PLANKA with Docker Compose

What PLANKA needs

Only figures PLANKA'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. PLANKA itself runs as 2 containers: planka, planka-postgres.

Which hardware PLANKA 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 planka. No image for this hardware; the builder leaves the app out.

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

  # ---- PLANKA (planka.example.org) ----
  # Source: https://github.com/plankanban/planka/blob/master/docker-compose.yml (checked 2026-10-08)
  # Source: https://docs.planka.cloud/docs/installation/docker/production-version/ (checked 2026-10-08)
  # Source: https://docs.planka.cloud/docs/configuration/admin-user/ (checked 2026-10-08)
  # Source: https://docs.planka.cloud/docs/installation/docker/how-to-update/ (checked 2026-10-08)
  # Source: https://docs.planka.cloud/docs/installation/docker/backup-and-restore/ (checked 2026-10-08)
  # Source: https://docs.planka.cloud/docs/configuration/reverse-proxy/nginx/ (checked 2026-10-08)
  # Source: https://docs.planka.cloud/docs/configuration/reverse-proxy/caddy/ (checked 2026-10-08)
  # Source: https://github.com/plankanban/planka/blob/master/docker-backup.sh (checked 2026-10-08)
  # Changed: Removed the documented '3000:1337' port; Caddy reaches planka:1337 on the proxy network.
  #          SECRET_KEY, notsecretkey in the file, is a generated 128-digit hex value in .env, the length of the openssl rand -hex 64 the Production Version page uses. BASE_URL is https://planka.example.org, as the page and the Caddy page ask.
  #          The database keeps the file's POSTGRES_HOST_AUTH_METHOD=trust: Postgres accepts connections without a password. It sits on this app's own internal network, which only PLANKA can reach, and publishes no port.
  planka:
    image: "ghcr.io/plankanban/planka:latest"
    container_name: "planka"
    restart: "on-failure"
    volumes:
      - "planka-data:/app/data"
    environment:
      BASE_URL: "https://planka.example.org"
      DATABASE_URL: "postgresql://postgres@postgres/planka"
      SECRET_KEY: "${PLANKA_SECRET_KEY}"
    depends_on:
      planka-postgres:
        condition: "service_healthy"
    networks:
      proxy: {}
      planka-backend: {}
  planka-postgres:
    image: "postgres:16-alpine"
    container_name: "planka-postgres"
    restart: "on-failure"
    volumes:
      - "planka-db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data"
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: "planka"
      POSTGRES_HOST_AUTH_METHOD: "trust"
    healthcheck:
      test:
        - "CMD-SHELL"
        - "pg_isready -U postgres -d planka"
      interval: "10s"
      timeout: "5s"
      retries: 5
    networks:
      planka-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"
  planka-backend:
    internal: true

volumes:
  caddy-data:
  caddy-config:
  planka-data:
  planka-db-data:

Caddyfile save as caddy/Caddyfile

Caddy gets and renews the HTTPS certificate for planka.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.

# PLANKA
planka.example.org {
	reverse_proxy planka:1337
}

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

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

# PLANKA
# 128 random letters and digits: the builder fills this in your browser
PLANKA_SECRET_KEY=

Changes from the official file

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

• Removed the documented '3000:1337' port; Caddy reaches planka:1337 on the proxy network.
• SECRET_KEY, notsecretkey in the file, is a generated 128-digit hex value in .env, the length of the openssl rand -hex 64 the Production Version page uses. BASE_URL is https://planka.example.org, as the page and the Caddy page ask.
• The database keeps the file's POSTGRES_HOST_AUTH_METHOD=trust: Postgres accepts connections without a password. It sits on this app's own internal network, which only PLANKA can reach, and publishes no port.

Notes for PLANKA behind the proxy

• PLANKA creates no admin by itself (since 1.13). Before the first start, create one with the Admin User page's script, which asks for an email, password, name and username:
• $ docker compose run --rm planka npm run db:create-admin-user
• Then docker compose up -d and sign in at https://planka.example.org with that email and password.
• The docs' nginx example allows uploads up to 50M (client_max_body_size); Caddy sets no limit of its own.
• The tag is latest; the update page pulls whatever is newest.

Back it up

PLANKA's backup page uses its docker-backup.sh script, which exports the database and the data volume (avatars, background images, attachments). The script is written for the stock file's container names, so here are its two steps with this file's names.

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: PLANKA

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)

## PLANKA

PLANKA's backup page uses its docker-backup.sh script, which exports the database and the data volume (avatars, background images, attachments). The script is written for the stock file's container names, so here are its two steps with this file's names.

What this compose mounts:
- planka-data (named volume, /app/data in planka)
  BACK UP: user avatars, background images and card attachments (/app/data).
- planka-db-data (named volume, /var/lib/postgresql/data in planka-postgres)
  COVERED BY THE COMMAND BELOW: PostgreSQL's data files: users, projects, boards, cards. The pg_dumpall below is the copy to keep.

1. Database dump for planka-postgres:

    docker compose exec -T planka-postgres pg_dumpall -c -U postgres > "$BACKUP/planka-postgres.sql"

   The script's own command (pg_dumpall -c -U postgres), run in this file's database service.

2. Copy (PLANKA keeps running):
   The script itself runs against a live instance, database first: its header says a file created in between is left without a row, which is harmless. For a copy with no such gap, stop planka for the duration.

    docker run --rm --volumes-from planka -v "$BACKUP":/backup ubuntu tar cvf /backup/planka-data.tar /app/data

Restore check:

    grep -c 'PostgreSQL database cluster dump complete' "$BACKUP/planka-postgres.sql"   # 1 means pg_dumpall finished
    tar tf "$BACKUP/planka-data.tar" > /dev/null && echo OK

Put a copy back (with PLANKA stopped):

    docker run --rm --volumes-from planka -v "$BACKUP":/backup ubuntu bash -c "cd /app/data && tar xvf /backup/planka-data.tar --strip 2"

Into a fresh install, before PLANKA starts against it:

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

Put the data volume back, then:

    docker compose up -d

Sources:
- PLANKA docs: Docker, Backup & Restore (database and data volume): https://docs.planka.cloud/docs/installation/docker/backup-and-restore/ (checked 2026-10-08)
- PLANKA: docker-backup.sh (pg_dumpall and a copy of /app/data): https://github.com/plankanban/planka/blob/master/docker-backup.sh (checked 2026-10-08)
- 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 2026-10-08)

Update it

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

What PLANKA's docs say about updating

PLANKA's How to Update page: create a backup first. Then, from the folder holding the compose file:

docker compose down
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Source: PLANKA docs: Docker, How to Update (backup, down, pull, up -d) checked 2026-10-08

The steps

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

   docker compose logs -f planka

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

PLANKA's docs give no password reset; they document the script that creates an admin user, which gets you back in.

1. Create a new admin with the Admin User page's script. It asks for an email, password, name and username; use an email that is not taken yet. Source: PLANKA docs: Admin User (db:create-admin-user, DEFAULT_ADMIN_* variables) read 2026-10-08; Docker docs: docker compose run read 2026-10-03

   docker compose run --rm planka npm run db:create-admin-user

2. Sign in with the new admin. The docs describe no way to recover the old password itself; the page's other route, the DEFAULT_ADMIN_EMAIL and DEFAULT_ADMIN_PASSWORD variables, also creates an admin rather than resetting one. Source: PLANKA docs: Admin User (db:create-admin-user, DEFAULT_ADMIN_* variables) read 2026-10-08

Run the commands in the folder that holds docker-compose.yml.

Sources

Every page below was fetched on the date shown.

• PLANKA on GitHub (repository description) checked 2026-10-08 (what it does)
• PLANKA: docker-compose.yml (planka, postgres) checked 2026-10-08 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• PLANKA docs: Docker, Production Version (SECRET_KEY, BASE_URL, create an admin user) checked 2026-10-08 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• PLANKA docs: Admin User (db:create-admin-user, DEFAULT_ADMIN_* variables) checked 2026-10-08 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• PLANKA docs: Docker, How to Update (backup, down, pull, up -d) checked 2026-10-08 (compose definition and proxy settings, update notes)
• PLANKA docs: Docker, Backup & Restore (database and data volume) checked 2026-10-08 (compose definition and proxy settings, backup plan)
• PLANKA docs: Reverse Proxy, Nginx (socket.io WebSocket, client_max_body_size 50M) checked 2026-10-08 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• PLANKA docs: Reverse Proxy, Caddy (X-Forwarded-Proto, BASE_URL) checked 2026-10-08 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• PLANKA: docker-backup.sh (pg_dumpall and a copy of /app/data) checked 2026-10-08 (compose definition and proxy settings, backup plan)
• 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 2026-10-08 (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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