Docker File does not start with default parameters

[Daniel-RUS]

It is necessary to add the docker-compose.example.yml of the mandatory configuration parameters to the File:
It was:
RAILS_FORCE_SSL: false
RAILS_ASSUME_SSL: false
POSTGRES_USER: postgres
GOOD_JOB_EXECUTION_MODE: async

It is necessary to supplement the configuration file with even parameters (or at least a mandatory parameter!):
SECRET_KEY_BASE: [ADD DATA]
SYNTH_API_KEY: [ADD DATA]

[zachgoll]

The SYNTH_API_KEY is not necessarily mandatory, so I think we should keep that out.

The SECRET_KEY_BASE and POSTGRES_PASSWORD are mandatory and are mentioned in the instructions below, but they require you to create a .env file that is consumed by the compose service:

maybe/docs/hosting/docker.md

Lines 19 to 26 in e4ac5c8

	# Create an .env file (make sure to fill in empty variables manually)
	cat << EOF > .env
	# Use "openssl rand -hex 64" to generate this
	SECRET_KEY_BASE=
	# Can be any value, set to what you'd like
	POSTGRES_PASSWORD=
	EOF

I wonder if it might be a bit clearer to write our compose example file this way?

diff --git a/docker-compose.example.yml b/docker-compose.example.yml
index f7f1a3c..a452a0f 100644
--- a/docker-compose.example.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.example.yml
@@ -7,8 +7,6 @@ services:
     ports:
       - 127.0.0.1:3000:3000
     restart: unless-stopped
-    env_file:
-      - .env
     environment:
       SELF_HOSTING_ENABLED: true
       DB_HOST: postgres
@@ -16,6 +14,8 @@ services:
       RAILS_ASSUME_SSL: false
       POSTGRES_USER: postgres
       GOOD_JOB_EXECUTION_MODE: async
+      SECRET_KEY_BASE: ${SECRET_KEY_BASE}
+      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
     depends_on:
       postgres:
         condition: service_healthy

[Daniel-RUS]

I just honestly didn't understand the point about the .env file . I don't understand yml very well .
I created a .env file and named it stack.env. But for some reason the container didn't start. So I fixed

    env_file:
      - .env

to

    env_file:
      - stack.env

But that didn't help either.
Then I fixed the line:
POSTGRES_PASSWORD: MyPass
And added the lines:

SECRET_KEY_BASE: My_SECRET_KEY_BASE
      SYNTH_API_KEY: My_SYNTH_API_KEY

So, docker just doesn't see the settings file and what to do to make it work I didn't understand(
I specified variables in the file differently:

 SECRET_KEY_BASE = My_SECRET_KEY_BASE
 SECRET_KEY_BASE = 'My_SECRET_KEY_BASE'
 SECRET_KEY_BASE = “My_SECRET_KEY_BASE”

And nothing helped(. It wrote an error that SECRET_KEY_BASE is waiting for a string.

So, either I need to discard the customization file or add:

# Create an .env file (make sure to fill in empty variables manually)
cat << EOF > .env
# 
# Use “openssl rand -hex 64” to generate this 
SECRET_KEY_BASE= 
# Example: SECRET_KEY_BASE = “My_SECRET_KEY_BASE”

# Can be any value, set to what you'd like
POSTGRES_PASSWORD= 
EOF

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

[zachgoll]

@Daniel-RUS by default, Docker compose looks for a file with the exact name of .env, so the naming is important here.

It's hard for me to know what has been changed and what has not in your local setup, so would you mind starting from scratch following the exact steps provided in the Docker setup guide?

If anything fails, let me know the step that was either not clear or did not work and I'll get the guide updated.

[Daniel-RUS]

The command to create the file is not clear. I just manually created the file.
I would write something like “create a maybe.env file with the following contents”. Let them think how to do it themselves. Everyone knows how to do it themselves.
But it is frustrating that the file does not run out of the box. I have never understood how to launch it according to the instructions.
In particular, the problem is in the line:
POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD:?}

Even if we specify the file name maybe.env , we still get the following error: error while interpolating services.postgres.environment.POSTGRES_PASSWORD: required variable POSTGRES_PASSWORD is missing a value
Therefore, I suggest changing the line to:
POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
And change the line with env so that everything works out of the box:

    env_file:
      - maybe.env

Who knows, will change it. And those who don't know how it works will get a positive result. And not like me - I had to read more on this thing.

And in the env file write like this:

# Use “openssl rand -hex 64” to generate this
SECRET_KEY_BASE=opensshex

# Can be any value, set to what you'd like
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=change_me

This is to make it clear how to write with “” or '' or without anything.

However, I did all that and with the env file I get an error:

Attaching to app-1, postgres-1
postgres-1 | Error: Database is uninitialized and superuser password is not specified.
postgres-1 | You must specify POSTGRES_PASSWORD to a non-empty value for the
postgres-1 | superuser. For example, “-e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=password” on “docker run”.

That is, it doesn't see the POSTGRES_PASSWORD field. I don't know why.

Also after startup, the standard login and password didn't work. And this is strange.
And it is not clear how to administer users. If I put the site on the Internet, it turns out that anyone can create their own profile. But it can be solved by password on nginix. It's not a big problem.

The whole problem arose that I do not know all the parameters of yml file. I really walked according to the instructions and did not get a result. Because you need to adapt the yml file. I had to change something in it.

[Daniel-RUS]

I hope I haven't upset you too much. You have come a long way and I am a novice user. Thank you for developing the application.

[Daniel-RUS]

I don't know if it is necessary to change it, but they usually write

    ports:
      - 3000:3000

So, as you did is more safely, but maybe someone will have a surprise that the application on the server opens, but there is no PC on the phone or another PC.
I was surprised why the site does not open on my PC, because it works. I spent 10 minutes to understand that everything is in order and the matter is in the configuration. This is because I did not read the yml file before launch, and just see what this thing is.

ports: 
 - 127.0.0.1:3000:3000

`services:

app:
image: ghcr.io/maybe-finance/maybe:latest
volumes:
- ./storage:/rails/storage
ports:
- 3000:3000
restart: unless-stopped
env_file:
- stack.env
environment:
SELF_HOSTING_ENABLED: true
DB_HOST: postgres
RAILS_FORCE_SSL: false
RAILS_ASSUME_SSL: false
POSTGRES_USER: postgres
GOOD_JOB_EXECUTION_MODE: async
depends_on:
postgres:
condition: service_healthy

postgres:
image: postgres:16
restart: unless-stopped
volumes:
- postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
env_file:
- stack.env
environment:
POSTGRES_USER: ${POSTGRES_USER:-postgres}
POSTGRES_DB: ${POSTGRES_DB:-maybe_production}
POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}
healthcheck:
test: [ "CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U $$POSTGRES_USER" ]
interval: 5s
timeout: 5s
retries: 5

volumes:
postgres-data:`

[zachgoll]

Thanks for the feedback, will adjust the instructions to be a bit more clear on the env file.

Ultimately, using Docker Compose to self host the app will not be 100% automated. We have intentionally named the file as a .example with reasonable defaults so that users can configure it as they wish. For a slightly less technical way to self host the app, I'd recommend checking out our Render guide. We'll also have a hosted version of the app soon.

To answer some of your questions:

RE: Default login/password - currently, you will need to "register" a new account in order to use the app. The default username and password are for contributors who are developing the application. We have an issue open to improve the security around this here.

RE: Environment - by default, Docker compose looks for a file named .env in the same directory as your docker-compose.yml file. Instead of naming it maybe.env or stack.env, you should name it .env and place the POSTGRES_PASSWORD and SECRET_KEY_BASE in that file. Alternatively, you could define these directly in the compose yml file under the environment key. You can find the official docs for that here.

[oliveratgithub]

I don't know if it is necessary to change it, but they usually write

    ports:
      - 3000:3000

💡 fyi @zachgoll : I changed this in my copy of the docker-compose.yml to use the dotENV value:

    ports:
      - ${PORT:-3000}:3000

[zachgoll]

I like that addition!