Install with Docker Compose

This page takes you from an empty server to a running Gophenberg. You need Docker with Compose, and a reverse proxy in front holding your HTTPS certificate, such as Caddy, Traefik, or nginx.

1. The compose file

Create a directory on your server with this compose.yaml:

services:
  db:
    image: postgres:18
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: gophenberg
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: change-me
    volumes:
      - db-data:/var/lib/postgresql
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]
      interval: 2s
      timeout: 2s
      retries: 15

  gophenberg:
    image: ghcr.io/gopherium/gophenberg:0.3.0
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      GOPHENBERG_DATABASE_URL: postgres://postgres:change-me@db:5432/gophenberg?sslmode=disable
      GOPHENBERG_SITE_TITLE: My Site
      GOPHENBERG_TRUSTED_PROXIES: 172.16.0.0/12
    volumes:
      - themes:/themes
      - media:/media
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:8081:8081"
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy

volumes:
  db-data:
  themes:
  media:

Three values to change:

The password, in both places it appears.
The image tag. Pin the newest version from the tags page, never latest.
GOPHENBERG_TRUSTED_PROXIES, the network your proxy connects from, in CIDR notation. The value above fits a proxy in Docker and a proxy on the host, which reaches the container through the same Docker bridge.

The healthcheck and the condition keep Gophenberg from starting before the database is ready on first boot. The themes volume is where themes you upload in the admin are kept, so it has to stay writable.

docker compose up -d
docker compose run --rm -T gophenberg \
  createadmin -email admin@example.com -name "Maria Perez"

Migrations run at startup, so there is no setup step. createadmin waits for you to type the password, keeping it out of your shell history.

3. Point your proxy at it

Forward your domain to 127.0.0.1:8081. With Caddy:

example.com {
    reverse_proxy 127.0.0.1:8081
}

4. Check it works

Your domain shows the public site.
curl -sI https://example.com | grep -i x-generator answers with Gophenberg 0.3. The -i matters, HTTP/2 lowercases header names.
/admin/ loads and your login works.

From here: configuration lists every setting, and installing a theme changes how the site looks.

Install with Docker Compose

1. The compose file

2. Start it and create your login

3. Point your proxy at it

4. Check it works