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linkding with Docker Compose

linkding is a bookmark manager that you can host yourself. It's designed be to be minimal, fast, and easy to set up using Docker. In the project's words: linkding README (Introduction) checked 2026-09-23

Add linkding 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 linkding needs

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

ResourceMinimumRecommended
RAMNot published by the project
No figure. The installation page only says the 'plus' image variant, which runs Chromium to save page snapshots, needs more memory; this file uses the plain image. Source: linkding docs: Installation (Using Docker) checked 2026-09-23
CPUNot published by the project
No figure; the docs say the image is compatible with ARM platforms, so it can run on a Raspberry Pi. Source: linkding docs: Installation (Using Docker) checked 2026-09-23
DiskNot 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 linkding 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: linkding
# 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"

  # ---- linkding (bookmarks.example.org) ----
  # Source: https://github.com/sissbruecker/linkding/blob/master/docker-compose.yml (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Source: https://github.com/sissbruecker/linkding/blob/master/.env.sample (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Source: https://linkding.link/options/ (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Source: https://linkding.link/installation/ (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Changed: Removed the documented host port (LD_HOST_PORT, default 9090); Caddy reaches linkding:9090 on the proxy network.
  #          The data folder (LD_HOST_DATA_DIR, default ./data) is fixed at ./linkding/data, and the container name (LD_CONTAINER_NAME, default linkding) is the builder's own, which is also linkding.
  #          The documented 'env_file: .env' is replaced by explicit environment entries: LD_SUPERUSER_NAME and LD_SUPERUSER_PASSWORD from .env.sample, so the first account exists from the start, and LD_CSRF_TRUSTED_ORIGINS set to your https address, as the options page describes for reverse proxies.
  linkding:
    image: "sissbruecker/linkding:latest"
    container_name: "linkding"
    volumes:
      - "./linkding/data:/etc/linkding/data"
    environment:
      LD_SUPERUSER_NAME: "admin"
      LD_SUPERUSER_PASSWORD: "${LINKDING_LD_SUPERUSER_PASSWORD}"
      LD_CSRF_TRUSTED_ORIGINS: "https://bookmarks.example.org"
    restart: "unless-stopped"
    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 bookmarks.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.

# linkding
bookmarks.example.org {
	reverse_proxy linkding:9090
}

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

# linkding
# 24 random letters and digits: the builder fills this in your browser
LINKDING_LD_SUPERUSER_PASSWORD=

Changes from the official file

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

Notes for linkding behind the proxy

How to run it

  1. At your DNS provider, add an A record named bookmarks on your domain pointing at the server's public IP address, and forward TCP 80, TCP 443 and UDP 443 to it.
  2. 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.
  3. Fill the blank LINKDING_LD_SUPERUSER_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.
  4. Start it: 
    docker compose up -d
docker compose logs -f caddy   # watch the certificate arrive
  5. Open the new address (bookmarks. plus your domain) in a browser and follow the notes above.

Back it up

linkding's full_backup command zips the SQLite database with the HTML snapshots, favicons and preview images. linkding warns against copying the database file directly: it is not transaction-safe.

Below is the BACKUP.md the builder writes next to the compose file above: which of its folders and volumes hold data, the dump command the project documents, rewritten for this file's service names, 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: linkding

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)

## linkding

linkding's full_backup command zips the SQLite database with the HTML snapshots, favicons and preview images. linkding warns against copying the database file directly: it is not transaction-safe.

What this compose mounts:
- ./linkding/data (/etc/linkding/data in linkding)
  COVERED BY THE COMMAND BELOW: db.sqlite3, assets/ (HTML snapshots), favicons/ and previews/: all inside the full_backup zip.

1. Full backup with linkding's own command:

    docker compose exec -T linkding python manage.py full_backup /etc/linkding/data/backup.zip
    cp ./linkding/data/backup.zip "$BACKUP/linkding-backup.zip"

   linkding's page uses docker exec -it and then docker cp; here the data folder is a bind mount, so the zip is already on the host at ./linkding/data/backup.zip.

2. Nothing else to copy: the command above holds all of linkding's data. The full_backup command runs while linkding is up.

Restore check:

    unzip -t "$BACKUP/linkding-backup.zip"   # tests every file in the zip

linkding: extract the zip, rename the extracted folder to data and mount it at /etc/linkding/data. Here: stop linkding, put that folder at ./linkding/data, start it.

Sources:
- linkding docs: Backups: https://linkding.link/backups/ (checked 2026-09-24)

Sources

Every page below was fetched on the date shown.

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