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Docker Installation (External Caddy)

docs/docs/en/get-started/installation/docker-caddy.mdx

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Docker Installation (External Caddy)

In this setup, the NocoBase app container and the Caddy container run separately. You can start with Docker Installation (Built-in Nginx) and then switch the entry service to an external Caddy container.

When to use this setup

  • You want to deploy NocoBase and the web server separately
  • You want to simplify reverse proxy and HTTPS configuration with Caddy
  • You want to expose only the proxy container to the public network

docker-compose.yml example

If you need the full image, replace latest-no-nginx with latest-full-no-nginx.

The 13000:80 mapping is only for convenient local testing, so it does not occupy the standard host ports directly. In production, you usually do not keep using 13000:80; instead, let the external Caddy container map directly to the host 80 and 443 ports.

yml
networks:
  nocobase:
    driver: bridge

services:
  app:
    image: nocobase/nocobase:latest-no-nginx
    restart: always
    depends_on:
      - postgres
    networks:
      - nocobase
    environment:
      - APP_KEY=your-secret-key
      - DB_DIALECT=postgres
      - DB_HOST=postgres
      - DB_PORT=5432
      - DB_DATABASE=nocobase
      - DB_USER=nocobase
      - DB_PASSWORD=nocobase
      - TZ=Etc/UTC
      - NOCOBASE_EXTRACT_CLIENT_ASSETS=true
      - NOCOBASE_PROXY_PROVIDER=caddy
      - NOCOBASE_PROXY_STORAGE_PATH=/app/nocobase/storage
      - NOCOBASE_PROXY_UPSTREAM_HOST=app
    volumes:
      - ./storage:/app/nocobase/storage

  caddy:
    image: caddy:2
    restart: always
    depends_on:
      - app
    networks:
      - nocobase
    volumes:
      - ./storage:/app/nocobase/storage
    command: >
      /bin/sh -c '
        while [ ! -f /app/nocobase/storage/.nocobase/proxy/caddy/nocobase.caddy ]; do
          echo "waiting for nocobase.caddy..."
          sleep 1
        done
        ln -sf /app/nocobase/storage/.nocobase/proxy/caddy/nocobase.caddy /etc/caddy/Caddyfile
        caddy run --config /etc/caddy/Caddyfile --adapter caddyfile
      '
    ports:
      # This is only a local testing example.
      - "13000:80"
      # In production, usually change it to:
      # - "80:80"
      # - "443:443"

  postgres:
    image: postgres:16
    restart: always
    command: postgres -c wal_level=logical
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: nocobase
      POSTGRES_DB: nocobase
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: nocobase
    volumes:
      - ./storage/db/postgres:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    networks:
      - nocobase

Key points

  • NOCOBASE_EXTRACT_CLIENT_ASSETS=true extracts client assets and generates proxy config
  • NOCOBASE_PROXY_PROVIDER=caddy tells the app to generate Caddy config
  • NOCOBASE_PROXY_UPSTREAM_HOST=app lets the Caddy container reach the app service through the Compose network
  • ./storage must be mounted into both the app and caddy containers so they can share proxy config, static assets, and uploaded files
  • The caddy container should wait until nocobase.caddy is generated, then link it to /etc/caddy/Caddyfile with ln -sf
  • Expose only the Caddy container port to the host. For testing, you can start with 13000:80; in production, you usually expose the host 80 and 443 ports directly, while the app service does not need to expose its port to the host

If you use a local host Caddy

If your Caddy is installed directly on the host instead of running in a Docker container, it is better to use a separate docker-compose.yml. In this setup, the app service must expose a host port directly, and the proxy-related environment variables should use host-side values.

You can use a docker-compose.yml like this:

yml
networks:
  nocobase:
    driver: bridge

services:
  app:
    image: nocobase/nocobase:latest-no-nginx
    restart: always
    depends_on:
      - postgres
    networks:
      - nocobase
    environment:
      - APP_KEY=your-secret-key
      - DB_DIALECT=postgres
      - DB_HOST=postgres
      - DB_PORT=5432
      - DB_DATABASE=nocobase
      - DB_USER=nocobase
      - DB_PASSWORD=nocobase
      - TZ=Etc/UTC
      - NOCOBASE_EXTRACT_CLIENT_ASSETS=true
      - NOCOBASE_PROXY_PROVIDER=caddy
      - NOCOBASE_PROXY_STORAGE_PATH=/path/to/your-project/storage
      - NOCOBASE_PROXY_UPSTREAM_HOST=127.0.0.1
      - NOCOBASE_PROXY_UPSTREAM_PORT=13000
    volumes:
      - ./storage:/app/nocobase/storage
    ports:
      - "13000:13000"

  postgres:
    image: postgres:16
    restart: always
    command: postgres -c wal_level=logical
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: nocobase
      POSTGRES_DB: nocobase
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: nocobase
    volumes:
      - ./storage/db/postgres:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    networks:
      - nocobase

In this variant:

  • NOCOBASE_PROXY_STORAGE_PATH should be the absolute host path of your storage directory
  • NOCOBASE_PROXY_UPSTREAM_HOST should be 127.0.0.1
  • The app service must keep ports, so the local Caddy can reach the app through 127.0.0.1:13000

After the app container starts, wait for the config file to be generated, then link it into the local Caddy config path:

bash
while [ ! -f ./storage/.nocobase/proxy/caddy/nocobase.caddy ]; do
  echo "waiting for nocobase.caddy..."
  sleep 1
done

sudo ln -sf "$(pwd)/storage/.nocobase/proxy/caddy/nocobase.caddy" /etc/caddy/Caddyfile
sudo caddy validate --config /etc/caddy/Caddyfile --adapter caddyfile
sudo systemctl reload caddy

If your host Caddy does not use /etc/caddy/Caddyfile, replace the link target with your own config path. Usually it is safer to keep nocobase.caddy as the main entry file instead of copying its content manually.