Docker Compose

The recommended production deployment: the app container plus PostgreSQL 17.

Pre-built image (no build tools needed)

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mitchelljfranklin/mitch-dojo/master/docker-compose.pull.yml

Edit docker-compose.pull.yml and change the three change-me secrets (each openssl rand -hex 32), then:

docker compose -f docker-compose.pull.yml up -d

This pulls the published image from GitHub Container Registry instead of building from source. Everything below applies identically.

1. Prepare the environment

git clone https://github.com/mitchelljfranklin/mitch-dojo.git
cd mitch-dojo

All environment values live inline in docker-compose.yml — no .env file needed. Change the three change-me secrets (each 32+ characters):

openssl rand -hex 32   # AUTH_SECRET
openssl rand -hex 32   # APP_ENCRYPTION_KEY
openssl rand -hex 32   # CRON_SECRET

2. Start the stack

docker compose up -d --build

This starts:

• app - the Next.js standalone server (node:22.23.4-slim)
• db — PostgreSQL 17 with a persistent volume

The entrypoint applies prisma migrate deploy and seeds system roles + default settings once (idempotent, marker-file guarded), then serves.

3. First run

Open http://localhost:3000 — the app redirects to first-run setup where you create the initial administrator account. Afterwards, configure the dojo under Admin (see the configuration guide).

Updating

git pull
docker compose up -d --build

Migrations apply automatically on boot. Data lives in the named Postgres volume; rebuilds don't touch it.

Development database only

For local development against a real Postgres without running the app in Docker:

docker compose -f docker-compose.db-only.yml up -d

Data & volumes

Volume	Contents
Postgres data volume	All records — students, attendance, belts, invoices
DATA_STORAGE_PATH mount	Uploaded files (photos, attachments, logo)

Back up both — see Backups.

Environment reference

All values live inline in the compose file (edit docker-compose.yml or docker-compose.pull.yml directly — no .env file needed):

Variable	Current value	Purpose
DATABASE_URL	postgresql://mitch:mitch@db:5432/mitch_dojo	Postgres connection string
AUTH_SECRET	change-me-…	Session signing secret (min 32 chars)
APP_ENCRYPTION_KEY	change-me-…	AES-256-GCM key for secrets at rest (min 32 chars)
CRON_SECRET	change-me-…	Protects /api/cron/run (min 32 chars, enforced)
APP_URL	http://localhost:3000	Public base URL (used in emails and public pages)
DATA_STORAGE_PATH	/app/.storage/files	File storage root
TRUSTED_PROXY_COUNT	0	Proxy hops for client-IP resolution
TZ	Australia/Brisbane	The dojo's IANA time zone — see the note below

Change the three change-me secrets before exposing the app publicly. The container refuses to start if CRON_SECRET is shorter than 32 characters.

Time zone

The container's TZ must match the dojo's time zone — there is no in-app timezone setting. Check-in ("today's classes"), session generation, the attendance browser's default window, analytics day buckets, trial follow-up windows, and reminder timing all key off the server's local day. With the default UTC container timezone, a dojo east of UTC would see "No classes today" on the check-in page for any class starting before the UTC day rolls over (10am for UTC+10). Set TZ to your IANA zone (e.g. Australia/Sydney, Europe/London, America/New_York) and recreate the container.

Health check: GET /api/health returns 200 {"status":"ok"}.