Install on a server

Run locally (to test)

Want to kick the tires before committing to a server? You can run the whole platform on your own computer. It's perfect for evaluating Astrodock or developing apps — just remember it's only reachable from your machine, so it's not a real, shareable install.

1. Install Docker Desktop

   Get Docker Desktop for Mac or Windows (on Linux, Docker Engine is fine) and start it. Confirm it works:

   docker compose version

2. Get Astrodock

   Clone the repository (locally you probably want the source anyway):

   git clone https://github.com/astrodock/astrodock.git
   cd astrodock

3. Configure for local — one command

   This generates a local .env (localhost, plain HTTP) with every secret filled in. It asks nothing:

   ./scripts/setup.sh --local

4. Start it

   docker compose up -d

   This pulls the prebuilt images. To build from your working copy instead — which is what you want if you're changing Astrodock itself:

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

   (Tip: ./scripts/setup.sh --local --up configures and starts in one go.)

5. Create your account and open the dashboard

   Go to http://admin.localhost. On a fresh install you'll get the setup wizard, which asks for a one-time token printed in the log:

   docker compose logs api | grep -A2 'first-run setup'

   Paste it, pick an email and password, and you're in. Because --local already set the domain, the wizard skips straight past the domain step. Your apps will live at http://<subdomain>.localhost.

   Why .localhost just works

   Browsers automatically resolve any *.localhost name to your own computer, so admin.localhost and notes.localhost work with no DNS or hosts-file changes.

Stopping & cleaning up

docker compose down        # stop the stack (keeps your data)
docker compose down -v     # stop AND delete all data (fresh start)

What's next

• Deploy your first app → (works the same locally)
• Ready for real? DigitalOcean or any server