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Install and run the server

All commands run from a clone of the repository:

git clone https://github.com/wso2/fhir-server.git
cd fhir-server

Build a binary​

Prerequisite: Go 1.25 or later.

go build -o fhir-server ./cmd/server

Build a container image​

docker build -t fhir-server:latest .

Prepare PostgreSQL​

The server supports PostgreSQL 14 through 18. The commands below set up a local development database; the fhir/fhir credentials and sslmode=disable must not be reused outside a local environment. Production deployments need unique credentials injected from a secret manager and TLS on the database connection.

Create the runtime role and database as a PostgreSQL superuser:

psql -U postgres -c "CREATE ROLE fhir LOGIN PASSWORD 'fhir'"
psql -U postgres -c "CREATE DATABASE fhirdb OWNER fhir"

Then apply the idempotent schema with a role that holds DDL privileges (for local use the owner created above is fine; production should use a separate DDL role):

psql "postgres://fhir:fhir@localhost:5432/fhirdb?sslmode=disable" \
  -f internal/db/schema.sql

Alternatively, set FHIR_CREATE_TABLES=true for a one-time startup using a role with DDL privileges.

warning

Keep DDL privileges out of the steady-state runtime role. Provision the schema separately for production deployments.

Run with a configuration file​

config.example.yaml ships in the repository root and documents every available key:

cp config.example.yaml config.yaml
./fhir-server --config ./config.yaml

Run with environment variables​

export DATABASE_URL="postgres://fhir:fhir@localhost:5432/fhirdb?sslmode=disable"
export SERVER_PORT=9090
export BASE_URL="http://localhost:9090/fhir/r4"
./fhir-server

Configuration precedence is:

environment variable > configuration file > built-in default

See the complete configuration reference before deploying the server.