Run Casdoor with Docker

This guide explains how to run Casdoor in a Docker container and sign in to the admin console.

Learning outcomes

Choose between the two Casdoor images.
Start Casdoor with one command for a trial.
Run Casdoor against your own database with docker run or Docker Compose.

What you need

Docker on Linux, Windows, or macOS. On Linux, Docker Engine 17.05 or later.
At least 100 MB of RAM to run a pre-built image. At least 2 GB of RAM to build the image yourself, because the frontend build fails with less.
For Docker Compose: Docker Compose v2.2 or later. On Linux, you install Compose separately from Docker Engine.
For the standard image: a supported database that the container can reach.

conseil

Don't want to run it yourself? Casdoor Cloud gives you a dedicated Casdoor instance that we host and keep upgraded for you, from $29/month with no per-user fees. New accounts get $20 in free credit to try it.

Choose an image

Casdoor publishes two images on Docker Hub:

Image produit	Contents	Use it for
`casbin/casdoor-all-in-one`	Casdoor with an embedded SQLite database and default settings	A quick trial. Not for production
`casbin/casdoor`	Casdoor only	Production, connected to your own database

Try Casdoor with the all-in-one image

Start the container. Docker pulls the image if you don't have it.
```
docker run -p 8000:8000 casbin/casdoor-all-in-one
```
Open http://localhost:8000 in a browser.
Sign in with the organization built-in, the username admin, and the password 123.

The data lives in a SQLite file inside the container and is lost when you remove the container.

Run the standard image with your database

Pass the settings to the container in one of two ways.

Pass settings as environment variables

This is the recommended way. Every option of app.conf is also an environment variable.

Start the container with the database settings:
```
docker run \
  -e driverName=mysql \
  -e dataSourceName='<user>:<password>@tcp(<host>:3306)/' \
  -p 8000:8000 \
  casbin/casdoor:latest
```
- <user> and <password>: the database account.
- <host>: the address of the database as seen from inside the container.
Open http://localhost:8000 and sign in as built-in/admin with the password 123.

Mount a configuration file

Copy conf/app.conf to a folder on the host and set the database connection. See Configure the database.
Start the container and mount the folder at /conf, so that the file is at /conf/app.conf inside the container:
```
docker run -p 8000:8000 -v /folder/of/app.conf:/conf casbin/casdoor:latest
```
Open http://localhost:8000 and sign in as built-in/admin with the password 123.

note

Casdoor runs as uid and gid 1000 inside the container. When you mount a volume that Casdoor writes to, for example for a SQLite file, make the path writable by uid 1000. Otherwise Casdoor fails with permission denied.

Run Casdoor and a database with Docker Compose

The Casdoor repository contains a docker-compose.yml that starts Casdoor together with a database.

Clone the repository or copy docker-compose.yml to a folder.
Put app.conf in a conf/ directory next to docker-compose.yml. Start from conf/app.conf.
Start the services:
```
docker-compose up
```
Open http://localhost:8000 and sign in as built-in/admin with the password 123.

info

docker-compose.yml sets the RUNNING_IN_DOCKER environment variable. The database is reachable at localhost from the host but not from inside the Casdoor container. When RUNNING_IN_DOCKER is set, Casdoor connects to host.docker.internal instead, so you don't have to edit app.conf.

Next steps

Change the password of built-in/admin before you expose Casdoor to a network.
Deploy with Docker in production
Connect an application to Casdoor

Learning outcomes​

What you need​

Choose an image​

Try Casdoor with the all-in-one image​

Run the standard image with your database​

Pass settings as environment variables​

Mount a configuration file​

Run Casdoor and a database with Docker Compose​

Next steps​

See also​