Stirling-PDF with Docker Compose

What Stirling-PDF needs

Only figures Stirling-PDF'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.

docker-compose.yml

This is exactly what the builder writes for Stirling-PDF 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: Stirling-PDF
# 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"

  # ---- Stirling-PDF (pdf.example.org) ----
  # Source: https://docs.stirlingpdf.com/Installation/Docker%20Install (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Source: https://docs.stirlingpdf.com/Production-Deployment-Guide/ (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Source: https://docs.stirlingpdf.com/FAQ (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Changed: Removed the documented '8080:8080' port; Caddy reaches stirling-pdf:8080 on the proxy network.
  stirling-pdf:
    image: "docker.stirlingpdf.com/stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:latest"
    container_name: "stirling-pdf"
    volumes:
      - "./stirling-pdf/stirling-data:/configs"
    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 pdf.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.

# Stirling-PDF
pdf.example.org {
	reverse_proxy stirling-pdf:8080
}

.env

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

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

Changes from the official file

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

• Removed the documented '8080:8080' port; Caddy reaches stirling-pdf:8080 on the proxy network.

Notes for Stirling-PDF behind the proxy

• Login is on by default and the account is documented: sign in as admin with the password stirling and change it immediately. Until you do, anyone who finds the address can log in with those credentials.
• Caddy keeps the public hostname and sends X-Forwarded-Proto: https, which Stirling-PDF's production guide asks a reverse proxy to do so that login redirects work. Caddy sets no upload size limit of its own.
• OCR language files, logs and automation pipelines need the extra volumes from the docs' 'Full Setup' section. If docker.stirlingpdf.com cannot be reached, the FAQ names stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:latest on Docker Hub as the same image.

Back it up

Stirling-PDF's production guide lists what to back up: the local user database (stirling-pdf-DB-<version>.mv.db), settings.yml, custom files and OCR languages, and says the simplest way is to back up the whole configs directory. In this compose /configs is ./stirling-pdf/stirling-data.

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: Stirling-PDF

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)

## Stirling-PDF

Stirling-PDF's production guide lists what to back up: the local user database (stirling-pdf-DB-<version>.mv.db), settings.yml, custom files and OCR languages, and says the simplest way is to back up the whole configs directory. In this compose /configs is ./stirling-pdf/stirling-data.

What this compose mounts:
- ./stirling-pdf/stirling-data (/configs in stirling-pdf)
  BACK UP: Stirling-PDF's /configs: settings.yml and the local H2 user database.

1. Stop stirling-pdf. The guide does not say to stop it; stopping it for the copy keeps the H2 database file from changing mid-copy.

    docker compose stop stirling-pdf

2. Copy while stirling-pdf is stopped:

    tar czf "$BACKUP/stirling-pdf-stirling-data.tar.gz" ./stirling-pdf/stirling-data

3. Start it again:

    docker compose start stirling-pdf

Restore check:

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

Put a copy back (with stirling-pdf stopped):

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

Stop it, put ./stirling-pdf/stirling-data back, start it.

Sources:
- Stirling-PDF docs: Production Deployment Guide, Step 8 Backup & Disaster Recovery: https://docs.stirlingpdf.com/Production-Deployment-Guide/ (checked 2026-09-24)

Sources

Every page below was fetched on the date shown.

• Stirling-PDF README checked 2026-09-23 (what it does)
• Stirling-PDF docs: Performance Optimization (Resource Recommendations) checked 2026-09-23 (hardware requirements)
• Stirling-PDF docs: Docker Installation (docker-compose.yml, default login) checked 2026-09-23 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• Stirling-PDF docs: Production Deployment Guide (Reverse proxy integration) checked 2026-09-23 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• Stirling-PDF docs: FAQ (alternative registries, memory use) 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)
• Stirling-PDF docs: Production Deployment Guide, Step 8 Backup & Disaster Recovery 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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