Grafana with Docker Compose

Grafana Open Source Software (OSS) enables you to query, visualize, alert on, and explore your metrics, logs, and traces wherever they're stored. In the project's words: Grafana documentation: Grafana OSS introduction checked 2026-09-23

Add Grafana to the builder to use your own domain, get its passwords generated in your browser, and combine it with other apps in one file.

What Grafana needs

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

Resource	Minimum	Recommended
RAM	512 MB	not stated
	Published as "Minimum recommended memory". Some features might need more, and the figure covers the Grafana server only, not the data sources such as Prometheus or Loki that it reads from. Source: Grafana docs: Install Grafana (Hardware recommendations) checked 2026-09-23
CPU	1 core	not stated
	Published as "Minimum recommended CPU"; some features might need more. Source: Grafana docs: Install Grafana (Hardware recommendations) checked 2026-09-23
Disk	Not published by the project

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 Grafana alone on example.org: the official definition with its published ports removed and Caddy added in front. Every ${VARIABLE} is defined in the .env below.

# docker-compose.yml built at dankhost.com for: Grafana
# 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"

  # ---- Grafana (grafana.example.org) ----
  # Source: https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/setup-grafana/installation/docker/ (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Source: https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/setup-grafana/configure-grafana/ (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Changed: Removed the documented '3000:3000' port; Caddy reaches grafana:3000 on the proxy network.
  #          GF_SERVER_ROOT_URL (in the docs' example as my.grafana.server over plain HTTP) is your https address; the example's optional GF_PLUGINS_PREINSTALL clock panel is left out.
  #          Added GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD, the environment form (GF_<SECTION>_<KEY>) of the documented [security] admin_password, whose default is 'admin'.
  grafana:
    image: "grafana/grafana-enterprise"
    container_name: "grafana"
    restart: "unless-stopped"
    environment:
      GF_SERVER_ROOT_URL: "https://grafana.example.org/"
      GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD: "${GRAFANA_GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD}"
    volumes:
      - "grafana-storage:/var/lib/grafana"
    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:
  grafana-storage:

Caddyfile save as caddy/Caddyfile

Caddy gets and renews the HTTPS certificate for grafana.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.

# Grafana
grafana.example.org {
	reverse_proxy grafana:3000
}

.env

The secret is left blank here on purpose: a password printed on a public page is the same for everyone who copies it. The builder fills it with random letters and digits made in your browser.

# .env for Grafana, from dankhost.com/app/grafana/. Fill the blank secret before starting.
# Keep this file private (chmod 600).

# Grafana
# 24 random letters and digits: the builder fills this in your browser
GRAFANA_GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD=

Changes from the official file

Besides prefixing every service, container, volume, folder and variable with grafana (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 grafana:3000 on the proxy network.
GF_SERVER_ROOT_URL (in the docs' example as my.grafana.server over plain HTTP) is your https address; the example's optional GF_PLUGINS_PREINSTALL clock panel is left out.
Added GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD, the environment form (GF_<SECTION>_<KEY>) of the documented [security] admin_password, whose default is 'admin'.

Notes for Grafana behind the proxy

Log in as 'admin' with GRAFANA_GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD from .env. Grafana sets this password once, on the first run: changing .env later does not change it; use the profile page instead.
grafana/grafana-enterprise is the edition the docs call recommended and default; it is free and includes every open-source feature. grafana/grafana is the open-source-only image if you prefer it.
Grafana shows data; it does not collect it. Add a data source such as Prometheus, InfluxDB or a database after logging in.

How to run it

At your DNS provider, add an A record named grafana on your domain pointing at the server's public IP address, and forward TCP 80, TCP 443 and UDP 443 to it.
Save the three files in one folder: docker-compose.yml and .env side by side, the Caddyfile at ./caddy/Caddyfile. Replace example.org with your domain in the Caddyfile, the compose file and the .env, or let the builder do it.
Fill the blank GRAFANA_GF_SECURITY_ADMIN_PASSWORD in .env. The builder generates it; on the server, tr -dc A-Za-z0-9 </dev/urandom | head -c 32 prints 32 random letters and digits. Then chmod 600 .env.

Start it:

docker compose up -d
docker compose logs -f caddy   # watch the certificate arrive

Open the new address (grafana. plus your domain) in a browser and follow the notes above.

Back it up

Grafana's backup page: copy the SQLite database with Grafana shut down, the plugin folder, and any configuration file you changed. In the official image the database (grafana.db) and plugins live in /var/lib/grafana, the grafana-storage volume; this compose's settings are environment variables in docker-compose.yml.

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: Grafana

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)

## Grafana

Grafana's backup page: copy the SQLite database with Grafana shut down, the plugin folder, and any configuration file you changed. In the official image the database (grafana.db) and plugins live in /var/lib/grafana, the grafana-storage volume; this compose's settings are environment variables in docker-compose.yml.

What this compose mounts:
- grafana-storage (named volume, /var/lib/grafana in grafana)
  BACK UP: grafana.db (dashboards, users, data sources, alerts) and installed plugins.

1. Stop grafana. Grafana: 'To ensure data integrity, shut down your Grafana service before backing up the SQLite database.'

    docker compose stop grafana

2. Copy while grafana is stopped:

    docker run --rm --volumes-from grafana -v "$BACKUP":/backup ubuntu tar cvf /backup/grafana-storage.tar /var/lib/grafana

3. Start it again:

    docker compose start grafana

Restore check:

    tar tf "$BACKUP/grafana-storage.tar" > /dev/null && echo OK

Put a copy back (with grafana stopped):

    docker run --rm --volumes-from grafana -v "$BACKUP":/backup ubuntu bash -c "cd /var/lib/grafana && tar xvf /backup/grafana-storage.tar --strip 3"

Stop it, restore the volume with the command above, start it.

Sources:
- Grafana docs: Back up Grafana: https://grafana.com/docs/grafana/latest/administration/back-up-grafana/ (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)

Sources

Every page below was fetched on the date shown.

Grafana documentation: Grafana OSS introduction checked 2026-09-23 (what it does)
Grafana docs: Install Grafana (Hardware recommendations) checked 2026-09-23 (hardware requirements)
Grafana docs: Run Grafana Docker image (Docker Compose, persistent storage, GF_SERVER_ROOT_URL) checked 2026-09-23 (compose definition and proxy settings)
Grafana docs: Configure Grafana (environment variable overrides, admin_password, root_url) 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)
Grafana docs: Back up Grafana checked 2026-09-24 (backup plan)
Docker docs: Volumes, Back up, restore, or migrate data volumes checked 2026-09-24 (backup plan)
Caddy docs: Conventions, Data directory checked 2026-09-24 (backup plan)

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