Docker

TryPost ships two Compose files:

File	Purpose
`compose.prod.yaml`	Self-hosting in production — pulls `ghcr.io/trypostit/trypost:latest`, Postgres, Redis, Horizon, Reverb, scheduler, optional Caddy TLS
`compose.yaml`	Local development — builds from source, bind-mounts the repo, Mailpit, Vite

Which database Compose gives you

Both files bundle PostgreSQL 16. That is the packaged path, and the one TryPost Cloud runs. MySQL is equally supported by the application, but no Compose file ships it. To run TryPost on MySQL with Docker, point the app at your own MySQL and take the bundled Postgres out of the file — including the depends_on entry, or Compose refuses to start on a service that no longer exists:

services:
  app:
    environment:
      DB_CONNECTION: mysql
      DB_HOST: your-mysql-host
      DB_PORT: "3306"
      DB_DATABASE: trypost
      DB_USERNAME: trypost
      DB_PASSWORD: your_password
    depends_on:
      redis:
        condition: service_healthy

Then delete the pgsql: service itself and the pgdata volume it declared.

Check the image ships the MySQL driver before you switch. Images up to and including v1.0.8 were built with pdo_pgsql only, so DB_CONNECTION=mysql fails with could not find driver before a single query runs. Confirm with:

docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml exec app php -m | grep pdo_mysql

No output means you need a newer image.

The container’s readiness check uses pg_isready, so on MySQL it cannot confirm the database is up. It gives up after 60 seconds and continues, and migrations then run normally — so every boot takes about a minute longer. Nothing is lost; the container just waits out the check first.

See Database for the trade-offs between the two engines.

Requirements

Docker Desktop (Mac, Windows) or Docker Engine (Linux)
Docker Compose v2

Production self-hosting

No local PHP/Node install required. The published image includes the built frontend.

What you do vs what the container does

You (once)	Entrypoint / Supervisor (automatic)
Set `APP_KEY`, `APP_URL`, DB passwords, `REVERB_APP_SECRET`, `PASSPORT_PRIVATE_KEY` / `PASSPORT_PUBLIC_KEY`	Wait for the database, run migrations
`docker compose … up -d`	Use Passport keys from env, `storage:link` if missing, ensure Personal Access Client
`db:seed` (plans) + `UserSeeder`	Cache config/routes/views/events
Optional: Caddy TLS profile	Start nginx, php-fpm, Horizon, Reverb, schedule:work

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/trypostit/trypost.git
cd trypost

You only need the repo for compose.prod.yaml (and optionally Caddyfile). The app image comes from GHCR.

2. Generate an app key and edit the compose file

docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml run --rm app php artisan key:generate --show

Paste the value into APP_KEY in compose.prod.yaml. Also set:

APP_URL — your public URL (e.g. https://post.yourdomain.com)
DB_PASSWORD / POSTGRES_PASSWORD (must match)
REVERB_APP_SECRET
PASSPORT_PRIVATE_KEY / PASSPORT_PUBLIC_KEY — required in production (file keys under storage/ are not on a persisted volume). Generate once:

docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml run --rm app php artisan passport:keys --show

Paste the PEM contents into the compose env vars (use \n for newlines). Do not regenerate after users have issued API or MCP tokens. Leave REVERB_APP_KEY as trypost-reverb-key unless you rebuild the image — it must match the key baked into the published frontend bundle. Queues, cache, session, and broadcast are already set to Redis / Reverb / database in compose.prod.yaml. Configure mail (defaults to log) and optional social/AI credentials in the same file — see Configuration.

3. Start the stack

docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml up -d

On first boot the entrypoint:

waits for the database (PostgreSQL only — see above if you run MySQL)
runs migrations
creates storage:link if missing (unused if you later switch to S3 / R2 / Spaces)
loads Passport keys from PASSPORT_PRIVATE_KEY / PASSPORT_PUBLIC_KEY (exits if unset in production)
ensures the Passport Personal Access Client (PassportSeeder)
caches config / routes / views / events
starts nginx, php-fpm, Horizon, Reverb, and schedule:work

It does not create the admin user or plan rows — next step.

4. Seed plans and admin user (one-time)

docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml exec app php artisan db:seed
docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml exec app php artisan db:seed --class=UserSeeder

Seeder	Purpose
`DatabaseSeeder`	Plan rows (+ idempotent Passport Personal Access Client)
`UserSeeder`	Admin (`admin@trypost.it` / `password`)

Change the admin password on first login. Extra accounts come from workspace invites (Settings → Members).

Production Passport keys come from PASSPORT_* env vars (set before up). The entrypoint also runs PassportSeeder so API-key creation works without a manual client step. MCP uses OAuth (mcp:use) with those same keys — not API-key Bearer headers. Still run db:seed / UserSeeder for plans and the admin user.

5. Optional HTTPS with Caddy

Point DNS at the host
Set APP_URL to https://your-domain and APP_DOMAIN on the caddy service
Start with the proxy profile:

docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml --profile proxy up -d

Without the profile, the app listens on http://localhost:8000.

6. Verify

docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml exec app php artisan horizon:status
docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml logs -f app

Open APP_URL and sign in as admin
Create an API key (Settings → API Keys) — proves Passport keys + Personal Access Client exist
Connect an MCP client via OAuth (Settings → MCP), if you use assistants
Schedule a post — Horizon must show as running

Access

Service	URL
TryPost	`http://localhost:8000` (or your `APP_URL`)
Reverb	port `8080`, proxied under `/app/` and `/apps/` by in-container nginx

Reverb on a custom domain

The published image bakes VITE_REVERB_* at build time (localhost:8080). For HTTPS on your domain, rebuild:

docker build \
  --build-arg VITE_REVERB_HOST=post.yourdomain.com \
  --build-arg VITE_REVERB_PORT=443 \
  --build-arg VITE_REVERB_SCHEME=https \
  --build-arg VITE_REVERB_APP_KEY=trypost-reverb-key \
  -t trypost-app:custom \
  -f docker/Dockerfile \
  --target production \
  .

Point compose.prod.yaml at that image. Changing only runtime REVERB_HOST / PORT / SCHEME does not update the browser client.

Common production commands

docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml logs -f app
docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml exec app php artisan horizon:status
docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml exec app php artisan migrate --force
docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml down

Running migrate --force to move an existing instance to a newer version? Back the database up first and check Upgrading — some releases rewrite data as well as schema.

Local development

Use compose.yaml when you want a bind-mounted source tree.

1. Clone and start

git clone https://github.com/trypostit/trypost.git
cd trypost
docker compose up -d

On first boot the entrypoint can seed .env from docker/.env.docker.example, install Composer/npm deps if missing, generate APP_KEY, migrate, storage:link, and passport:keys. Horizon, Reverb, the scheduler, and Vite start via Supervisor. For local media URLs, set FILESYSTEM_DISK=public in .env (the Docker example ships with local) and ensure storage:link ran.

2. Seed admin + Passport client

docker compose exec app php artisan db:seed
docker compose exec app php artisan db:seed --class=UserSeeder

Or wipe-and-rebuild on a brand-new database:

docker compose exec app php artisan migrate:fresh --seed
docker compose exec app php artisan db:seed --class=UserSeeder

migrate:fresh drops every table.

Field	Value
Email	`admin@trypost.it`
Password	`password`

Access (dev)

Service	URL
TryPost	`http://localhost:8000` (or `APP_PORT`)
Mailpit	`http://localhost:8025`
Vite HMR	`http://localhost:5173`
Postgres	`localhost:5432`
Redis	`localhost:6379`
Reverb	`localhost:8080`

Common development commands

docker compose up -d
docker compose down
docker compose logs -f app
docker compose exec app php artisan <command>

Troubleshooting

Port conflicts

APP_PORT=8080
FORWARD_DB_PORT=5433
FORWARD_MAILPIT_UI_PORT=8026

Permission issues (Linux)

sudo chown -R $USER: .

Database connection refused

docker compose ps
# or
docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml ps

`could not find driver` on MySQL

The image predates the MySQL driver. Check and pull a newer one:

docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml exec app php -m | grep pdo_mysql

Images up to and including v1.0.8 shipped pdo_pgsql only — see above.

Boot hangs for a minute on MySQL

Expected. The readiness check is pg_isready, so it cannot confirm a MySQL server is up; it gives up after 60 seconds and migrations run normally. Watch it happen with docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml logs -f app.

API key creation fails with “Personal access client not found”

Seed the Passport client:

docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml exec app php artisan db:seed

Horizon not processing jobs

docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml exec app php artisan horizon:status
docker compose -f compose.prod.yaml logs app | grep -i horizon

Next steps

Configuration — mail, storage, social OAuth, AI
Production setup — bare-metal Nginx / Supervisor if you are not using compose.prod.yaml
Installation — clone-and-install without Docker

​Docker

​Which database Compose gives you

​Requirements

​Production self-hosting

​What you do vs what the container does

​1. Clone the repository

​2. Generate an app key and edit the compose file

​3. Start the stack

​4. Seed plans and admin user (one-time)

​5. Optional HTTPS with Caddy

​6. Verify

​Access

​Reverb on a custom domain

​Common production commands

​Local development

​1. Clone and start

​2. Seed admin + Passport client

​Access (dev)

​Common development commands

​Troubleshooting

​Port conflicts

​Permission issues (Linux)

​Database connection refused

​could not find driver on MySQL

​Boot hangs for a minute on MySQL

​API key creation fails with “Personal access client not found”

​Horizon not processing jobs

​Next steps

Docker

Which database Compose gives you

Requirements

Production self-hosting

What you do vs what the container does

1. Clone the repository

2. Generate an app key and edit the compose file

3. Start the stack

4. Seed plans and admin user (one-time)

5. Optional HTTPS with Caddy

6. Verify

Access

Reverb on a custom domain

Common production commands

Local development

1. Clone and start

2. Seed admin + Passport client

Access (dev)

Common development commands

Troubleshooting

Port conflicts

Permission issues (Linux)

Database connection refused

`could not find driver` on MySQL

Boot hangs for a minute on MySQL

API key creation fails with “Personal access client not found”

Horizon not processing jobs

Next steps