OliveTin with Docker Compose

What OliveTin needs

Only figures OliveTin'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.

Which hardware OliveTin 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 olivetin. No image for this hardware; the builder leaves the app out.

A manifest says an image exists for a CPU, not how well OliveTin 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 OliveTin 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 OliveTin 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: OliveTin
# 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"

  # ---- OliveTin (olivetin.example.org) ----
  # Source: https://docs.olivetin.app/install/docker_compose.html (checked 2026-10-09)
  # Source: https://docs.olivetin.app/install/container.html (checked 2026-10-09)
  # Source: https://docs.olivetin.app/security/local.html (checked 2026-10-09)
  # Source: https://docs.olivetin.app/reverse-proxies/nginx.html (checked 2026-10-09)
  # Source: https://docs.olivetin.app/reverse-proxies/caddy.html (checked 2026-10-09)
  # Source: https://docs.olivetin.app/upgrade/upgrade_notes.html (checked 2026-10-09)
  # Changed: Removed the documented '1337:1337' port and container_name; Caddy reaches olivetin:1337 on the proxy network.
  #          The OliveTin-config volume is the folder ./config next to this file, so you can write config.yaml in it: the Container install page says OliveTin needs that file before it will start, and the builder writes the docs' simplest one.
  olivetin:
    image: "jamesread/olivetin"
    container_name: "olivetin"
    volumes:
      - "./olivetin/config:/config"
    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 olivetin.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.

# OliveTin
olivetin.example.org {
	reverse_proxy olivetin:1337
}

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

.env

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

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

The file OliveTin needs next to the compose file

The builder writes it with your domain and fills every secret with random letters and digits made in your browser (crypto.getRandomValues); nothing is sent anywhere. Below, each secret is a FILL-IN-… placeholder instead, because a secret printed on a public page is the same for everyone who copies it.

./olivetin/config/config.yaml

# config.yaml for OliveTin, built at dankhost.com. Save it as ./olivetin/config/config.yaml
# The docs' simplest config.yaml (Container install, Post installation): one action.
# Actions run inside the OliveTin container. Until you add users (Local Users Login page),
# anyone who reaches the page can run every action.
actions:
  - title: "Hello world!"
    shell: echo 'Hello World!'

Changes from the official file

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

• Removed the documented '1337:1337' port and container_name; Caddy reaches olivetin:1337 on the proxy network.
• The OliveTin-config volume is the folder ./config next to this file, so you can write config.yaml in it: the Container install page says OliveTin needs that file before it will start, and the builder writes the docs' simplest one.

Notes for OliveTin behind the proxy

• Each action's shell line runs inside the OliveTin container, which has the image's own tools and nothing of the host. To control other containers, the docs mount the Docker socket into it; that hands the page full control of the machine, so think before adding it.
• With the file as written there is no login: anyone who reaches the address can run every action. Add local users (authLocalUsers with Argon2id hashes) and authRequireGuestsToLogin: true from the Local Users Login page, or put a password on the proxy.
• The image has no tag, which is latest. The Upgrade notes page lists the config changes between major versions.

Back it up

OliveTin publishes no backup procedure. Everything it has is in ./config: config.yaml, which holds every action and user.

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: OliveTin

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)

## OliveTin

OliveTin publishes no backup procedure. Everything it has is in ./config: config.yaml, which holds every action and user.

What this compose mounts:
- ./olivetin/config (/config in olivetin)
  BACK UP: config.yaml: the actions, users and settings.

1. Copy (OliveTin keeps running):
   OliveTin only reads config.yaml, so copying it while OliveTin runs is safe.

    tar czf "$BACKUP/olivetin-config.tar.gz" ./olivetin/config

Restore check:

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

Put a copy back (with OliveTin stopped):

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

Put ./olivetin/config back and run docker compose up -d.

Sources:
- OliveTin docs: Container install (write config.yaml before the first start): https://docs.olivetin.app/install/container.html (checked 2026-10-09)
- 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 2026-10-09)

Update it

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

What OliveTin's docs say about updating

OliveTin publishes no update procedure for this setup; the steps below are Docker's generic method.

The steps

1. Back up first, as in Back it up above. An update can migrate OliveTin's data on its first start; 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 OliveTin start (Ctrl+C stops following the log, not the app):

   docker compose logs -f olivetin

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

Locked out? Reset the admin password

OliveTin's logins are the users in config.yaml (authLocalUsers), each with an Argon2id hash. A forgotten password is replaced by writing a new hash there. With the file as written there are no users and no login.

1. Ask OliveTin for the hash of the new password, the Local Users Login page's Option A, through your proxy: Source: OliveTin docs: Local Users Login (authLocalUsers, Argon2id hashes, PasswordHash API) read 2026-10-09

   curl -sS --json '{"password": "<new password>"}' https://{{host}}/api/PasswordHash

2. In ./olivetin/config/config.yaml, put the printed hash in place of that user's password under authLocalUsers: Source: OliveTin docs: Local Users Login (authLocalUsers, Argon2id hashes, PasswordHash API) read 2026-10-09

   password: <hash from step 1>

3. Restart OliveTin so it reads the file, then sign in at /login. Source: OliveTin docs: Local Users Login (authLocalUsers, Argon2id hashes, PasswordHash API) read 2026-10-09; Docker docs: docker compose restart read 2026-10-09

   docker compose restart olivetin

Run the commands in the folder that holds docker-compose.yml. Words in angle brackets are placeholders: replace them, brackets included.

Sources

Every page below was fetched on the date shown.

• OliveTin on GitHub (repository description) checked 2026-10-09 (what it does)
• OliveTin docs: Docker Compose install (jamesread/olivetin, port 1337, /config) checked 2026-10-09 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• OliveTin docs: Container install (write config.yaml before the first start) checked 2026-10-09 (compose definition and proxy settings, backup plan)
• OliveTin docs: Local Users Login (authLocalUsers, Argon2id hashes, PasswordHash API) checked 2026-10-09 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• OliveTin docs: Nginx (WebSocket on /websocket) checked 2026-10-09 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• OliveTin docs: Caddy (plain reverse_proxy works for its WebSockets) checked 2026-10-09 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• OliveTin docs: Upgrade notes checked 2026-10-09 (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)
• Docker docs: Volumes, Back up, restore, or migrate data volumes checked 2026-10-09 (backup plan)
• Caddy docs: Conventions, Data directory checked 2026-09-24 (backup plan)
• 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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