NocoBase with Docker Compose

What NocoBase needs

Only figures NocoBase'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. NocoBase itself runs as 2 containers: nocobase-app, nocobase-postgres.

Which hardware NocoBase 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): no image for app. No image for this hardware; the builder leaves the app out.

A manifest says an image exists for a CPU, not how well NocoBase 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 NocoBase 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 NocoBase alone on example.org: the official definition with its published ports removed and Caddy added in front. The time zone is Etc/UTC here; the builder uses your browser's. Every ${VARIABLE} is defined in the .env below.

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

  # ---- NocoBase (nocobase.example.org) ----
  # Source: https://github.com/nocobase/nocobase/blob/main/docs/docs/en/get-started/installation/docker.mdx (checked 2026-10-03)
  # Source: https://github.com/nocobase/nocobase/blob/main/docs/docs/en/get-started/system-requirements.md (checked 2026-10-03)
  # Source: https://github.com/nocobase/nocobase/blob/main/docs/docs/en/get-started/upgrading/docker.md (checked 2026-10-03)
  # Changed: Removed the documented '13000:80' port; Caddy reaches nocobase-app:80 (the image's built-in Nginx) on the proxy network, as the docs' production section suggests instead of exposing 13000.
  #          APP_KEY ('your-secret-key' in the docs, "Please replace") and the database password ('nocobase') are generated values in .env; POSTGRES_PASSWORD and DB_PASSWORD read the same one. TZ is your browser's time zone instead of Etc/UTC.
  #          The documented nocobase bridge network is replaced by the app's own internal back-end network, which postgres shares with app; postgres publishes no port.
  nocobase-app:
    image: "nocobase/nocobase:latest-full"
    container_name: "nocobase-app"
    restart: "always"
    depends_on:
      - "nocobase-postgres"
    environment:
      APP_KEY: "${NOCOBASE_APP_KEY}"
      DB_DIALECT: "postgres"
      DB_HOST: "postgres"
      DB_PORT: "5432"
      DB_DATABASE: "nocobase"
      DB_USER: "nocobase"
      DB_PASSWORD: "${NOCOBASE_DB_PASSWORD}"
      TZ: "Etc/UTC"
    volumes:
      - "./nocobase/storage:/app/nocobase/storage"
    networks:
      proxy: {}
      nocobase-backend:
        aliases:
          - "app"
  nocobase-postgres:
    image: "postgres:16"
    container_name: "nocobase-postgres"
    restart: "always"
    command: "postgres -c wal_level=logical"
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: "nocobase"
      POSTGRES_DB: "nocobase"
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: "${NOCOBASE_DB_PASSWORD}"
    volumes:
      - "./nocobase/storage/db/postgres:/var/lib/postgresql/data"
    networks:
      nocobase-backend:
        aliases:
          - "postgres"

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"
  nocobase-backend:
    internal: true

volumes:
  caddy-data:
  caddy-config:

Caddyfile save as caddy/Caddyfile

Caddy gets and renews the HTTPS certificate for nocobase.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.

# NocoBase
nocobase.example.org {
	reverse_proxy nocobase-app:80
}

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

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

# NocoBase
# 48 random letters and digits: the builder fills this in your browser
NOCOBASE_APP_KEY=
# 32 random letters and digits: the builder fills this in your browser
NOCOBASE_DB_PASSWORD=

Changes from the official file

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

• Removed the documented '13000:80' port; Caddy reaches nocobase-app:80 (the image's built-in Nginx) on the proxy network, as the docs' production section suggests instead of exposing 13000.
• APP_KEY ('your-secret-key' in the docs, "Please replace") and the database password ('nocobase') are generated values in .env; POSTGRES_PASSWORD and DB_PASSWORD read the same one. TZ is your browser's time zone instead of Etc/UTC.
• The documented nocobase bridge network is replaced by the app's own internal back-end network, which postgres shares with app; postgres publishes no port.

Notes for NocoBase behind the proxy

• The first start installs NocoBase into the database; watch it with docker compose logs -f nocobase-app. Then log in at https://nocobase.example.org as admin@nocobase.com with password admin123, the docs' initial account, and change the password straight away.
• Changing APP_KEY later logs everyone out: the docs say it signs the user tokens.
• latest-full is the image the docs' file uses: it adds the PostgreSQL and MySQL clients for the backup and migration plugins and LibreOffice for PDF template printing. The docs recommend a fixed version tag such as 1.7.14-full for production, so an update never arrives unannounced.

Back it up

NocoBase publishes no backup procedure for Docker; its upgrade page only says to back up the database first. The steps below dump PostgreSQL with pg_dump and copy ./storage, which holds uploaded files and plugins.

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: NocoBase

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)

## NocoBase

NocoBase publishes no backup procedure for Docker; its upgrade page only says to back up the database first. The steps below dump PostgreSQL with pg_dump and copy ./storage, which holds uploaded files and plugins.

What this compose mounts:
- ./nocobase/storage (/app/nocobase/storage in nocobase-app)
  BACK UP: uploads, installed plugins, generated files and the database folder below it.
- ./nocobase/storage/db/postgres (/var/lib/postgresql/data in nocobase-postgres)
  COVERED BY THE COMMAND BELOW: PostgreSQL's data files; the pg_dump below is the copy to keep. The folder sits inside ./storage, so the copy of ./storage takes these files too: restore the database from the dump, not from them.

1. Database dump for nocobase-postgres:

    docker compose exec -T nocobase-postgres pg_dump -U nocobase nocobase > "$BACKUP/nocobase.sql"

   pg_dump with the database and user of this file, both nocobase.

2. Copy (NocoBase keeps running):
   pg_dump is consistent while the app runs: the dump is a snapshot of the database at the moment it started (PostgreSQL docs).

    tar czf "$BACKUP/nocobase-storage.tar.gz" ./nocobase/storage

Restore check:

    grep -c 'PostgreSQL database dump complete' "$BACKUP/nocobase.sql"   # 1 means pg_dump finished
    tar tzf "$BACKUP/nocobase-storage.tar.gz" > /dev/null && echo OK

Put a copy back (with NocoBase stopped):

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

Into a fresh database, before NocoBase starts against it:

    docker compose up -d nocobase-postgres
    docker compose exec -T nocobase-postgres psql -U nocobase nocobase < "$BACKUP/nocobase.sql"

Put ./nocobase/storage back (without its db folder), then:

    docker compose up -d

Sources:
- NocoBase docs: Upgrading a Docker Installation: https://github.com/nocobase/nocobase/blob/main/docs/docs/en/get-started/upgrading/docker.md (checked 2026-10-03)
- PostgreSQL docs: pg_dump (consistent backups while the database is in use): https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/app-pgdump.html (checked 2026-10-03)
- 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 2026-10-03)

Update it

What docker compose pull does depends only on how each image line in the compose file above is tagged. For NocoBase as this page writes it:

What NocoBase's docs say about updating

NocoBase's upgrade page for Docker: back up the database first, set the image version, then pull and recreate the app:

docker compose pull app
docker compose up -d app
docker compose logs -f app

• In this file the service is nocobase-app. An alias tag such as latest-full "usually don't need to be changed"; a numeric tag such as 1.7.14-full must be edited to the target version.
• NocoBase does not support downgrading: to go back, restore the database backup taken before the upgrade and the old image tag.

Source: NocoBase docs: Upgrading a Docker Installation checked 2026-10-03

The steps

1. Back up first, as in Back it up above. An update can migrate NocoBase's data on its first start and its database with it; the copy is the way back.
2. Download the new images. Running containers are not touched yet:

   docker compose pull

3. Recreate the containers whose image changed. Volumes and bind-mounted folders stay as they are:

   docker compose up -d

4. Watch NocoBase start (Ctrl+C stops following the log, not the app):

   docker compose logs -f nocobase-app

5. Optional: remove the old images the pull left without a tag. This covers every stack on the machine, not only this one:

   docker image prune

Docker's reference for these commands: Docker docs: docker compose pull checked 2026-09-30; Docker docs: docker compose up (recreates changed containers, keeps volumes) checked 2026-09-30; Docker docs: docker image prune checked 2026-09-30

Sources

Every page below was fetched on the date shown.

• NocoBase on GitHub (repository description) checked 2026-10-03 (what it does)
• NocoBase docs: System Requirements (single node: 1 core and 2 GB minimum, 2 cores and 4 GB recommended) checked 2026-10-03 (hardware requirements, compose definition and proxy settings)
• NocoBase docs: Docker Installation (docker-compose.yml for PostgreSQL, latest-full image, port 80, first login, Nginx proxy) checked 2026-10-03 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• NocoBase docs: Upgrading a Docker Installation checked 2026-10-03 (compose definition and proxy settings, backup plan, update notes)
• 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)
• PostgreSQL docs: pg_dump (consistent backups while the database is in use) checked 2026-10-03 (backup plan)
• Docker docs: Volumes, Back up, restore, or migrate data volumes checked 2026-10-03 (backup plan)
• Caddy docs: Conventions, Data directory checked 2026-09-24 (backup plan)
• PostgreSQL docs: Upgrading a PostgreSQL Cluster checked 2026-09-30 (database upgrade)
• Docker docs: docker compose pull checked 2026-09-30 (update steps)
• Docker docs: docker compose up (recreates changed containers, keeps volumes) checked 2026-09-30 (update steps)
• Docker docs: docker image prune checked 2026-09-30 (update steps)

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