Paperless-ngx with Docker Compose

A community-supported open-source document management system that transforms your physical documents into a searchable online archive so you can keep, well, less paper. In the project's words: Paperless-ngx docs: Home (docs/index.md) checked 2026-09-23

Add Paperless-ngx 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 Paperless-ngx needs

Only figures Paperless-ngx'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	Not published by the project
CPU	Not published by the project
	No figure. The FAQ says it runs on a Raspberry Pi 3 B but OCR is very slow there; the setup guide lists settings for less powerful devices (fewer task workers, OCR only the first page, one web worker). Source: Paperless-ngx docs: FAQ (Will paperless-ngx run on Raspberry Pi?) 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. Paperless-ngx itself runs as 3 containers: paperless-broker, paperless-db, paperless-webserver.

docker-compose.yml

This is exactly what the builder writes for Paperless-ngx 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: Paperless-ngx
# 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"

  # ---- Paperless-ngx (docs.example.org) ----
  # Source: https://github.com/paperless-ngx/paperless-ngx/blob/main/docker/compose/docker-compose.postgres.yml (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Source: https://github.com/paperless-ngx/paperless-ngx/blob/main/docker/compose/docker-compose.env (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Source: https://github.com/paperless-ngx/paperless-ngx/blob/main/docs/configuration.md (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Changed: Removed the documented '8000:8000' port; Caddy reaches the webserver on the proxy network.
  #          The documented 'env_file: docker-compose.env' is replaced by explicit environment entries, and its required PAPERLESS_SECRET_KEY ('change-me') is generated.
  #          The documented fixed database password 'paperless' is replaced by a generated one, passed to Postgres as POSTGRES_PASSWORD and to Paperless as PAPERLESS_DBPASS (whose default is 'paperless').
  #          Added PAPERLESS_URL (the env file says it is required on a public domain), PAPERLESS_TRUSTED_PROXIES, PAPERLESS_TIME_ZONE and PAPERLESS_ADMIN_USER/PASSWORD from the configuration reference.
  paperless-broker:
    image: "docker.io/valkey/valkey:9-alpine"
    container_name: "paperless-broker"
    restart: "unless-stopped"
    volumes:
      - "paperless-redisdata:/data"
    networks:
      paperless-backend:
        aliases:
          - "broker"
  paperless-db:
    image: "docker.io/library/postgres:18"
    container_name: "paperless-db"
    restart: "unless-stopped"
    volumes:
      - "paperless-pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql"
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: "paperless"
      POSTGRES_USER: "paperless"
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: "${PAPERLESS_DB_PASSWORD}"
    networks:
      paperless-backend:
        aliases:
          - "db"
  paperless-webserver:
    image: "ghcr.io/paperless-ngx/paperless-ngx:latest"
    container_name: "paperless-webserver"
    restart: "unless-stopped"
    depends_on:
      - "paperless-db"
      - "paperless-broker"
    volumes:
      - "paperless-data:/usr/src/paperless/data"
      - "paperless-media:/usr/src/paperless/media"
      - "./paperless/export:/usr/src/paperless/export"
      - "./paperless/consume:/usr/src/paperless/consume"
    environment:
      PAPERLESS_REDIS: "redis://broker:6379"
      PAPERLESS_DBHOST: "db"
      PAPERLESS_DBENGINE: "postgresql"
      PAPERLESS_DBPASS: "${PAPERLESS_DB_PASSWORD}"
      PAPERLESS_SECRET_KEY: "${PAPERLESS_SECRET_KEY}"
      PAPERLESS_URL: "${PAPERLESS_URL}"
      PAPERLESS_TRUSTED_PROXIES: "172.30.0.2"
      PAPERLESS_TIME_ZONE: "Etc/UTC"
      PAPERLESS_ADMIN_USER: "admin"
      PAPERLESS_ADMIN_PASSWORD: "${PAPERLESS_ADMIN_PASSWORD}"
    networks:
      proxy: {}
      paperless-backend:
        aliases:
          - "webserver"

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"
  paperless-backend:
    internal: true

volumes:
  caddy-data:
  caddy-config:
  paperless-data:
  paperless-media:
  paperless-pgdata:
  paperless-redisdata:

Caddyfile save as caddy/Caddyfile

Caddy gets and renews the HTTPS certificate for docs.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.

# Paperless-ngx
docs.example.org {
	reverse_proxy paperless-webserver:8000
}

.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 Paperless-ngx, from dankhost.com/app/paperless/. Fill the blank secrets before starting.
# Keep this file private (chmod 600).

# Paperless-ngx
# 32 random letters and digits: the builder fills this in your browser
PAPERLESS_DB_PASSWORD=
# 64 random letters and digits: the builder fills this in your browser
PAPERLESS_SECRET_KEY=
# 24 random letters and digits: the builder fills this in your browser
PAPERLESS_ADMIN_PASSWORD=
PAPERLESS_URL=https://docs.example.org

Changes from the official file

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

Removed the documented '8000:8000' port; Caddy reaches the webserver on the proxy network.
The documented 'env_file: docker-compose.env' is replaced by explicit environment entries, and its required PAPERLESS_SECRET_KEY ('change-me') is generated.
The documented fixed database password 'paperless' is replaced by a generated one, passed to Postgres as POSTGRES_PASSWORD and to Paperless as PAPERLESS_DBPASS (whose default is 'paperless').
Added PAPERLESS_URL (the env file says it is required on a public domain), PAPERLESS_TRUSTED_PROXIES, PAPERLESS_TIME_ZONE and PAPERLESS_ADMIN_USER/PASSWORD from the configuration reference.

Notes for Paperless-ngx behind the proxy

Log in as 'admin' with PAPERLESS_ADMIN_PASSWORD from .env. Drop files into ./paperless/consume and they are imported.
OCR defaults to English. Set PAPERLESS_OCR_LANGUAGE (for example 'deu') in the webserver's environment if most of your documents are in another language.

How to run it

At your DNS provider, add an A record named docs 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 PAPERLESS_DB_PASSWORD, PAPERLESS_SECRET_KEY, PAPERLESS_ADMIN_PASSWORD in .env. The builder generates them; 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 (docs. plus your domain) in a browser and follow the notes above.

Back it up

Paperless-ngx documents the document exporter as the backup that works for every install: it writes all documents, thumbnails, settings and database contents to the export folder, and on later runs only updates what changed.

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: Paperless-ngx

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)

## Paperless-ngx

Paperless-ngx documents the document exporter as the backup that works for every install: it writes all documents, thumbnails, settings and database contents to the export folder, and on later runs only updates what changed.

What this compose mounts:
- paperless-redisdata (named volume, /data in paperless-broker)
  SKIP: the Valkey task-queue broker; not among the volumes Paperless lists for backup.
- paperless-pgdata (named volume, /var/lib/postgresql in paperless-db)
  COVERED BY THE COMMAND BELOW: Postgres data files; the exporter copies the database contents.
- paperless-data (named volume, /usr/src/paperless/data in paperless-webserver)
  OPTIONAL: auxiliary data, in Paperless's words. The exporter does not need it; Paperless's other Docker option is to copy this volume together with media and pgdata.
- paperless-media (named volume, /usr/src/paperless/media in paperless-webserver)
  COVERED BY THE COMMAND BELOW: your documents (originals and archived versions); the exporter copies them.
- ./paperless/export (/usr/src/paperless/export in paperless-webserver)
  BACK UP: the exporter's target: after the command below it holds a complete export.
- ./paperless/consume (/usr/src/paperless/consume in paperless-webserver)
  SKIP: the inbox Paperless watches for new files; files leave it once consumed.

1. Database dump for paperless-db (runs in paperless-webserver):

    docker compose exec -T paperless-webserver document_exporter ../export

   The documented cron form (-T avoids 'The input device is not a TTY'); ../export inside the container is ./paperless/export here. It also covers the media volume. The export leaves out API tokens, which must be made again after an import, and can only be imported into the same Paperless version.

2. Copy (Paperless-ngx keeps running):
   Paperless's only condition is to make sure it is not busy consuming documents while the exporter runs.

    tar czf "$BACKUP/paperless-export.tar.gz" ./paperless/export

Restore check:

    test -s ./paperless/export/manifest.json && echo OK   # the export writes all database metadata to manifest.json
    tar tzf "$BACKUP/paperless-export.tar.gz" > /dev/null && echo OK

Put a copy back (with Paperless-ngx stopped):

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

Restore with the document importer into a completely empty install of the same version: put the export back into ./paperless/export, then

    docker compose exec -T paperless-webserver document_importer ../export

Sources:
- Paperless-ngx docs: Administration (Making backups, Document exporter and importer): https://github.com/paperless-ngx/paperless-ngx/blob/main/docs/administration.md (checked 2026-09-24)

Sources

Every page below was fetched on the date shown.

Paperless-ngx docs: Home (docs/index.md) checked 2026-09-23 (what it does)
Paperless-ngx docs: FAQ (Will paperless-ngx run on Raspberry Pi?) checked 2026-09-23 (hardware requirements)
Paperless-ngx: docker-compose.postgres.yml checked 2026-09-23 (compose definition and proxy settings)
Paperless-ngx: docker-compose.env checked 2026-09-23 (compose definition and proxy settings)
Paperless-ngx docs: Configuration (PAPERLESS_URL, PAPERLESS_DBPASS, PAPERLESS_TRUSTED_PROXIES, PAPERLESS_ADMIN_USER) 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)
Paperless-ngx docs: Administration (Making backups, Document exporter and importer) 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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