How to Install Docmost on Proxmox with SSL

Welcome! This video covers installing Docmost on Proxmox, including adding SSL for full feature support like websocket-enabled auto-copy code blocks. If you haven’t set up a reverse proxy with SSL yet, see episode 26.

Create a Container on Proxmox

Steps covered in prior videos; in summary:

1. Download Ubuntu CT template on your node local storage (if not done before).
2. Configure CT’s networking (DHCP or static IP).
3. Start the CT.

Log in via the console with:

• Username: root
• Password: as set during CT creation.

Installing Docker

Follow official Docker instructions here.

Add Docker’s GPG key and repository:

# Add Docker's official GPG key:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ca-certificates curl
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc

# Add the repository to Apt sources:
echo \
  "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \
  $(. /etc/os-release && echo "${UBUNTU_CODENAME:-$VERSION_CODENAME}") stable" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null
sudo apt-get update

Install Docker packages:

sudo apt-get install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

Verify by running:

sudo docker run hello-world

Install Docmost

Create directory and download docker-compose file:

mkdir docmost
cd docmost
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/docmost/docmost/main/docker-compose.yml

Generate app secret key:

openssl rand -hex 32

Find your machine’s IP address:

ip a

Edit docker-compose.yml to update:

• APP_URL with your domain (e.g. https://docmost.example.com).
• APP_SECRET with the key you generated.
• POSTGRES_PASSWORD with a secure password.
• Matching password in DATABASE_URL.

Open with:

nano docker-compose.yml

Example section:

version: "3"

services:
  docmost:
    image: docmost/docmost:latest
    depends_on:
      - db
      - redis
    environment:
      APP_URL: "http://localhost:3000"
      APP_SECRET: "REPLACE_WITH_LONG_SECRET"
      DATABASE_URL: "postgresql://docmost:STRONG_DB_PASSWORD@db:5432/docmost?schema=public"
      REDIS_URL: "redis://redis:6379"
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - docmost:/app/data/storage

  db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: docmost
      POSTGRES_USER: docmost
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: STRONG_DB_PASSWORD
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - db_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

  redis:
    image: redis:7.2-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - redis_data:/data

volumes:
  docmost:
  db_data:
  redis_data:

After Docmost Install

Start the Services​

Make sure you are inside the docmost directory which contains the docker-compose.yml file.

To start the services, run:

docker compose up -d

Start Docmost Services

Inside the docmost folder, run:

docker compose up -d

Access Docmost via:

http://ip_address:3000

Create your user account (note: password asked only once, be sure to type it correctly).

Configure and Use Docmost

Switch Theme

Go to profile (top right) → My Preferences → select Dark Mode or Light Mode.

Create Spaces

Organize notes into "Spaces" (like books) per topic or for access control (Settings → Spaces).

Switch spaces via dropdown in notes (may require refreshing browser after creating new space).

Create Folders

Drag and drop a page over another to nest it as a folder dropdown.

Add Sections / Code Blocks

Type / to open command menu for adding blocks or sections.

Adding SSL Certificate

If you need an SSL certificate, refer to episode 26 or the video here.

Updating Docmost

Note: Save any work before upgrading.

To upgrade, inside the Docmost directory:

docker pull docmost/docmost
docker compose up --force-recreate --build docmost -d

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