Docker Deployment¶

Run the Compose Farm web UI in Docker.

Quick Start¶

1. Get the compose file:

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/basnijholt/compose-farm/main/docker-compose.yml

2. Generate .env file:

cf config init-env

This auto-detects settings from your compose-farm.yaml: - DOMAIN from existing traefik labels - CF_COMPOSE_DIR from config - CF_UID/GID/HOME/USER from current user

Review the output and edit if needed.

3. Set up SSH keys:

docker compose run --rm cf ssh setup

4. Start the web UI:

docker compose up -d web

Open http://localhost:9000 (or https://compose-farm.example.com if using Traefik).

Configuration¶

The cf config init-env command auto-detects most settings. After running it, review the generated .env file and edit if needed:

$EDITOR .env

What init-env detects¶

Variable	How it's detected
`DOMAIN`	Extracted from traefik labels in your stacks
`CF_COMPOSE_DIR`	From `compose_dir` in your config
`CF_UID/GID/HOME/USER`	From current user (for NFS compatibility)

If auto-detection fails for any value, edit the .env file manually.

Glances Monitoring¶

To show host CPU/memory stats in the dashboard, deploy Glances on your hosts. When running the web UI container, Compose Farm infers the local host from CF_WEB_STACK and uses the Glances container name for that host.

See Host Resource Monitoring in the README.

Troubleshooting¶

SSH "Permission denied" or "Host key verification failed"¶

Regenerate keys:

docker compose run --rm cf ssh setup

Files created as root¶

Add the non-root variables above and restart.

All Environment Variables¶

For advanced users, here's the complete reference:

Variable	Description	Default
`DOMAIN`	Domain for Traefik labels	(required)
`CF_COMPOSE_DIR`	Compose files directory	`/opt/stacks`
`CF_UID` / `CF_GID`	User/group ID	`0` (root)
`CF_HOME`	Home directory	`/root`
`CF_USER`	Username for SSH	`root`
`CF_WEB_STACK`	Web UI stack name (enables self-update, local host inference)	(none)
`CF_SSH_DIR`	SSH keys directory	`~/.ssh/compose-farm`
`CF_XDG_CONFIG`	Config/backup directory	`~/.config/compose-farm`