Radicale with Docker Compose

What Radicale needs

Only figures Radicale'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 Radicale 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): every image has a build.

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

  # ---- Radicale (dav.example.org) ----
  # Source: https://github.com/Kozea/Radicale/blob/master/DOCUMENTATION.md (checked 2026-09-30)
  # Source: https://github.com/Kozea/Radicale/blob/master/compose.yaml (checked 2026-09-30)
  # Source: https://github.com/Kozea/Radicale/blob/master/Dockerfile (checked 2026-09-30)
  # Changed: Removed the documented '5232:5232' port; Caddy reaches radicale:5232 on the proxy network. Served at the root of its own subdomain, it needs no X-Script-Name header (the reverse-proxy section: that header is only for a path below the root).
  #          The documented file mounts ./config and ./data through two named volumes with driver_opts type none, o bind; here they are plain bind mounts of the same two folders at the same paths.
  #          Added the config file above: the docs' htpasswd authentication and the documented storage folder. Without it, Radicale 3.5 and later deny every login.
  radicale:
    image: "ghcr.io/kozea/radicale:stable"
    container_name: "radicale"
    volumes:
      - "./radicale/config:/etc/radicale"
      - "./radicale/data:/var/lib/radicale"
    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 dav.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.

# Radicale
dav.example.org {
	reverse_proxy radicale:5232
}

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

.env

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

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

The file Radicale 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.

./radicale/config/config

# Radicale configuration, built at dankhost.com. Save it as ./radicale/config/config
# Radicale reads /etc/radicale/config; every option below is from its documentation.
[server]
hosts = 0.0.0.0:5232, [::]:5232

[auth]
# The default since 3.5.0 is denyall: no login works until this is set.
type = htpasswd
htpasswd_filename = /etc/radicale/users
htpasswd_encryption = autodetect

[storage]
filesystem_folder = /var/lib/radicale/collections

Changes from the official file

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

• Removed the documented '5232:5232' port; Caddy reaches radicale:5232 on the proxy network. Served at the root of its own subdomain, it needs no X-Script-Name header (the reverse-proxy section: that header is only for a path below the root).
• The documented file mounts ./config and ./data through two named volumes with driver_opts type none, o bind; here they are plain bind mounts of the same two folders at the same paths.
• Added the config file above: the docs' htpasswd authentication and the documented storage folder. Without it, Radicale 3.5 and later deny every login.

Notes for Radicale behind the proxy

• Create a login before the first start, with the docs' htpasswd command (from apache2-utils; use -B for bcrypt if your htpasswd is older than 2.4.59): htpasswd -B -c ./radicale/config/users alice. Add more users without -c.
• The image runs as user radicale (UID 1000): sudo chown -R 1000:1000 ./radicale so it can read users and write ./radicale/data.
• In DAVx5, Thunderbird or iOS (Settings > Calendar > Accounts > Other > CalDAV) use https://dav.example.org/ with that user; open it in a browser to create calendars and address books.
• The docs' tags: stable "Points to the latest stable release. This is recommended for most users"; latest is usually a nightly build.

Back it up

Radicale publishes no backup procedure, but its storage page says the data is plain files (one .ics or .vcf per item) and "safe to access and manipulate by hand or with scripts".

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: Radicale

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)

## Radicale

Radicale publishes no backup procedure, but its storage page says the data is plain files (one .ics or .vcf per item) and "safe to access and manipulate by hand or with scripts".

What this compose mounts:
- ./radicale/config (/etc/radicale in radicale)
  BACK UP: the config file and users, the htpasswd file with the logins.
- ./radicale/data (/var/lib/radicale in radicale)
  BACK UP: collections/: every calendar, to-do list and address book as folders of .ics and .vcf files.

1. Copy (Radicale keeps running):
   Each item is its own small file, so a copy taken during a sync can miss only the change being written; the next backup has it.

    tar czf "$BACKUP/radicale-config.tar.gz" ./radicale/config
    tar czf "$BACKUP/radicale-data.tar.gz" ./radicale/data

Restore check:

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

Put a copy back (with Radicale stopped):

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

Put ./radicale/config and ./radicale/data back, owned by UID 1000, and run docker compose up -d. Clients resync on their own.

Sources:
- Radicale documentation (DOCUMENTATION.md): Docker, authentication with htpasswd, reverse proxy, storage: https://github.com/Kozea/Radicale/blob/master/DOCUMENTATION.md (checked 2026-09-30)
- 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 2026-09-30)

Sources

Every page below was fetched on the date shown.

• Radicale README on GitHub checked 2026-09-30 (what it does)
• Radicale documentation (DOCUMENTATION.md): Docker, authentication with htpasswd, reverse proxy, storage checked 2026-09-30 (compose definition and proxy settings, backup plan)
• Radicale repository: compose.yaml (ghcr.io/kozea/radicale:stable, ./config and ./data) checked 2026-09-30 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• Radicale repository: Dockerfile (user radicale, UID 1000; apache2-utils; --hosts 0.0.0.0:5232) checked 2026-09-30 (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 2026-09-30 (backup plan)
• Caddy docs: Conventions, Data directory checked 2026-09-24 (backup plan)

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