Vaultwarden with Docker Compose

What Vaultwarden needs

Only figures Vaultwarden'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 Vaultwarden 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: Vaultwarden
# 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"

  # ---- Vaultwarden (vault.example.org) ----
  # Source: https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/wiki/Using-Docker-Compose (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Changed: Removed the documented '11001:80' port; Caddy reaches vaultwarden:80 on the proxy network.
  #          DOMAIN is set, as the wiki says is required behind a reverse proxy, and read from .env.
  vaultwarden:
    image: "vaultwarden/server:latest"
    container_name: "vaultwarden"
    restart: "always"
    environment:
      DOMAIN: "${VAULTWARDEN_DOMAIN}"
      SIGNUPS_ALLOWED: "true"
    volumes:
      - "./vaultwarden/vw-data:/data"
    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 vault.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.

# Vaultwarden
vault.example.org {
	reverse_proxy vaultwarden:80 {
		header_up X-Real-IP {remote_host}
	}
}

.env

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

# .env for Vaultwarden, from dankhost.com/app/vaultwarden/. Nothing here is secret.
# Keep this file private (chmod 600).

# Vaultwarden
VAULTWARDEN_DOMAIN=https://vault.example.org

Changes from the official file

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

• Removed the documented '11001:80' port; Caddy reaches vaultwarden:80 on the proxy network.
• DOMAIN is set, as the wiki says is required behind a reverse proxy, and read from .env.

Notes for Vaultwarden behind the proxy

• SIGNUPS_ALLOWED is 'true' exactly as documented, which means anyone who finds the address can register. Create your account, then change SIGNUPS_ALLOWED to "false" under the vaultwarden service in docker-compose.yml and run 'docker compose up -d' again.
• The Caddy 'header_up X-Real-IP' line is from the wiki's Caddy example, so Vaultwarden logs the visitor's real address (useful for fail2ban).

Back it up

The Vaultwarden wiki: back up the data folder. The SQLite database and attachments/ are required, config.json and the rsa_key files recommended, sends/ and icon_cache/ optional.

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: Vaultwarden

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)

## Vaultwarden

The Vaultwarden wiki: back up the data folder. The SQLite database and attachments/ are required, config.json and the rsa_key files recommended, sends/ and icon_cache/ optional.

What this compose mounts:
- ./vaultwarden/vw-data (/data in vaultwarden)
  BACK UP: db.sqlite3 (almost everything), attachments/, sends/, config.json (admin page settings, including the admin token in plain text), rsa_key.* (sign login tokens) and icon_cache/.

1. Database copy with Vaultwarden's built-in command (1.32.1 and newer), taken while it still runs:

    docker compose exec -T vaultwarden /vaultwarden backup

   The wiki gives docker exec -it vaultwarden /vaultwarden backup. It uses SQLite's online backup and writes db_<UTC date>_<time>.sqlite3 next to db.sqlite3, so it ends up in the copy below as well.

2. Stop vaultwarden. With Vaultwarden stopped, a plain copy of the SQLite files is safe; the wiki's own Docker example stops the container before zipping the folder.

    docker compose stop vaultwarden

3. Copy while vaultwarden is stopped:

    tar czf "$BACKUP/vaultwarden-vw-data.tar.gz" ./vaultwarden/vw-data

4. Start it again:

    docker compose start vaultwarden

Restore check:

    ls ./vaultwarden/vw-data/db_*.sqlite3   # the copy the command just wrote
    tar tzf "$BACKUP/vaultwarden-vw-data.tar.gz" > /dev/null && echo OK

Put a copy back (with vaultwarden stopped):

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

The wiki: with Vaultwarden stopped, replace each file or folder in the data folder with its backed-up version. When restoring a db_*.sqlite3 made by the backup command, rename it to db.sqlite3 and delete any db.sqlite3-wal first, or SQLite may corrupt it. The wiki also advises test-restoring now and then, keeping the original data aside.

Sources:
- Vaultwarden wiki: Backing up your vault: https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/wiki/Backing-up-your-vault (checked 2026-09-24)
- Vaultwarden source: backup_sqlite (where the built-in backup writes its copy): https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/blob/main/src/db/mod.rs (checked 2026-09-24)

Sources

Every page below was fetched on the date shown.

• Vaultwarden README checked 2026-09-23 (what it does, what it replaces)
• Vaultwarden wiki: Using Docker Compose (minimal template and Caddy example) 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)
• Vaultwarden wiki: Backing up your vault checked 2026-09-24 (backup plan)
• Vaultwarden source: backup_sqlite (where the built-in backup writes its copy) 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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