---
title: Docker Compose installation
---

This installation method is for test setups and small-scale production setups.

## Requirements

- A host with at least 2 CPU cores and 2 GB of RAM
- Podman or Docker Compose (Compose v2, see [instructions for upgrade](https://docs.docker.com/compose/migrate/))

## Video

View our video about installing authentik on Docker.

<iframe
    width="560"
    height="315"
    src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O1qUbrk4Yc8?si=HiSBjmJYhE_oJhB1&amp;start=22"
    title="YouTube video player"
    frameBorder="0"
    allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share"
    allowFullScreen
></iframe>

## Download the Compose file

To download the latest `compose.yml` open your terminal, navigate to the directory of your choice, and then run the following command:

import TabItem from "@theme/TabItem";
import Tabs from "@theme/Tabs";

{/* prettier-ignore */}
<Tabs groupId="OS">
    <TabItem value="Linux" label="Linux" default>
        ```shell
        wget https://docs.goauthentik.io/compose.yml
        ```
    </TabItem>
    <TabItem value="macOS" label="macOS">
        ```shell
        curl -O https://docs.goauthentik.io/compose.yml
        ```
    </TabItem>
</Tabs>

## Generate PostgreSQL password and secret key

If this is a fresh authentik installation, you need to generate a PostgreSQL password and a secret key. Use a secure password generator of your choice such as `pwgen`, or you can use `openssl` as below.

Run the following commands to generate a PostgreSQL password and secret key and write them to your `.env` file:

{/* prettier-ignore */}
```shell
echo "PG_PASS=$(openssl rand -base64 36 | tr -d '\n')" >> .env
echo "AUTHENTIK_SECRET_KEY=$(openssl rand -base64 60 | tr -d '\n')" >> .env
```

:::info
Because of a PostgreSQL limitation, only passwords up to 99 chars are supported. See: https://www.postgresql.org/message-id/09512C4F-8CB9-4021-B455-EF4C4F0D55A0@amazon.com
:::

To enable error reporting, run the following command:

```shell
echo "AUTHENTIK_ERROR_REPORTING__ENABLED=true" >> .env
```

For an explanation about what each service in the Docker Compose file does, see [Architecture](../../core/architecture.md).

## Configure custom ports

By default, authentik listens internally on port 9000 for HTTP and 9443 for HTTPS. To use different exposed ports such as 80 and 443, you can set the following variables in `.env`:

```shell
COMPOSE_PORT_HTTP=80
COMPOSE_PORT_HTTPS=443
```

See [Configuration](../configuration/configuration.mdx) to change the internal ports. Be sure to run `docker compose up -d` to rebuild with the new port numbers.

## Docker socket

By default, the authentik Docker Compose file mounts the Docker socket to the authentik worker container:

```yaml
- /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
```

This is used for [automatic deployment and management of authentik Outposts](../../add-secure-apps/outposts/integrations/docker.md).

Mounting the Docker socket to a container comes with some inherent security risks. To reduce these risks, you can utilize a [Docker Socket Proxy](../../add-secure-apps/outposts/integrations/docker.md#docker-socket-proxy) as an additional layer of protection.

Alternatively, you can remove this mount and instead [manually deploy and manage outposts](../../add-secure-apps/outposts/manual-deploy-docker-compose.md).

## Email configuration (optional but recommended)

It is also recommended to configure global email settings. These are used by authentik to notify administrators about alerts, configuration issues and new releases. They can also be used by [Email stages](../../add-secure-apps/flows-stages/stages/email/index.mdx) to send verification/recovery emails.

For more information, refer to our [Email configuration](../email.mdx) documentation.

## Install and start authentik

:::warning
All internal operations use UTC. Times displayed in the UI are automatically localized for the user. Do not update or mount `/etc/timezone` or `/etc/localtime` in the authentik containers; it will cause problems with OAuth and SAML authentication, as seen this [GitHub issue](https://github.com/goauthentik/authentik/issues/3005).
:::

After you have downloaded the `docker-compose.yml` file, generated a password and a secret key, and optionally configured your global email, run these commands to retrieve and install the current version of authentik:

```shell
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d
```

The `compose.yml` file statically references the latest version available at the time of downloading the compose file. Each time you upgrade to a newer version of authentik, you download a new `compose.yml` file, which points to the latest available version. For more information, refer to the **Upgrading** section in the [Release Notes](../../../releases/).

## Access authentik

To start the initial setup, navigate to `http://<your server's IP or hostname>:9000/if/flow/initial-setup/`.

:::info Initial setup in browser
You will get a `Not Found` error if initial setup URL doesn't include the trailing forward slash `/`. Also verify that the authentik server, worker, and PostgreSQL database are running and healthy. Review additional tips in our [troubleshooting docs](../../troubleshooting/login.md#cant-access-initial-setup-flow-during-installation-steps).
:::

There you are prompted to set a password for the `akadmin` user (the default user).

## First steps in authentik

import BlurbFirstSteps from "../first-steps/_blurb_first_steps.mdx";

<BlurbFirstSteps />
