Miniflux with Docker Compose

What Miniflux needs

Only figures Miniflux'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. Miniflux itself runs as 2 containers: miniflux, miniflux-db.

docker-compose.yml

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

  # ---- Miniflux (feeds.example.org) ----
  # Source: https://miniflux.app/docs/docker.html (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Source: https://miniflux.app/docs/configuration.html (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Changed: Removed the documented '80:8080' port; Caddy reaches miniflux:8080 on the proxy network.
  #          The documented database password 'secret' and admin password 'test123' are replaced by generated ones; the database password is used both in DATABASE_URL and as POSTGRES_PASSWORD.
  #          Added BASE_URL (from the configuration reference: the base URL for HTML links and cookies, which defaults to localhost over plain HTTP), set to your address.
  miniflux:
    image: "miniflux/miniflux:latest"
    container_name: "miniflux"
    depends_on:
      miniflux-db:
        condition: "service_healthy"
    environment:
      DATABASE_URL: "postgres://miniflux:${MINIFLUX_DB_PASSWORD}@db/miniflux?sslmode=disable"
      RUN_MIGRATIONS: "1"
      CREATE_ADMIN: "1"
      ADMIN_USERNAME: "admin"
      ADMIN_PASSWORD: "${MINIFLUX_ADMIN_PASSWORD}"
      BASE_URL: "https://feeds.example.org/"
    networks:
      proxy: {}
      miniflux-backend: {}
  miniflux-db:
    image: "postgres:18"
    container_name: "miniflux-db"
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: "miniflux"
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: "${MINIFLUX_DB_PASSWORD}"
      POSTGRES_DB: "miniflux"
    volumes:
      - "miniflux-db:/var/lib/postgresql"
    healthcheck:
      test:
        - "CMD"
        - "pg_isready"
        - "-U"
        - "miniflux"
      interval: "10s"
      start_period: "30s"
    networks:
      miniflux-backend:
        aliases:
          - "db"

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"
  miniflux-backend:
    internal: true

volumes:
  caddy-data:
  caddy-config:
  miniflux-db:

Caddyfile save as caddy/Caddyfile

Caddy gets and renews the HTTPS certificate for feeds.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.

# Miniflux
feeds.example.org {
	reverse_proxy miniflux:8080
}

.env

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

# .env for Miniflux, from dankhost.com/app/miniflux/. Fill the blank secrets before starting.
# Keep this file private (chmod 600).

# Miniflux
# 32 random letters and digits: the builder fills this in your browser
MINIFLUX_DB_PASSWORD=
# 24 random letters and digits: the builder fills this in your browser
MINIFLUX_ADMIN_PASSWORD=

Changes from the official file

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

• Removed the documented '80:8080' port; Caddy reaches miniflux:8080 on the proxy network.
• The documented database password 'secret' and admin password 'test123' are replaced by generated ones; the database password is used both in DATABASE_URL and as POSTGRES_PASSWORD.
• Added BASE_URL (from the configuration reference: the base URL for HTML links and cookies, which defaults to localhost over plain HTTP), set to your address.

Notes for Miniflux behind the proxy

• Log in as 'admin' with MINIFLUX_ADMIN_PASSWORD from .env. The docs say CREATE_ADMIN, ADMIN_USERNAME and ADMIN_PASSWORD can be removed after the first start.
• The documented file sets no restart policy, so neither container comes back by itself after a reboot. Run 'docker compose up -d' again, or add restart: unless-stopped to both services.
• Miniflux fetches feeds from the internet through the proxy network; its database sits on a private network with no internet access.

Back it up

Miniflux keeps everything in Postgres. Its FAQ refers to Postgres's own backup tools and gives pg_dump as the basic example.

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: Miniflux

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)

## Miniflux

Miniflux keeps everything in Postgres. Its FAQ refers to Postgres's own backup tools and gives pg_dump as the basic example.

What this compose mounts:
- miniflux-db (named volume, /var/lib/postgresql in miniflux-db)
  COVERED BY THE COMMAND BELOW: Postgres data files; copy them only with the database stopped.

1. Database dump for miniflux-db:

    docker compose exec -T miniflux-db pg_dump -U miniflux miniflux > "$BACKUP/miniflux.dump"

   The FAQ writes pg_dump miniflux2 -f miniflux.dump. In this compose the database and its user are both called miniflux (POSTGRES_DB, POSTGRES_USER); -U is pg_dump's user option, and the redirect writes the dump on the host instead of inside the container.

2. Nothing else to copy: the command above holds all of Miniflux's data. pg_dump is consistent while Miniflux runs: the dump is a snapshot of the database at the moment it started (PostgreSQL docs).

Restore check:

    grep -c 'PostgreSQL database dump complete' "$BACKUP/miniflux.dump"   # 1 means pg_dump finished

Load it into an empty database (the FAQ: psql miniflux2 < miniflux.dump). On a new server start only the database first, then Miniflux:

    docker compose up -d miniflux-db
    docker compose exec -T miniflux-db psql -U miniflux miniflux < "$BACKUP/miniflux.dump"
    docker compose up -d

Sources:
- Miniflux FAQ: How do I back up my data?: https://miniflux.app/faq.html (checked 2026-09-24)
- PostgreSQL docs: SQL Dump: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/backup-dump.html (checked 2026-09-24)

Sources

Every page below was fetched on the date shown.

• miniflux.app front page checked 2026-09-23 (what it does)
• Miniflux docs: Installation with Docker (Docker Compose example, architectures) checked 2026-09-23 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• Miniflux docs: Configuration Parameters (BASE_URL, DATABASE_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)
• Miniflux FAQ: How do I back up my data? checked 2026-09-24 (backup plan)
• PostgreSQL docs: SQL 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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