Using Docker to run Tinode

All images are available at https://hub.docker.com/r/tinode/

1. Install Docker 1.8 or above. The provided dockerfiles are dependent on Docker networking which may not work with the older Docker.

2. Create a bridge network. It's used to connect Tinode container with the database container.

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   $ docker network create tinode-net
   

3. Decide which database backend you want to use: MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB or RethinkDB. Run the selected database container, attaching it to tinode-net network:

   1. MySQL: If you've decided to use MySQL backend, run the official MySQL Docker container:
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   $ docker run --name mysql --network tinode-net --restart always --env MYSQL_ALLOW_EMPTY_PASSWORD=yes -d mysql:5.7
   

   See instructions for more options. MySQL 5.7 or above is required.

   2. PostgreSQL: If you've decided to use PostgreSQL backend, run the official PostgreSQL Docker container:
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   $ docker run --name postgres --network tinode-net --restart always --env POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres -d postgres:13
   

   See instructions for more options. PostgresSQL 13 or above is required.

   The name rethinkdb, mysql, mongodb or postgres in the --name assignment is important. It's used by other containers as a database's host name.

   3. MongoDB: If you've decided to use MongoDB backend, run the official MongoDB Docker container and initialise it as single node replica set (you can change "rs0" if you wish):
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   $ docker run --name mongodb --network tinode-net --restart always -d mongo:latest --replSet "rs0"
   $ docker exec -it mongodb mongosh
   
   # And inside mongo shell:
   > rs.initiate( {"_id": "rs0", "members": [ {"_id": 0, "host": "mongodb:27017"} ]} )
   > quit()
   

   See instructions for more options. MongoDB 4.2 or above is required.

   4. RethinkDB: If you've decided to use RethinkDB backend, run the official RethinkDB Docker container:
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   $ docker run --name rethinkdb --network tinode-net --restart always -d rethinkdb:2.3
   

   See instructions for more options.

4. Run the Tinode container for the appropriate database:

   1. MySQL:
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   $ docker run -p 6060:6060 -d --name tinode-srv --network tinode-net tinode/tinode-mysql:latest
   

   2. PostgreSQL:
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   $ docker run -p 6060:6060 -d --name tinode-srv --network tinode-net tinode/tinode-postgres:latest
   

   3. MongoDB:
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   $ docker run -p 6060:6060 -d --name tinode-srv --network tinode-net tinode/tinode-mongodb:latest
   

   4. RethinkDB:
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   $ docker run -p 6060:6060 -d --name tinode-srv --network tinode-net tinode/tinode-rethinkdb:latest
   

   You can also run Tinode with the tinode/tinode image (which has all of the above DB adapters compiled in). You will need to specify the database adapter via STORE_USE_ADAPTER environment variable. E.g. for mysql, the command line will look like

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   $ docker run -p 6060:6060 -d -e STORE_USE_ADAPTER mysql --name tinode-srv --network tinode-net tinode/tinode:latest
   

   See below for more options.

   The port mapping -p 5678:1234 tells Docker to map container's port 1234 to host's port 5678 making server accessible at http://localhost:5678/. The container will initialize the database with test data on the first run.

   You may replace :latest with a different tag. See all all available tags here:

   • MySQL tags
   • PostgreSQL tags (beta version)
   • MongoDB tags
   • RethinkDB tags
   • All bundle tags

5. Test the installation by pointing your browser to http://localhost:6060/.

Optional

External config file

The container comes with a built-in config file which can be customized with values from the environment variables (see Supported environment variables below). If changes are extensive it may be more convenient to replace the built-in config file with a custom one. In that case map the config file located on your host (e.g. /users/jdoe/new_tinode.conf) to container (e.g. /tinode.conf) using Docker volumes --volume /users/jdoe/new_tinode.conf:/tinode.conf then instruct the container to use the new config --env EXT_CONFIG=/tinode.conf:

$ docker run -p 6060:6060 -d --name tinode-srv --network tinode-net \
		--volume /users/jdoe/new_tinode.conf:/tinode.conf \
		--env EXT_CONFIG=/tinode.conf \
		tinode/tinode-mysql:latest

When EXT_CONFIG is set, most other environment variables are ignored. Consult the table below for a full list.

Resetting or upgrading the database

The database schema may change from time to time. An error Invalid database version 101. Expected 103 means the schema has changed and needs to be updated, in this case from version 101 to version 103. You need to either reset or upgrade the database to continue:

Shut down the Tinode container and remove it:

$ docker stop tinode-srv && docker rm tinode-srv

then repeat step 4 adding --env RESET_DB=true to reset or --env UPGRADE_DB=true to upgrade.

Also, the database is automatically created if missing.

Enable push notifications

Tinode uses Google Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) to send pushes. Follow instructions for obtaining the required FCM credentials.

• Download and save the FCM service account credentials file.
• Obtain values for apiKey, messagingSenderId, projectId, appId, messagingVapidKey. Assuming your Firebase credentials file is named myproject-1234-firebase-adminsdk-abc12-abcdef012345.json and it's saved at /Users/jdoe/, web API key is AIRaNdOmX4ULR-X6ranDomzZ2bHdRanDomq2tbQ, Sender ID 141421356237, Project ID myproject-1234, App ID 1:141421356237:web:abc7de1234fab56cd78abc, VAPID key (a.k.a. "Web Push certificates") is 83_Or_So_Random_Looking_Characters, start the container with the following parameters (using MySQL container as an example):

$ docker run -p 6060:6060 -d --name tinode-srv --network tinode-net \
		-v /Users/jdoe:/config \
		--env FCM_CRED_FILE=/config/myproject-1234-firebase-adminsdk-abc12-abcdef012345.json \
		--env FCM_API_KEY=AIRaNdOmX4ULR-X6ranDomzZ2bHdRanDomq2tbQ \
		--env FCM_APP_ID=1:141421356237:web:abc7de1234fab56cd78abc \
		--env FCM_PROJECT_ID=myproject-1234 \
		--env FCM_SENDER_ID=141421356237 \
		--env FCM_VAPID_KEY=83_Or_So_Random_Looking_Characters \
		tinode/tinode-mysql:latest

Configure video calling

Tinode uses WebRTC for video and audio calls. WebRTC needs Interactive Communication Establishment (ICE) TURN(S) and/or STUN servers to traverse NAT, otherwise calls may not work. Tinode does not include TURN(S) or STUN out of the box. You need to obtain and configure your own service. Once you setup your TURN(S) and/or STUN service, save its configuration to a file, for example /Users/jdoe/turn-config.json and provide path to this file when starting the container:

$ docker run -p 6060:6060 -d --name tinode-srv --network tinode-net \
		-v /Users/jdoe:/config \
		--env ICE_SERVERS_FILE=/config/turn-config.json \
		< ... other config parameters ... >
		tinode/tinode-mysql:latest

The config file uses the following format:

[
  {
    "urls": [
      "stun:stun.example.com"
    ]
  },
  {
    "username": "user-name-to-use-for-authentication-with-the-server",
    "credential": "your-password",
    "urls": [
      "turn:turn.example.com:80?transport=udp",
      "turn:turn.example.com:3478?transport=tcp",
      "turns:turn.example.com:443?transport=tcp",
    ]
  }
]

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Run the chatbot

See instructions.

The chatbot password is generated only when the database is initialized or reset. It's saved to /botdata directory in the container. If you want to keep the data available between container changes, such as image upgrades, make sure the /botdata is a mounted volume (i.e. you always launch the container with --volume botdata:/botdata option).

Supported environment variables

You can specify the following environment variables when issuing docker run command:

A convenient way to generate a desired number of random bytes and base64-encode them on Linux and Mac:

$ openssl rand -base64 <desired length>

Metrics Exporter

See monitoring/exporter/README for information on the Exporter. Container is also available as a part of the Tinode docker distribution: tinode/exporter. Run it with

$ docker run -p 6222:6222 -d --name tinode-exporter --network tinode-net \
		--env SERVE_FOR=<prometheus|influxdb> \
		--env TINODE_ADDR=<tinode metrics endpoint> \
		... <monitoring service specific vars> \
		tinode/exporter:latest

Available variables: