Forgejo with Docker Compose

What Forgejo needs

Only figures Forgejo'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.

docker-compose.yml

This is exactly what the builder writes for Forgejo 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: Forgejo
# 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"

  # ---- Forgejo (git.example.org) ----
  # Source: https://forgejo.org/docs/latest/admin/installation/docker/ (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Source: https://forgejo.org/docs/latest/admin/setup/reverse-proxy/ (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Source: https://forgejo.org/docs/latest/admin/config-cheat-sheet/ (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Changed: Removed the documented '3000:3000' port; Caddy reaches forgejo-server:3000 on the proxy network.
  #          Removed the documented '222:22' SSH port, because in this file only Caddy publishes ports. Git works over HTTPS only, and FORGEJO__server__DISABLE_SSH is set to true (the cheat sheet's 'Disable SSH feature when it's not available') so Forgejo stops offering SSH clone addresses that would not work.
  #          Added FORGEJO__server__ROOT_URL, set to https://git.example.org/, using the documented FORGEJO__[SECTION]__[KEY] variable form; the cheat sheet says to override ROOT_URL when internal and external URLs differ, as they do in Docker.
  #          The documented container_name 'forgejo' and network 'forgejo' are replaced by the builder's names: the service runs as forgejo-server on the proxy network.
  #          Uses the documented default SQLite database; the MySQL and PostgreSQL variants on the same page are optional.
  forgejo-server:
    image: "codeberg.org/forgejo/forgejo:16"
    container_name: "forgejo-server"
    environment:
      USER_UID: "1000"
      USER_GID: "1000"
      FORGEJO__server__ROOT_URL: "https://git.example.org/"
      FORGEJO__server__DISABLE_SSH: "true"
    restart: "always"
    volumes:
      - "./forgejo/forgejo:/data"
      - "/etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro"
    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 git.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.

# Forgejo
git.example.org {
	reverse_proxy forgejo-server:3000
}

.env

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

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

Changes from the official file

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

• Removed the documented '3000:3000' port; Caddy reaches forgejo-server:3000 on the proxy network.
• Removed the documented '222:22' SSH port, because in this file only Caddy publishes ports. Git works over HTTPS only, and FORGEJO__server__DISABLE_SSH is set to true (the cheat sheet's 'Disable SSH feature when it's not available') so Forgejo stops offering SSH clone addresses that would not work.
• Added FORGEJO__server__ROOT_URL, set to https://git.example.org/, using the documented FORGEJO__[SECTION]__[KEY] variable form; the cheat sheet says to override ROOT_URL when internal and external URLs differ, as they do in Docker.
• The documented container_name 'forgejo' and network 'forgejo' are replaced by the builder's names: the service runs as forgejo-server on the proxy network.
• Uses the documented default SQLite database; the MySQL and PostgreSQL variants on the same page are optional.

Notes for Forgejo behind the proxy

• SSH clone is not set up. This file publishes no port for Forgejo's SSH server, so clone and push over HTTPS only: git clone https://git.example.org/<user>/<repo>.git. Git asks for your Forgejo user name and password, or an access token (Settings > Applications) if you use two-factor login. SSH would need a host port such as the docs' '222:22', which this builder never adds.
• The first visit opens Forgejo's initial configuration page, and it is open to whoever gets there first: open the address straight away, keep SQLite, check that the base URL reads https://git.example.org/, and create the administrator account on that page.
• The docs say ./forgejo/forgejo must be owned by the UID/GID in USER_UID/USER_GID (1000 here) or the container may not start. Run 'id -u' and 'id -g' and change both values if yours differ.

Back it up

Forgejo's upgrade guide calls a point-in-time copy of all the storage Forgejo uses the reliable backup, and says only a shut-down Forgejo guarantees a consistent state. In this compose everything (app.ini, the SQLite database, repositories and uploads) is in one folder.

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: Forgejo

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)

## Forgejo

Forgejo's upgrade guide calls a point-in-time copy of all the storage Forgejo uses the reliable backup, and says only a shut-down Forgejo guarantees a consistent state. In this compose everything (app.ini, the SQLite database, repositories and uploads) is in one folder.

What this compose mounts:
- ./forgejo/forgejo (/data in forgejo-server)
  BACK UP: Forgejo's whole /data: app.ini with the instance's secret keys, the SQLite database, the git repositories and uploaded files.

Forgejo also has 'forgejo dump', which zips files and database into one file. The upgrade guide warns that the SQL copy inside has long-standing bugs when loaded into a new database, and that with SQLite no separate dump is needed because the database file is in the zip. To make one as well, run this before step 1 (the image runs Forgejo as the git user; the zip lands in ./forgejo/forgejo and so goes into the copy):

    docker compose exec -u git -w /data forgejo-server forgejo dump -c /data/gitea/conf/app.ini

1. Stop forgejo-server. Forgejo's guide: shutting Forgejo down during the backup is the way to be sure its state is consistent.

    docker compose stop forgejo-server

2. Copy while forgejo-server is stopped:

    tar czf "$BACKUP/forgejo-forgejo.tar.gz" ./forgejo/forgejo

3. Start it again:

    docker compose start forgejo-server

Restore check:

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

Put a copy back (with forgejo-server stopped):

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

Stop it, put ./forgejo/forgejo back, start it. Then run the check Forgejo's guide gives for verifying an instance:

    docker compose exec -u git forgejo-server forgejo doctor check --all

Sources:
- Forgejo docs: Upgrade guide (Backup, Verify Forgejo works): https://forgejo.org/docs/latest/admin/upgrade/ (checked 2026-09-24)
- Forgejo docs: Command-line interface (dump): https://forgejo.org/docs/latest/admin/command-line/ (checked 2026-09-24)

Sources

Every page below was fetched on the date shown.

• forgejo.org front page checked 2026-09-23 (what it does, what it replaces)
• forgejo.org front page (Lightweight and performant) checked 2026-09-23 (hardware requirements)
• Forgejo docs: Installation with Docker (docker-compose example, FORGEJO__section__KEY variables) checked 2026-09-23 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• Forgejo docs: Reverse proxy (Caddy HTTPS example) checked 2026-09-23 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• Forgejo docs: Configuration Cheat Sheet (ROOT_URL, DISABLE_SSH) checked 2026-09-23 (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)
• Forgejo docs: Upgrade guide (Backup, Verify Forgejo works) checked 2026-09-24 (backup plan)
• Forgejo docs: Command-line interface (dump) checked 2026-09-24 (backup plan)
• Caddy docs: Conventions, Data directory checked 2026-09-24 (backup plan)
• Docker docs: Volumes, Back up, restore, or migrate data volumes checked 2026-09-24 (backup plan)

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