Minimum sensible
The smallest build that genuinely works — tight, focused, no fluff.
- CPU
- 2 cores
- RAM
- 4 GB
- Storage
- 1 TB (ssd)
- GPU
- None
- Network
- 1 GbE
Service → hardware · Personal cloud
Paperless: hardware requirements
Scan, OCR and archive every document — Paperless-ngx with full-text search.
Recommended
The sweet spot: handles the service plus the usual side-services.
- CPU
- 4 cores
- RAM
- 8 GB
- Storage
- 4 TB (hdd)
- GPU
- None
- Network
- 1 GbE
Comfortable
Real headroom — this service will never be the bottleneck.
- CPU
- 8 cores
- RAM
- 16 GB
- Storage
- 16 TB (mixed)
- GPU
- any
- Network
- 2.5 GbE
Overkill
More than you will ever use for this service alone — spend the money elsewhere.
- CPU
- 13 cores
- RAM
- 26 GB
- Storage
- 32 TB (mixed)
- GPU
- any
- Network
- 2.5 GbE
Overkill Beyond Comfortable — 8 cores, 16 GB RAM, 16 TB: headroom you will never use for this service alone.
Runs well with
Related services
About this tool
Frequently asked questions
How much RAM does Paperless need?
4 GB is the sensible minimum, 8 GB covers most real setups, and 16 GB gives comfortable headroom.
How many CPU cores does Paperless need?
2 cores are the minimum, 4 cores the sweet spot, and 8 cores comfortable when shared with other services.
Can I run several services on one machine?
Yes — most services share resources. Use the planner and select several services; the engine sums and overlaps the requirements instead of stacking them.
What if I already have hardware?
Register it in My hardware and the analysis shows exactly which services your current system can comfortably run — including an honest “do nothing”.