setup

HQBase guides you through four steps:

1. check and create the required Cloudflare resources;
2. connect one or more email domains;
3. create the workspace owner account;
4. create your shared mailboxes, such as support@example.com or hello@example.com.

Use a personal or company login address that will remain available if HQBase is offline. For example, if the workspace uses example.com, the owner could sign in with a Gmail address or an address on another company domain. The login address cannot belong to a domain connected to this HQBase workspace.

Your login identifies you; it is not automatically a shared mailbox. After setup, add people and choose which mailboxes each person can use from Settings.

What HQBase creates

HQBase creates the Worker, database, file storage, queues, routes, and app secrets in your Cloudflare account. Your workspace and email stay there. See How HQBase works for a plain-language overview.