Self-Hosted Sentry Alternative | Telebugs Error Tracking

What is it?

Telebugs is a refreshingly simple, installable error tracking system and a drop-in Sentry alternative that collects, groups, and notifies you about errors in your applications. Fix bugs faster, keep your data secure and under your control. Since you own the code and host it yourself, you have complete freedom to customize it to fit your needs.

If your team uses AI coding tools, Telebugs can also expose production error context through MCP error tracking with scoped access, so your editor can inspect real reports without turning your error tracker into another hosted data silo.

What platforms are supported?

Telebugs works with Sentry SDKs across frontend, backend, worker, and mobile apps. Dedicated guides cover popular stacks such as React, Next.js, Vue, Rails, Laravel, Django, Python, and Go; the supported platforms matrix covers Angular, Svelte, Astro, Swift, .NET, ASP.NET Core, Spring Boot, and more.

Just install the SDK for your platform, plug in your Telebugs instance URL, and send your first error report in minutes.

But we already have Sentry

Sentry is powerful, but many teams mainly use it for production error tracking. If that is your workflow, a broad hosted platform can mean recurring usage bills for features you may not need every day. Telebugs keeps the error-tracking part focused: self-host it, keep your Sentry SDKs, and pay once.

Just compare the pricing for yourself

If the hosted bill is the thing that hurts, compare Telebugs as a Sentry alternative. For a narrower cost-first view, read the cheap Sentry alternative breakdown or the pricing details.

But Sentry can be self-hosted too

Yes, but “self-hosted” is not the same as “simple to run.” Sentry is the full platform, with a lot of moving parts; in one production-ish setup, that meant 58+ services just to track errors. Telebugs is for the smaller job: keep your Sentry SDKs, run one focused backend, and spend your maintenance time fixing app bugs instead of your error tracker.

We wrote the full self-hosted Sentry comparison for teams weighing that tradeoff. If you are already running it and mostly want out, the tired of self-hosting Sentry guide is the shorter, more practical path.

See for yourself how simple it can be:

I don’t want to manage my data

Hosted tools can handle the infrastructure for you, but that means production error data leaves your boundary and falls under another vendor's data, retention, and product policies.

With Telebugs, there’s no complexity to manage. It just works. Any developer can install the SDK and start tracking errors from day one, with no hosted error-data silo, no heavy onboarding, and no broad observability stack to operate. For retention and purging details, see the data retention and compliance guide. If you are still deciding whether owning the backend is worth it, the self-hosted error tracking guide covers the tradeoffs. It’s that simple.

Here’s how it works

Create a project, give it a name, error reporting timezone, and choose a platform (JavaScript, Rails, React, etc).

Hop over to the Sentry documentation, find the correct SDK, and install it. Copy the DSN key.

Paste the DSN key into your application, and you’re done. Telebugs will start tracking errors in your app.

Errors are grouped together and sorted by frequency. Click any error to view more details about it.

Error reports include everything you need to fix bugs: backtrace, breadcrumbs, HTTP request, context, and more. You can even attach custom data.

Connect an AI coding tool over MCP, and let it inspect the same production error context you see in Telebugs.

Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, OpenAI/Codex, and other MCP clients can ask Telebugs for error groups, reports, backtraces, breadcrumbs, and notes after you authorize scoped access. Read more about MCP error tracking for self-hosted errors.

Get notified about errors via email, or PWA push notifications.

Bring your whole team on board by sharing an invite link.

Add as many projects as you like. Monitor your entire stack from a helicopter view.

Okay, but Sentry offers APM. And you?

Sentry tracks errors, performance, code coverage, and everything but the kitchen sink. Telebugs tracks errors. That’s it. It is designed for one job: catching errors. No bloat, no upsells, no distractions. Pure, simple, error tracking. Done right.

It’s appropriate for many areas

• As your primary error tracker. Had enough of bloated, subscription-based tools? Telebugs is here to help. Pay once, host it yourself, and track errors without the headaches.
• As a backup for Sentry. Keep Telebugs on standby for when Sentry goes down or hits its quota. Telebugs has no event limits, so you can track everything.
• For development and staging environments. Deploy Telebugs on your staging servers and save Sentry’s expensive event quotas for production.
• For agencies and consultants. One install for all your client projects. Isolated data per client, no Telebugs event quotas, and easy handoff when they’re ready to take over. See our guide for agencies & consultants.
• For regulated industries. Industries like healthcare, finance, or government often have strict data compliance requirements. Telebugs supports compliance with regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and PECR by allowing you to keep your error data on-premise, ensuring it never leaves your infrastructure and eliminating third-party data processing. Read more about privacy-first error tracking.
• For bootstrapped companies. Eliminate a monthly expense that grows with your success. Error tracking shouldn’t eat into your margins as you scale.
• For low-resource environments. Run Telebugs on a cheap VPS, ARM server, or internal machine without over-provisioning hardware just to catch production errors.
• As a learning tool. Own the code, study it, and customize it to fit your exact needs. Let Telebugs’ simplicity and efficiency inspire your team.

System requirements & installation

Prerequisites

Because Telebugs is self-hosted software, you’ll need a few things to get started:

• A domain name. You’ll need to configure your DNS to point to the IP address of the server where Telebugs will run.
• A server with internet access and Docker support. This can be your own machine, a virtual private server (VPS) like DigitalOcean, or a cloud service like AWS. The minimum specs are 1GB of RAM and 1 CPU core. Note that Telebugs is delivered as a Docker container image, so your hosting environment must allow Docker installation and execution. Some shared hosting providers may not support Docker due to restrictions on containerization or operating system compatibility.
• Some basic technical skills. We’ll give you a single terminal command to run on your server, and it’ll handle everything from setup to generating an SSL certificate (including installing Docker if it's not already present).

We’ve created a straightforward Telebugs manual to guide you through the setup, which should only take about 10 minutes.

Also, here’s a video showing how simple it is to install Telebugs.

Hardware requirements

Telebugs runs in a Docker container, which requires a compatible operating system (typically Linux-based). It can run on your local hardware, in the cloud (e.g., AWS), or on a VPS like DigitalOcean. For Docker-specific requirements, ensure your server meets the Docker installation prerequisites, such as a 64-bit kernel and sufficient privileges to run containers.

Telebugs is designed to run comfortably on modest VPS hardware. Use this table as a rough sizing guide:

Server	Processed reports/second	Processed reports/day
2 vCPU / 4 GB RAM	~50	~4,320,000
4 vCPU / 8 GB RAM	~100	~8,640,000
8 vCPU / 16 GB RAM	~200	~17,280,000
16 vCPU / 32 GB RAM	~400	~34,560,000

When you set up Telebugs using the telebugs command, it automatically configures an SSL certificate for your selected domain or subdomain. For those with strong technical expertise, you also have the option to deploy Telebugs directly using Docker on your internal network. For benchmark details and sizing notes, see the system requirements in the manual. For the buyer-side operations checklist, read installation expectations.

Frequently asked questions

Just $299 once, really? No error quota fees?

Yes. Telebugs is $299 USD once: no Telebugs subscription, event quota, project limit, or teammate seat fee. You buy the software and run it on your server; your practical limit is your infrastructure and retention policy.

I’ve never used Sentry. Can I still use Telebugs?

Yes. Telebugs is a standalone error tracker that works with any application capable of sending errors to a server. Sentry SDK compatibility makes setup easier, and you can also write a custom integration when needed. No Sentry experience is required.

How should we compare Telebugs with other error trackers?

Start with the constraint that actually matters to your team: hosted SaaS, self-hosting, open-source licensing, Sentry SDK compatibility, data control, or operating cost. The error tracking alternatives overview lays out those shapes without pretending every tool solves the same problem. If you already use Sentry, the Sentry migration guide gives you the rollout checklist.

Does everyone need to purchase or install it?

Not at all. Only one person, whether it’s you, your IT admin, or someone else, needs to buy Telebugs, download it, and set it up on a server (yours or a shared one). Once it’s installed, your entire team can access it through their browsers or phones, just like any other collaborative tool. No extra purchases or downloads required. For infrastructure review, see security and trust and installation expectations.

Can one Telebugs installation track multiple company apps?

Yes, one Telebugs installation can track errors from all your company’s apps. Just send errors to the same instance on your licensed domain. No extra licenses needed. One setup, all apps covered.

How do updates work? Do they cost extra?

When internet access is available, Telebugs can check once a day for updates and install eligible 1.x releases automatically. You can disable automatic updates and update manually if your environment requires tighter network control. Updates within the same major version (like 1.0 to 1.1) are free. A future major version may be a separate paid upgrade, and you can decide whether to take it.

Are native iOS and Android apps available?

Telebugs supports Progressive Web App (PWA) mode, so you can install it on your phone and use it like a native app. It also supports push notifications (if enabled), so you’ll get error notifications even when the app isn’t open.

Is customer support included?

Yes, email support is included. We're happy to help occasionally with simple issues, but we can’t troubleshoot complex setups or problems caused by custom code changes. For feature requests, please email us.

Can AI coding tools inspect my Telebugs errors?

Yes. Telebugs includes an MCP error tracking endpoint that lets authorized MCP clients inspect projects, error groups, reports, backtraces, breadcrumbs, and notes. Access is scoped, uses OAuth, and can be revoked from account settings.

Can we run Telebugs on a shared server like DigitalOcean?

Yes, a small VPS such as DigitalOcean can work when you can run Docker. Traditional shared hosting that only supports PHP and MySQL usually will not. For specific details, check the system requirements section and the low-resource error tracking guide.

Can we reuse any of the code in another product?

No, you cannot reuse or repurpose Telebugs’ code for other products. While you’re welcome to review and modify the code for your own use within Telebugs, using it outside of this scope isn’t allowed. Please check the license agreement for more details.

Can we modify Telebugs for our own purposes?

Yes. You can modify Telebugs for your own installation under the license. Custom changes are your responsibility to maintain, and future updates may overwrite or conflict with local modifications.

Can we run Telebugs without internet access?

Yes. Telebugs is self-hosted, so the core product runs on your server and does not depend on a hosted Telebugs service to collect and view errors. In isolated environments, disable automatic update checks and apply updates manually when you choose.

Can we buy one copy of Telebugs and run it in multiple places?

Each Telebugs license covers a single domain. If you want to run it on multiple servers with different domain names, you’ll need to purchase a separate license for each one.

Can I import my Sentry data?

Telebugs does not currently support a direct historical Sentry import. Most teams start fresh for new errors, keep their old Sentry account or self-hosted instance around temporarily, and move projects over one DSN at a time. If historical migration is critical, treat it as a custom script and test it carefully.

Do you offer refunds?

Because Telebugs is downloadable source software, purchases are not refundable after delivery. Use the public demo or request a private demo before purchase if your team needs hands-on evaluation.