---
title: "Docker Compose"
description: "Deploy Pangolin manually using Docker Compose without the automated installer"
---



This guide walks through a manual deployment using the same file layout the installer generates from `install/config/*` in the Pangolin source tree. Use it if you want the installer's defaults, but you want to create and maintain the files yourself.

This guide assumes you already have a Linux server with Docker and Docker Compose installed, plus root or sudo access.

## Prerequisites

Review the [quick install guide](/self-host/quick-install) and [DNS & networking](/self-host/dns-and-networking) first. At minimum you need:

- A public Linux server
- A base domain such as `example.com`
- A dashboard hostname such as `pangolin.example.com`
- An email address for Let's Encrypt
- TCP ports `80` and `443` open
- UDP ports `51820` and `21820` open if you are using tunneling

<Tip>
If you do not want tunneling, see [Without Tunneling](/self-host/advanced/without-tunneling). In that mode you will skip the `gerbil` service and expose Traefik directly.
</Tip>

<Note>
`base domain` is the parent domain you will attach resources to, such as `example.com`. `dashboard hostname` is the specific hostname for the Pangolin UI and API, such as `pangolin.example.com`.
</Note>

## File Layout

Create the following project structure:

```text
.
├── docker-compose.yml
└── config/
    ├── config.yml
    ├── db/
    ├── letsencrypt/
    └── traefik/
        ├── dynamic_config.yml
        ├── logs/
        └── traefik_config.yml
```

The following files are created later by the running services or added only when you enable optional features:

- `config/db/db.sqlite` is created by Pangolin on first startup.
- `config/key` is created by Gerbil when tunneling is enabled.
- `config/GeoLite2-Country.mmdb` is optional and only needed for [geo-blocking](/self-host/advanced/enable-geoblocking). It is not downloaded by the running services in a manual install; download it manually before enabling geo-blocking.

## Create the Directories

Create the project folders:

```bash
mkdir -p config/db config/letsencrypt config/traefik/logs
```

## Create the Configuration Files

<Steps>
<Step title="Create docker-compose.yml">
  This file defines the Pangolin, Gerbil, and Traefik containers, their shared volumes, and the ports exposed on the host.

```yaml title="docker-compose.yml"
name: pangolin
services:
  pangolin:
    image: docker.io/fosrl/pangolin:latest
    container_name: pangolin
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - ./config:/app/config
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:3001/api/v1/"]
      interval: "10s"
      timeout: "10s"
      retries: 15

  gerbil:
    image: docker.io/fosrl/gerbil:latest
    container_name: gerbil
    restart: unless-stopped
    depends_on:
      pangolin:
        condition: service_healthy
    command:
      - --reachableAt=http://gerbil:3004
      - --generateAndSaveKeyTo=/var/config/key
      - --remoteConfig=http://pangolin:3001/api/v1/
    volumes:
      - ./config/:/var/config
    cap_add:
      - NET_ADMIN
      - SYS_MODULE
    ports:
      - 51820:51820/udp
      - 21820:21820/udp
      - 443:443
      # - 443:443/udp # Uncomment if you enable HTTP/3 in Traefik.
      - 80:80

  traefik:
    image: docker.io/traefik:v3.6
    container_name: traefik
    restart: unless-stopped
    network_mode: service:gerbil
    depends_on:
      pangolin:
        condition: service_healthy
    command:
      - --configFile=/etc/traefik/traefik_config.yml
    volumes:
      - ./config/traefik:/etc/traefik:ro
      - ./config/letsencrypt:/letsencrypt
      - ./config/traefik/logs:/var/log/traefik

networks:
  default:
    driver: bridge
    name: pangolin
    # enable_ipv6: true
```

<Note>
This is the installer's default community layout with Gerbil enabled. If you want to pin releases instead of using `latest`, replace the image tags with the versions you intend to run.
</Note>
</Step>

<Step title="Create config/traefik/traefik_config.yml">
  This file configures Traefik's providers, Badger plugin, Let's Encrypt resolver, entry points, logs, and health check endpoint.

```yaml title="config/traefik/traefik_config.yml"
api:
  insecure: true
  dashboard: true

providers:
  http:
    endpoint: "http://pangolin:3001/api/v1/traefik-config"
    pollInterval: "5s"
  file:
    filename: "/etc/traefik/dynamic_config.yml"

experimental:
  plugins:
    badger:
      moduleName: "github.com/fosrl/badger"
      version: "v1.4.0" # Check github.com/fosrl/badger for the latest release.

log:
  level: "INFO"
  format: "common"
  maxSize: 100
  maxBackups: 3
  maxAge: 3
  compress: true

certificatesResolvers:
  letsencrypt:
    acme:
      httpChallenge:
        entryPoint: web
      email: "admin@example.com" # REPLACE
      storage: "/letsencrypt/acme.json"
      caServer: "https://acme-v02.api.letsencrypt.org/directory"

entryPoints:
  web:
    address: ":80"
  websecure:
    address: ":443"
    transport:
      respondingTimeouts:
        readTimeout: "30m"
    # Uncomment to enable HTTP/3. You must also expose 443/udp in docker-compose.yml.
    # http3:
    #   advertisedPort: 443
    http:
      tls:
        certResolver: "letsencrypt"
      encodedCharacters:
        allowEncodedSlash: true
        allowEncodedQuestionMark: true

serversTransport:
  insecureSkipVerify: true

ping:
  entryPoint: "web"
```

  <Note>
  Traefik stores Let's Encrypt certificates at `/letsencrypt/acme.json` inside the container. The Compose file mounts that path from `./config/letsencrypt`, so Traefik will create `config/letsencrypt/acme.json` when it needs certificate storage.
  </Note>
</Step>

<Step title="Create config/traefik/dynamic_config.yml">
  This file defines the routers, middleware, and services that send dashboard, API, and WebSocket traffic to Pangolin.

```yaml title="config/traefik/dynamic_config.yml"
http:
  middlewares:
    badger:
      plugin:
        badger:
          disableForwardAuth: true
    redirect-to-https:
      redirectScheme:
        scheme: https

  routers:
    main-app-router-redirect:
      rule: "Host(`pangolin.example.com`)" # REPLACE
      service: next-service
      entryPoints:
        - web
      middlewares:
        - redirect-to-https
        - badger

    next-router:
      rule: "Host(`pangolin.example.com`) && !PathPrefix(`/api/v1`)" # REPLACE
      service: next-service
      entryPoints:
        - websecure
      middlewares:
        - badger
      tls:
        certResolver: letsencrypt

    api-router:
      rule: "Host(`pangolin.example.com`) && PathPrefix(`/api/v1`)" # REPLACE
      service: api-service
      entryPoints:
        - websecure
      middlewares:
        - badger
      tls:
        certResolver: letsencrypt

    ws-router:
      rule: "Host(`pangolin.example.com`)" # REPLACE
      service: api-service
      entryPoints:
        - websecure
      middlewares:
        - badger
      tls:
        certResolver: letsencrypt

  services:
    next-service:
      loadBalancer:
        servers:
          - url: "http://pangolin:3002"

    api-service:
      loadBalancer:
        servers:
          - url: "http://pangolin:3000"

tcp:
  serversTransports:
    pp-transport-v1:
      proxyProtocol:
        version: 1
    pp-transport-v2:
      proxyProtocol:
        version: 2
```
</Step>

<Step title="Create config/config.yml">
  This file contains Pangolin's application settings, dashboard domain, base domain, CORS origin, and server secret.

```yaml title="config/config.yml"
# To see all available options, please visit the docs:
# https://docs.pangolin.net/

gerbil:
    start_port: 51820
    base_endpoint: "pangolin.example.com" # REPLACE WITH YOUR DASHBOARD DOMAIN

app:
    dashboard_url: "https://pangolin.example.com" # REPLACE WITH YOUR DASHBOARD DOMAIN
    log_level: "info"
    telemetry:
        anonymous_usage: true

domains:
    domain1:
        base_domain: "example.com" # REPLACE WITH YOUR BASE DOMAIN

server:
    secret: "replace-with-a-long-random-secret" # REPLACE WITH SECURE SECRET
    cors:
        origins: ["https://pangolin.example.com"] # REPLACE WITH YOUR DASHBOARD DOMAIN
        methods: ["GET", "POST", "PUT", "DELETE", "PATCH"]
        allowed_headers: ["X-CSRF-Token", "Content-Type"]
        credentials: false

flags:
    require_email_verification: false
    disable_signup_without_invite: true
    disable_user_create_org: false
    allow_raw_resources: true
```

Replace these values before starting the stack:

- `pangolin.example.com` with your dashboard hostname
- `example.com` with your base domain
- `replace-with-a-long-random-secret` with a strong random secret
- `admin@example.com` in `traefik_config.yml` with your Let's Encrypt email

Generate a secret with:

```bash
openssl rand -hex 32
```

<Warning>
Do not reuse a weak or short `server.secret`. If you need to rotate it later, use `pangctl rotate-server-secret`. See the [container CLI tool guide](/self-host/advanced/container-cli-tool#rotate-server-secret).
</Warning>

</Step>
</Steps>

### Optional Email Configuration

If you want Pangolin to send email, add this block to `config/config.yml` and set `flags.require_email_verification` to `true`:

```yaml title="config/config.yml"
email:
    smtp_host: "smtp.example.com"
    smtp_port: 587
    smtp_user: "smtp-user"
    smtp_pass: "smtp-password"
    no_reply: "noreply@example.com"
```

### Optional Geo-blocking Configuration

If you want geo-blocking, download the MaxMind database and add this line under `server`:

```yaml title="config/config.yml"
server:
    maxmind_db_path: "./config/GeoLite2-Country.mmdb"
```

See [Enable Geo-blocking](/self-host/advanced/enable-geoblocking) for the full process.

## Start the Stack

<Steps>
<Step title="Start the services">
  ```bash
  sudo docker compose up -d
  ```
</Step>

<Step title="Watch the logs">
  ```bash
  sudo docker compose logs -f pangolin traefik gerbil
  ```
</Step>

<Step title="Verify the containers are healthy">
  ```bash
  sudo docker compose ps
  ```

  `pangolin`, `traefik`, and `gerbil` should all report as running after the first startup finishes.
</Step>

<Step title="Get the setup token from the Pangolin logs">
  Check the Pangolin container logs:

  ```bash
  sudo docker compose logs pangolin
  ```

  Pangolin prints a setup token to stdout on first boot. Copy that token before continuing.
</Step>

<Step title="Open the initial setup page">
  Visit:

  ```text
  https://pangolin.example.com/auth/initial-setup
  ```

  Replace the hostname with your real dashboard domain, then use the setup token from the Pangolin logs to register the first admin account.
</Step>
</Steps>

## Verify the Setup

You should expect the following on a healthy first install:

- `docker compose ps` shows `pangolin`, `traefik`, and `gerbil` as running.
- `docker compose logs pangolin` includes the one-time setup token for the first admin account.
- Visiting `https://<your-dashboard-domain>/auth/initial-setup` loads the setup page.
- `config/db/db.sqlite` exists after Pangolin starts.
- `config/key` exists after Gerbil starts.

<Tip>
The first Let's Encrypt certificate request can take a short while. If the page initially shows a certificate warning, wait a minute and refresh.
</Tip>

## If Something Fails

- If the setup page does not load, confirm your DNS record points to the server and ports `80` and `443` are reachable.
- If you cannot complete first-time signup, check `sudo docker compose logs pangolin` and copy the setup token printed by Pangolin.
- If certificates are not issued, confirm `admin@example.com` was replaced and that nothing else is already bound to ports `80` or `443`.
- If `pangolin` never becomes healthy, inspect `sudo docker compose logs -f pangolin`.
- If tunneling does not work, inspect `sudo docker compose logs -f gerbil` and confirm UDP ports `51820` and `21820` are open.
- If Traefik serves the wrong host, re-check every `pangolin.example.com` replacement in both Traefik files and `config/config.yml`.

## Without Tunneling

If you do not want Gerbil:

- Remove the `gerbil` service.
- Remove `network_mode: service:gerbil` from `traefik`.
- Add ports `80:80` and `443:443` directly to `traefik`.
- Remove the `gerbil` block from `config/config.yml`.

That mode is covered in more detail in [Without Tunneling](/self-host/advanced/without-tunneling).
