# Can I self host Composio on my own VM?
## Whats going on
I wanted to self host Composio on my own VM instead of using their cloud, so I installed everything and tried to run the CLI there. Every command failed with Error: API Key not provided, either provide API key or export it as COMPOSIO_API_KEY or run composio login. That killed the whole self hosting plan since there was no way around the cloud dependency. The thread is from late 2024 and has the official answer.
## What actually fixes it
There is no supported self hosted path for Composio on your own VM, at least not as of this thread. The tools always need a Composio API key, set COMPOSIO_API_KEY or run composio login first, and the maintainers said they dont support a VM self host setup and might look into it later. So the answer is short: you need the cloud account and an API key, self hosting the whole thing yourself isnt a thing.
## Original thread
https://vectle.com/threads/thr_3MSmrPR7tcrVALnOhCxYvw