Dozzle with Docker Compose

What Dozzle needs

Only figures Dozzle's own documentation publishes, each linked to the page it is on. Where the project gives no number, this page does not invent one.

On top of this, Caddy (the reverse proxy in the file) is a single small container.

Which hardware Dozzle has images for

Read from each image's manifest list in its registry (anonymous, read-only) when this page was built. An app counts for a CPU only if every one of its images lists it.

• x86-64 PC or NAS (linux/amd64): every image has a build.
• Raspberry Pi 4/5, 64-bit OS (linux/arm64): every image has a build.
• Raspberry Pi 3 or Zero 2 W, 32-bit OS (linux/arm/v7): every image has a build.

A manifest says an image exists for a CPU, not how well Dozzle runs on it: a build for arm64 or arm/v7 can still be too slow or need more memory than the board has. The RAM and disk Dozzle publishes are in the table above and, for a whole set of apps against a Raspberry Pi, on Will it run on my machine?. A tag like latest can move to a new digest after the date checked.

docker-compose.yml

This is exactly what the builder writes for Dozzle alone on example.org: the official definition with its published ports removed and Caddy added in front.

# docker-compose.yml built at dankhost.com for: Dozzle
# Each app block is its official compose definition. Only the names were prefixed with
# the app slug (services, containers, volumes, bind folders, .env variables) so any set of
# apps can share one file; other differences are listed under "Changed:" in each block.
# Only Caddy publishes ports. Secrets live in .env next to this file.

services:
  # ---- Caddy: the one reverse proxy, HTTPS certificates from Let's Encrypt ----
  # Source: https://caddyserver.com/docs/running (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Source: https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/wiki/Using-Docker-Compose (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Caddyfile goes in ./caddy/Caddyfile. Fixed address 172.30.0.2 so apps can trust it exactly.
  caddy:
    image: "caddy:2"
    container_name: "caddy"
    restart: "unless-stopped"
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
      - "443:443/udp"
    volumes:
      - "./caddy:/etc/caddy"
      - "caddy-data:/data"
      - "caddy-config:/config"
    networks:
      proxy:
        ipv4_address: "172.30.0.2"

  # ---- Dozzle (logs.example.org) ----
  # Source: https://dozzle.dev/guide/getting-started (checked 2026-09-29)
  # Source: https://dozzle.dev/guide/authentication (checked 2026-09-29)
  # Source: https://dozzle.dev/guide/authentication/simple (checked 2026-09-29)
  # Source: https://dozzle.dev/guide/changing-base (checked 2026-09-29)
  # Changed: Removed the documented '8080:8080' port; Caddy reaches dozzle:8080 on the proxy network. The security page says to publish only the proxy.
  #          Dozzle streams logs as server-sent events, and its reverse-proxy page gives Caddy flush_interval -1 so they are not buffered; that line is inside the reverse_proxy block.
  #          DOZZLE_AUTH_PROVIDER: simple is turned on, one of the commented-out lines of the documented file, because the security page says to "always put Dozzle behind authentication" when it is reachable from the internet. /data is ./data, as on the Simple Authentication page, so users.yml can be written there.
  # ELEVATED ACCESS (Docker socket): mounted as in Dozzle's docs: that is how it reads the containers and their logs. Its security page: the socket gives Dozzle "root-equivalent access to the host", and a :ro mount would not limit the API. Actions and shell access stay off (the default), and a login is on.
  dozzle:
    image: "amir20/dozzle:latest"
    container_name: "dozzle"
    volumes:
      - "/var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock"
      - "./dozzle/data:/data"
    environment:
      DOZZLE_AUTH_PROVIDER: "simple"
    networks:
      proxy: {}

networks:
  # Pinned so the trusted-proxy address given to each app (172.30.0.2) is exact.
  # If "docker compose up" reports "Pool overlaps", change 172.30.0 here, in Caddy's
  # ipv4_address and in every trusted-proxy value to a free 172.x.0 range.
  proxy:
    ipam:
      config:
        - subnet: "172.30.0.0/24"
          ip_range: "172.30.0.128/25"
          gateway: "172.30.0.1"

volumes:
  caddy-data:
  caddy-config:

Caddyfile save as caddy/Caddyfile

Caddy gets and renews the HTTPS certificate for logs.example.org by itself once the DNS record points at your server and ports 80 and 443 reach it.

# Caddyfile built at dankhost.com. Save it as ./caddy/Caddyfile next to docker-compose.yml.
# Caddy gets and renews a Let's Encrypt certificate for each name below by itself,
# once the DNS records point at this server and ports 80 and 443 reach it.

# Dozzle
logs.example.org {
	reverse_proxy dozzle:8080 {
		flush_interval -1
	}
}

Already running nginx, Nginx Proxy Manager, Caddy or Traefik? The reverse-proxy settings Dozzle needs, for all four, each cited to Dozzle's own docs.

.env

Dozzle needs no secret here; the builder adds nothing you have to fill in by hand.

# .env for Dozzle, from dankhost.com/app/dozzle/. Nothing here is secret.
# Keep this file private (chmod 600).
# None of the chosen apps needs a variable here.

What Dozzle needs beyond the proxy

Dozzle asks for more than an ordinary container. The compose file keeps what the project documents and labels each item with an # ELEVATED ACCESS comment; /check/ flags it too, as it would in any file.

• Docker socket: mounted as in Dozzle's docs: that is how it reads the containers and their logs. Its security page: the socket gives Dozzle "root-equivalent access to the host", and a :ro mount would not limit the API. Actions and shell access stay off (the default), and a login is on.

Changes from the official file

Besides prefixing every service, container, volume, folder and variable with dozzle (so any set of apps can share one file), these are all the differences from what the project documents:

• Removed the documented '8080:8080' port; Caddy reaches dozzle:8080 on the proxy network. The security page says to publish only the proxy.
• Dozzle streams logs as server-sent events, and its reverse-proxy page gives Caddy flush_interval -1 so they are not buffered; that line is inside the reverse_proxy block.
• DOZZLE_AUTH_PROVIDER: simple is turned on, one of the commented-out lines of the documented file, because the security page says to "always put Dozzle behind authentication" when it is reachable from the internet. /data is ./data, as on the Simple Authentication page, so users.yml can be written there.

Notes for Dozzle behind the proxy

• Before the first start, create the login file with Dozzle's generate command (it asks for the password): mkdir -p ./dozzle/data && docker run -it --rm amir20/dozzle:latest generate admin > ./dozzle/data/users.yml
• Every container's log is visible to anyone who logs in, and logs often contain tokens and addresses. The security page also says to keep actions and shell access off unless you need them; this file leaves both off.
• Dozzle's docs use the image tag 'latest'. The documented file sets no restart policy: run "docker compose up -d" after a reboot, or add restart: unless-stopped.

Back it up

Dozzle publishes no backup procedure, and stores no logs: they stay with Docker. Its /data holds users.yml and the settings each user saves.

Below is the BACKUP.md the builder writes next to the compose file above: which of its folders and volumes hold data, what to copy with which container stopped, and a restore check. Pick more apps in the builder and it covers them all in one file.

# BACKUP.md built at dankhost.com for: Dozzle

What to copy from the docker-compose.yml built with this file, the database dump each project documents (rewritten for the service names in that file), what to copy with which container stopped, and how to check the result. Run every command in the folder that holds docker-compose.yml.

The folders are owned by the containers' users: put sudo in front of tar if it says "Permission denied". Named volumes live under /var/lib/docker/volumes, not next to the compose file, so they are copied through a throwaway ubuntu container (Docker's documented --volumes-from method). tar makes a full copy each run; for large folders an incremental tool (restic, borg, rsync) saves time and space.

Never run "docker compose down -v" on this file: it deletes the named volumes of every app in it.

## Before you start

    BACKUP=/mnt/backup/selfhost   # change this: a disk or machine other than this server's system disk
    mkdir -p "$BACKUP"

## Every time: the three stack files

    tar czf "$BACKUP/stack-files.tar.gz" docker-compose.yml .env caddy

.env holds the database passwords and secret keys the apps were set up with; keep this archive as private as the data.

## Caddy (the reverse proxy)

Caddy's docs: 'The data directory must not be treated as a cache.' It holds the TLS certificates and their private keys; without it Caddy has to ask Let's Encrypt for every certificate again.

- caddy-data (named volume, /data in caddy)
  BACK UP: TLS certificates, private keys, OCSP staples.
- caddy-config (named volume, /config in caddy)
  SKIP: the last active configuration, kept for 'caddy run --resume', which this setup does not use: it starts from the Caddyfile.
- ./caddy (/etc/caddy in caddy)
  IN stack-files.tar.gz: the Caddyfile, copied with the stack files above.

Copy (Caddy keeps serving while you copy):

    docker run --rm --volumes-from caddy -v "$BACKUP":/backup ubuntu tar cvf /backup/caddy-data.tar /data

Restore check:

    tar tf "$BACKUP/caddy-data.tar" > /dev/null && echo OK
    docker run --rm --volumes-from caddy -v "$BACKUP":/backup ubuntu bash -c "cd /data && tar xvf /backup/caddy-data.tar --strip 1"

Sources:
- Caddy docs: Conventions, Data directory: https://caddyserver.com/docs/conventions#data-directory (checked 2026-09-24)
- Docker docs: Volumes, Back up, restore, or migrate data volumes: https://docs.docker.com/engine/storage/volumes/#back-up-restore-or-migrate-data-volumes (checked 2026-09-24)

## Dozzle

Dozzle publishes no backup procedure, and stores no logs: they stay with Docker. Its /data holds users.yml and the settings each user saves.

What this compose mounts:
- /var/run/docker.sock (/var/run/docker.sock in dozzle)
  SKIP: the host's Docker socket, not Dozzle data.
- ./dozzle/data (/data in dozzle)
  BACK UP: users.yml (the logins) and saved user settings.

1. Copy (Dozzle keeps running):
   Dozzle only writes a user's settings when they change them, so the folder can be copied while it runs.

    tar czf "$BACKUP/dozzle-data.tar.gz" ./dozzle/data

Restore check:

    tar tzf "$BACKUP/dozzle-data.tar.gz" > /dev/null && echo OK

Put a copy back (with Dozzle stopped):

    tar xzf "$BACKUP/dozzle-data.tar.gz"   # recreates ./dozzle/data; move the old folder aside first

Put ./dozzle/data back and run docker compose up -d.

Sources:
- Dozzle docs: Simple Authentication (DOZZLE_AUTH_PROVIDER: simple, /data/users.yml): https://dozzle.dev/guide/authentication/simple (checked 2026-09-29)
- Docker docs: Volumes, Back up, restore, or migrate data volumes: https://docs.docker.com/engine/storage/volumes/#back-up-restore-or-migrate-data-volumes (checked 2026-09-29)

Sources

Every page below was fetched on the date shown.

• Dozzle README on GitHub checked 2026-09-29 (what it does)
• Dozzle docs: Getting Started (docker-compose.yml, docker.sock, /data) checked 2026-09-29 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• Dozzle docs: Authentication (Security Considerations, generating users.yml) checked 2026-09-29 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• Dozzle docs: Simple Authentication (DOZZLE_AUTH_PROVIDER: simple, /data/users.yml) checked 2026-09-29 (compose definition and proxy settings, backup plan)
• Dozzle docs: Reverse Proxy & Base Path (SSE, buffering, nginx, Caddy flush_interval -1) checked 2026-09-29 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• Caddy docs: Keep Caddy running (Docker Compose section) checked 2026-09-23 (Caddy)
• Vaultwarden wiki: Caddy with HTTP challenge (uses the caddy:2 image) checked 2026-09-23 (Caddy)
• Docker docs: Volumes, Back up, restore, or migrate data volumes checked 2026-09-29 (backup plan)
• Caddy docs: Conventions, Data directory checked 2026-09-24 (backup plan)

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