Manual Docker Compose Setup

Name: Rybbit
Author: Rybbit

This guide is for users who want to manually set up Rybbit using Docker Compose without the setup script. This is useful if you already have a reverse proxy setup (like Nginx, Traefik, or Coolify), or if you want more control over the configuration.

Prerequisites

Docker and Docker Compose installed
A domain name pointed to your server
Basic knowledge of Docker and environment variables

Setup Steps

Clone the Repository


git clone https://github.com/rybbit-io/rybbit.git
cd rybbit

Create Environment File

Create a .env file in the root directory with the following content:


# Required: Your domain and base URL
DOMAIN_NAME=your.domain.com
BASE_URL=https://your.domain.com
 
# Required: Authentication secret (generate a random 32+ character string)
BETTER_AUTH_SECRET=your-very-long-random-secret-string-here
 
# Optional: Disable new user signups after creating admin account
DISABLE_SIGNUP=false
 
# Optional: Custom ports (only needed if you want different ports)
# HOST_BACKEND_PORT="3001:3001"
# HOST_CLIENT_PORT="3002:3002"
 
# Optional: Database credentials (defaults work fine)
# CLICKHOUSE_PASSWORD=frog
# POSTGRES_USER=frog
# POSTGRES_PASSWORD=frog
# POSTGRES_DB=analytics
# CLICKHOUSE_DB=analytics

To generate a secure BETTER_AUTH_SECRET, you can use:


openssl rand -hex 32

Choose Your Setup Method

Built-in Caddy (Automatic SSL)

If you don’t have a reverse proxy and want automatic SSL certificates, use the default docker-compose.yml:


docker compose up -d

This will:

Start all services including Caddy
Automatically obtain SSL certificates
Make your app available at https://your.domain.com

Configure Your Reverse Proxy

If you’re using your own reverse proxy, configure it to:

Proxy requests to /api/* to http://localhost:3001
Proxy all other requests to http://localhost:3002

Example configurations:

Nginx


server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your.domain.com;
    return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}
 
server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name your.domain.com;
 
    # Your SSL configuration here
 
    location /api/ {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3001;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
 
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3002;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

Start the Services


# Start all services
docker compose up -d
 
# Or start specific services (without Caddy)
docker compose up -d backend client clickhouse postgres

Verify Setup

Check that all services are running:


docker compose ps

Monitor logs:


docker compose logs -f

Create Admin Account

Navigate to https://your.domain.com/signup and create your admin account.

Service Architecture

Rybbit consists of these services:

client: Next.js frontend (port 3002)
backend: Node.js API server (port 3001)
postgres: User data and configuration
clickhouse: Analytics data storage
caddy: Reverse proxy with automatic SSL (optional)

Common Configurations

Using Custom Ports

If you need different host ports (e.g., if 3001/3002 are already in use):


HOST_BACKEND_PORT="8080:3001"
HOST_CLIENT_PORT="8081:3002"

Using with Coolify

In Coolify, you can:

Create a new service with the docker-compose.yml
Set the environment variables in Coolify’s interface
Use Coolify’s built-in proxy by exposing ports 3001 and 3002

Using with Nginx Proxy Manager

Set up port exposure in your .env:


HOST_BACKEND_PORT="3001:3001"
HOST_CLIENT_PORT="3002:3002"

Create a proxy host pointing to your server IP:3002
Add a custom location /api/* pointing to your server IP:3001

Database Persistence

Data is automatically persisted in Docker volumes:

rybbit_clickhouse-data: Analytics data
rybbit_postgres-data: User accounts and site configurations

Advanced Configurations

For specific reverse proxy setups, see our detailed guides:

Custom Nginx Setup - Complete Nginx configuration with SSL
Nginx Proxy Manager - NPM setup without port exposure

These guides provide step-by-step instructions for integrating Rybbit with your existing infrastructure.

Troubleshooting

Services won’t start


# Check logs
docker compose logs
 
# Check service status
docker compose ps

Port conflicts

If you get port binding errors, either:

Change the host ports in your .env file
Stop the conflicting service
Use docker-compose.override.yml to customize ports

Database connection issues

Ensure the database services are healthy:


docker compose ps

Both postgres and clickhouse should show “healthy” status.

For more advanced configurations and setup script options, see our Advanced Self-Hosting Guide.