Docker Compose

Docker Compose is the recommended installation path for long-running OpenPost deployments.

Prerequisites

• Docker Engine
• Docker Compose
• A writable persistent volume or bind mount for /data

Create docker-compose.yml

services:
  openpost:
    image: ghcr.io/rodrgds/openpost:latest
    container_name: openpost
    restart: unless-stopped
    env_file:
      - .env
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    volumes:
      - openpost_data:/data
    environment:
      - OPENPOST_PORT=8080
      - OPENPOST_DATABASE_PATH=/data/db/openpost.db
      - OPENPOST_MEDIA_PATH=/data/media
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "wget", "--no-verbose", "--tries=1", "--spider", "http://localhost:8080/api/v1/health"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 3s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 10s

volumes:
  openpost_data:

Create .env

From the repository root:

cp .env.example .env

If you only copied the Compose file, create .env manually and set at least:

• OPENPOST_JWT_SECRET
• OPENPOST_ENCRYPTION_KEY
• OPENPOST_APP_URL
• OPENPOST_PUBLIC_URL
• OPENPOST_MEDIA_URL
• Provider credentials for the networks you want to enable

For local testing, http://localhost:8080 is fine for the public URL values. In production, use your real HTTPS origin.

Generate secrets

openssl rand -base64 32

Generate one value for OPENPOST_JWT_SECRET and another for OPENPOST_ENCRYPTION_KEY.

Optional hardening after setup:

• OPENPOST_DISABLE_REGISTRATIONS=true to block new self-service signups after the first admin account has been created

Start OpenPost

docker compose up -d

Check health

curl http://localhost:8080/api/v1/health

Expected response:

{"status":"ok"}

Where data is stored

• Database: /data/db/openpost.db
• Media: /data/media

Do not store either on ephemeral container storage.

Upgrade flow

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d
docker compose logs -f openpost

Production warnings

• Put OpenPost behind HTTPS before enabling OAuth in production.
• Set OPENPOST_APP_URL, OPENPOST_PUBLIC_URL, and OPENPOST_MEDIA_URL to public URLs.
• Back up both the SQLite database and media directory.

Next steps

• Reverse proxy
• Production checklist
• Provider setup