Vikunja with Docker Compose

What Vikunja needs

Only figures Vikunja'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. Vikunja itself runs as 2 containers: vikunja, vikunja-db.

docker-compose.yml

This is exactly what the builder writes for Vikunja 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: Vikunja
# 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"

  # ---- Vikunja (tasks.example.org) ----
  # Source: https://vikunja.io/docs/full-docker-example/ (checked 2026-09-25)
  # Changed: Removed the '3456:3456' port; Caddy reaches vikunja:3456 on the proxy network, as in the docs' Caddy v2 example ('reverse_proxy vikunja:3456').
  #          VIKUNJA_SERVICE_PUBLICURL is your https address; the database password 'changeme' (used in both VIKUNJA_DATABASE_PASSWORD and POSTGRES_PASSWORD) and VIKUNJA_SERVICE_SECRET are generated.
  vikunja:
    image: "vikunja/vikunja"
    container_name: "vikunja"
    environment:
      VIKUNJA_SERVICE_PUBLICURL: "https://tasks.example.org"
      VIKUNJA_DATABASE_HOST: "db"
      VIKUNJA_DATABASE_PASSWORD: "${VIKUNJA_DB_PASSWORD}"
      VIKUNJA_DATABASE_TYPE: "postgres"
      VIKUNJA_DATABASE_USER: "vikunja"
      VIKUNJA_DATABASE_DATABASE: "vikunja"
      VIKUNJA_SERVICE_SECRET: "${VIKUNJA_SERVICE_SECRET}"
    volumes:
      - "./vikunja/files:/app/vikunja/files"
    depends_on:
      vikunja-db:
        condition: "service_healthy"
    restart: "unless-stopped"
    networks:
      proxy: {}
      vikunja-backend: {}
  vikunja-db:
    image: "postgres:18"
    container_name: "vikunja-db"
    environment:
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: "${VIKUNJA_DB_PASSWORD}"
      POSTGRES_USER: "vikunja"
    volumes:
      - "./vikunja/db:/var/lib/postgresql"
    restart: "unless-stopped"
    healthcheck:
      test:
        - "CMD-SHELL"
        - "pg_isready -h localhost -U $$POSTGRES_USER"
      interval: "2s"
      start_period: "30s"
    networks:
      vikunja-backend:
        aliases:
          - "db"

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"
  vikunja-backend:
    internal: true

volumes:
  caddy-data:
  caddy-config:

Caddyfile save as caddy/Caddyfile

Caddy gets and renews the HTTPS certificate for tasks.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.

# Vikunja
tasks.example.org {
	reverse_proxy vikunja:3456
}

.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 Vikunja, from dankhost.com/app/vikunja/. Fill the blank secrets before starting.
# Keep this file private (chmod 600).

# Vikunja
# 32 random letters and digits: the builder fills this in your browser
VIKUNJA_DB_PASSWORD=
# 64 random letters and digits: the builder fills this in your browser
VIKUNJA_SERVICE_SECRET=

Changes from the official file

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

• Removed the '3456:3456' port; Caddy reaches vikunja:3456 on the proxy network, as in the docs' Caddy v2 example ('reverse_proxy vikunja:3456').
• VIKUNJA_SERVICE_PUBLICURL is your https address; the database password 'changeme' (used in both VIKUNJA_DATABASE_PASSWORD and POSTGRES_PASSWORD) and VIKUNJA_SERVICE_SECRET are generated.

Notes for Vikunja behind the proxy

• Before the first start, create the files folder and give it to user 1000, which Vikunja runs as (the docs: it will not take ownership itself): mkdir -p vikunja/files && sudo chown 1000 vikunja/files
• Open https://tasks.example.org and register. The docs suggest turning registration off once everyone has an account (VIKUNJA_SERVICE_ENABLEREGISTRATION=false).

Back it up

Vikunja's 'What to backup' page: two parts, the database and the attachment files. For PostgreSQL it gives pg_dump; for files, copying the folder is enough.

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: Vikunja

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)

## Vikunja

Vikunja's 'What to backup' page: two parts, the database and the attachment files. For PostgreSQL it gives pg_dump; for files, copying the folder is enough.

What this compose mounts:
- ./vikunja/files (/app/vikunja/files in vikunja)
  BACK UP: task attachments and other uploaded files.
- ./vikunja/db (/var/lib/postgresql in vikunja-db)
  COVERED BY THE COMMAND BELOW: Postgres data files; copy them only with the database stopped.

1. Stop vikunja. Stopping Vikunja (not its database) keeps new tasks and attachments from arriving between the dump and the copy.

    docker compose stop vikunja

2. Database dump for vikunja-db:

    docker compose exec -T vikunja-db pg_dump -U vikunja vikunja > "$BACKUP/vikunja-backup.sql"

   The page gives pg_dump -U <user> -h <db-host> <database> > vikunja-backup.sql. Here it runs inside the database container, where user and database are both vikunja (POSTGRES_USER; Postgres names the default database after the user).

3. Copy while vikunja is stopped:

    tar czf "$BACKUP/vikunja-files.tar.gz" ./vikunja/files

4. Start it again:

    docker compose start vikunja

Restore check:

    grep -c 'PostgreSQL database dump complete' "$BACKUP/vikunja-backup.sql"   # 1 means pg_dump finished
    tar tzf "$BACKUP/vikunja-files.tar.gz" > /dev/null && echo OK

Put a copy back (with vikunja stopped):

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

The page restores by piping the dump back into psql. On a new server start only the database first, then Vikunja:

    docker compose up -d vikunja-db
    docker compose exec -T vikunja-db psql -U vikunja vikunja < "$BACKUP/vikunja-backup.sql"
    docker compose up -d

Warning from the same page: deleting a project in Vikunja is permanent, with no trash or undo, so keep older backups too.

Sources:
- Vikunja docs: What to backup (files and database, pg_dump): https://vikunja.io/docs/what-to-backup/ (checked 2026-09-25)
- PostgreSQL docs: SQL Dump: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/backup-dump.html (checked 2026-09-25)

Sources

Every page below was fetched on the date shown.

• vikunja.io front page checked 2026-09-25 (what it does)
• Vikunja docs: Full docker example (postgres, file permissions, Caddy v2 as proxy) checked 2026-09-25 (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)
• Vikunja docs: What to backup (files and database, pg_dump) checked 2026-09-25 (backup plan)
• PostgreSQL docs: SQL Dump checked 2026-09-25 (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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