Docker Deployment

Docker Deployment

Docker is the recommended way to deploy TalesMUD in production. The included Dockerfile and docker-compose.yml get you from source to running server with one command.

docker-compose.yml

The included compose file covers a basic deployment:

version: '3'
services:
  talesmud:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "8010:8010"
    environment:
      - GIN_MODE=release
      - SQLITE_PATH=/data/talesmud.db
      - AUTH_ENABLED=false
      - ADMIN_USER=admin
      - ADMIN_PASSWORD=changeme
    volumes:
      - ~/volumes/talesmud/data:/data

Quick Start

1. Clone and configure

   git clone https://github.com/TalesMUD/talesmud.git
   cd talesmud
   cp .env.example .env
   # Edit .env with production values

2. Start the container

   docker compose up -d

3. View logs

   docker compose logs -f talesmud

4. Stop

   docker compose down

Building the Image

# Build locally
docker build -t talesmud .

# Run directly
docker run -d \
  -p 8010:8010 \
  -v ~/volumes/talesmud:/data \
  -e GIN_MODE=release \
  -e SQLITE_PATH=/data/talesmud.db \
  -e ADMIN_USER=admin \
  -e ADMIN_PASSWORD=changeme \
  talesmud

Data Persistence

The SQLite database must be persisted outside the container. Mount a volume:

volumes:
  - ~/volumes/talesmud/data:/data

And set SQLITE_PATH=/data/talesmud.db.

Don't lose your data

Always mount a volume for the database. Stopping and removing the container without a mounted volume will destroy all game data.

Production Environment

For production deployments:

environment:
  - GIN_MODE=release          # Disables debug logging
  - LOG_LEVEL=info            # Only info+ logs
  - SQLITE_PATH=/data/talesmud.db
  - AUTH_ENABLED=true         # Enable Auth0 authentication
  - AUTH0_AUDIENCE=https://yourdomain.com/api
  - AUTH0_DOMAIN=https://your-tenant.auth0.com/
  - AUTH0_WK_JWKS=https://your-tenant.auth0.com/.well-known/jwks.json

Health Check

Add a health check to your compose file:

services:
  talesmud:
    # ...
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:8010/health"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 40s

With Nginx (Reverse Proxy)

For SSL termination and WebSocket proxying, add Nginx to your compose:

services:
  talesmud:
    build: .
    # Don't expose port directly — Nginx handles it
    environment:
      - GIN_MODE=release
      - SQLITE_PATH=/data/talesmud.db
    volumes:
      - ~/volumes/talesmud:/data

  nginx:
    image: nginx:alpine
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
    volumes:
      - ./nginx/default.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf
      - /etc/letsencrypt:/etc/letsencrypt:ro
    depends_on:
      - talesmud

See the Nginx Configuration guide for the full config.

Backup

# Backup the database
docker exec talesmud_talesmud_1 sqlite3 /data/talesmud.db \
  ".backup /data/talesmud.backup.db"

# Copy backup to host
docker cp talesmud_talesmud_1:/data/talesmud.backup.db ./backups/

Next Steps

• Environment Variables — Full config reference
• Nginx Configuration — SSL and WebSocket reverse proxy
• Auth0 Setup — Production authentication
• Production Checklist — Pre-launch checklist