How to Set Up Hi.Events for Virtual & Hybrid Events

Event planning has undergone a significant transformation in recent years. With the rise of virtual and hybrid events, organizers now face new challenges—how do you provide a seamless experience for both in-person and remote attendees? How can you keep participants engaged, track registrations, and ensure your event runs smoothly, whether people are tuning in online or attending in person?

This is where Hi.Events comes in. Hi.Events is an all-in-one platform designed to handle the complexities of managing virtual, hybrid, and in-person events. Whether you’re organizing a conference, a trade show, a webinar, or a social gathering, Hi.Events offers an intuitive interface that makes event management easier and more efficient. It’s a powerful solution for organizing events that offer a truly integrated experience for attendees, both online and offline.

In this article, we’ll guide you through the key features and steps to get started with Hi.Events, helping you create engaging events and ensuring smooth attendee experiences from start to finish.

What is Hi.Events?

Hi.Events is a self-hosted and cloud-based event management platform that caters to both virtual and hybrid events. With its open-source nature, Hi.Events provides flexibility and scalability for event organizers, from small meetups to large conferences. The platform offers various tools for ticketing, registration, attendee engagement, and real-time event analytics, making it an excellent choice for creating professional and interactive events.

Whether your event is fully virtual, hybrid (a mix of in-person and virtual), or traditional, Hi.Events provides the tools you need to:

• Promote your event and sell tickets.
• Engage attendees through live sessions, Q&A, and networking.
• Gather real-time analytics to measure success and optimize future events.

Its user-friendly interface and rich feature set make it an ideal choice for both small businesses and large enterprises looking to create unforgettable event experiences.

Some of the key features of Hi.Events include:

Customizable ticketing: Create and sell tickets directly from the platform, offering different pricing tiers, discounts, and custom fields.

Multi-format events: Support for in-person, virtual, and hybrid events, including live streaming integrations and attendee interactions.

Real-time analytics: Track event metrics like ticket sales, attendee engagement, and live session participation.

Seamless integration: Connect with popular services like Zoom, YouTube, and Vimeo for live streaming, as well as social media and CRM tools for marketing and outreach.

Set up Options

• Docker
• Local Environment

Set up with Docker

The easiest way to deploy Hi.Events is by using Docker, which automates the setup of all the necessary services and dependencies. This method is ideal for quickly getting your event management platform running without needing to dive deep into local development. Check out our article on How to Install and Set up Docker.

Clone the Repository

First, clone the Hi.Events GitHub repository to your machine or server. This will allow you to get access to all the necessary files for the platform.

git clone https://github.com/HiEventsDev/hi.events.git

Navigate to the Docker Setup Directory

Next, change your working directory to the folder where Docker setup files are located.

cd hi.events/docker/all-in-one

Generate Required Keys

Before you can run the application, you need to generate two important keys for the app: APP_KEY and JWT_SECRET. These keys are crucial for ensuring secure communication and authentication.

Check the README.md file in the docker/all-in-one folder for instructions on generating these keys.

Start the Application with Docker Compose

Now, it’s time to launch Hi.Events using Docker Compose. Docker Compose simplifies the process of setting up and managing multi-container Docker applications. This command will pull the necessary Docker images and start the platform.

docker-compose up -d

This will launch all the services in the background, and your Hi.Events platform should be up and running!

Access Your Hi.Events Dashboard

After running the command above, you can access the Hi.Events platform in your web browser. Typically, it will be available at:

http://localhost:3000

From here, you can start configuring your event management system.

Setting Up Hi.Events for Local Development (Optional)

If you want to make custom changes to the platform or need a local development environment, you can follow these steps:

Clone the Repository

Start by cloning the Hi.Events repository, just like in the quick setup process:

git clone https://github.com/HiEventsDev/hi.events.git

Set Up the Development Environment

Next, change into the development directory under docker:

cd hi.events/docker/development

Start the Local Development Environment

To run the application in a local development environment, execute the following script:

./start-dev.sh

By default, the local environment uses unsigned certificates, meaning your browser will show a security warning. You can safely ignore this warning during local development.

Generate Signed Keys for Production (Optional)

If you need to generate signed keys for secure access to your local environment, you can use a tool called mkcert. Here’s how to set it up:

Install mkcert, obtaining the certutil package then obtaining:

sudo apt install libnss3-tools
curl -JLO "https://dl.filippo.io/mkcert/latest?for=linux/amd64"
chmod +x mkcert-v-linux-amd64 sudo cp mkcert-v-linux-amd64 /usr/local/bin/mkcert

Run the following commands to create and install the certificates:

mkcert -install
./start-dev.sh --cert=signed

This will set up a secure environment with HTTPS, and you can start working on your event management platform without worrying about security warnings.

Next Steps: Configuring Hi.Events for Your Event

Once you have Hi.Events set up, you can begin configuring it for your event:

Create events from the admin dashboard with basic event information like name, date, and description.

Set up ticketing with tiers, prices, and any custom fields you want to capture during registration (e.g., attendee preferences or company name).

Integrate streaming for virtual or hybrid events, linking your event to a streaming service like Zoom, YouTube, or Vimeo for seamless video broadcasts.

Customize the events page, personalizing the look and feel with custom branding, logos, and text.

Manage attendees from the dashboard where you can track ticket sales, manage registrations, and communicate with your attendees directly.

Hi.Events is a good option for hosting virtual, hybrid, or in-person events. Its user-friendly interface, powerful features for engagement, and comprehensive analytics make it a standout choice for both small and large events.

Whether you’re organizing a webinar, a conference, or a trade show, Hi.Events provides the tools you need to create an immersive, interactive experience for your attendees and to make your event a success. Click here to learn more about Hi.Events and their documentation for future management.