Deploy Appwrite

Appwrite® - complete cloud infrastructure for your web, mobile and AI apps. Including Auth, Databases, Storage, Functions, Messaging, Hosting, Realtime and more

⭐ 54.7k stars📜 BSD 3-Clause “New” or “Revised” License🔴 Advanced⏱ ~20 minutes

What You’ll Get

A fully working Appwrite instance running on your server. Your data stays on your hardware — no third-party access, no usage limits, no surprise invoices.

Prerequisites

A server with Docker and Docker Compose installed (setup guide)
A domain name pointed to your server (optional but recommended)
Basic terminal access (SSH)

The Config

Create a directory for Appwrite and add this docker-compose.yml:


# -------------------------------------------------------------------------
# 🚀 Created and distributed by The AltStack
# 🌍 https://thealtstack.com
# -------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
# Docker Compose for Appwrite
# Note: Appwrite is a complex multi-service system. 
# This is a production-ready configuration for the core services.
version: '3.8'
 
services:
  appwrite:
    image: appwrite/appwrite:1.5.4
    container_name: appwrite
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
    environment:
      - _APP_ENV=production
      - _APP_DB_HOST=db
      - _APP_DB_USER=appwrite
      - _APP_DB_PASS=${DB_PASSWORD:-password}
      - _APP_REDIS_HOST=redis
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
      redis:
        condition: service_healthy
    networks:
      - appwrite_net
    healthcheck:
      test: [ "CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost/v1/health" ]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
 
  db:
    image: mariadb:10.11 # Appwrite uses MariaDB by default
    container_name: appwrite-db
    environment:
      MARIADB_USER: appwrite
      MARIADB_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD:-password}
      MARIADB_DATABASE: appwrite
      MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${DB_ROOT_PASSWORD:-rootpassword}
    volumes:
      - appwrite_db_data:/var/lib/mysql
    networks:
      - appwrite_net
    healthcheck:
      test: [ "CMD-SHELL", "mysqladmin ping -h localhost -u root -p${DB_ROOT_PASSWORD:-rootpassword}" ]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
 
  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    container_name: appwrite-redis
    networks:
      - appwrite_net
    healthcheck:
      test: [ "CMD", "redis-cli", "ping" ]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5
 
networks:
  appwrite_net:
    driver: bridge
 
volumes:
  appwrite_db_data:
    name: appwrite_db_data

Let’s Ship It


# Create a directory
mkdir -p /opt/appwrite && cd /opt/appwrite
 
# Create the docker-compose.yml (paste the config above)
nano docker-compose.yml
 
# Pull images and start
docker compose up -d
 
# Watch the logs
docker compose logs -f

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Required
`_APP_ENV`	`production`	No
`_APP_DB_HOST`	`db`	No
`_APP_DB_USER`	`appwrite`	No
`_APP_DB_PASS`	`${DB_PASSWORD:-password}`	No
`_APP_REDIS_HOST`	`redis`	No
`DB_PASSWORD`	`password`	No
`DB_ROOT_PASSWORD`	`rootpassword`	No

Post-Deployment Checklist

Service is accessible on the configured port
Admin account created (if applicable)
Reverse proxy configured (Caddy guide)
SSL/HTTPS working
Backup script set up (backup guide)
Uptime monitor added (Uptime Kuma)

The “I Broke It” Section

Container won’t start?


docker compose logs appwrite | tail -50

Port already in use?


# Find what's using the port
lsof -i :PORT_NUMBER

Need to start fresh?


docker compose down -v  # ⚠️ This deletes volumes/data!
docker compose up -d