Install with Docker Compose

LatestArr runs as one container: the backend and the web UI together, with a SQLite database in a Docker volume. There’s no separate database or cache to run.

Before you start

Docker with Docker Compose.
At least one supported source that the container can reach.
An SMTP server or provider to send from. Read Deliverability before sending to real people, or your digests may land in spam.

Quick start

Get the Compose files

Grab docker-compose.yml and .env.example from the repository , or clone it.

Create your `.env`


cp .env.example .env

Set ENCRYPTION_KEY. It encrypts source credentials, SMTP credentials, and your alert webhook URL at rest. Generate one with:


openssl rand -base64 32

⚠️

Back this key up somewhere other than the .env file. If you lose it, every encrypted credential in the database becomes unreadable and you’ll have to re-enter them all.

Everything else is optional. See Environment variables.

Start it


docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Open it

Go to http://localhost:3000, create the admin account, and follow the first-run checklist.

What Compose sets up


Image	`ghcr.io/jshields-ca/latestarr:${LATESTARR_VERSION:-latest}`
Container	`latestarr`, `restart: unless-stopped`
Port	`${PORT:-3000}` on the host → `3000` in the container
Volume	`latestarr-data` mounted at `/app/data` (the SQLite database)
Runtime	Node 24 on Alpine New in 0.11

The container answers GET /health with {"status":"ok"} without authentication, which is handy for your own uptime checks. The image doesn’t define a Docker HEALTHCHECK itself.

Image tags

Tag	What it is
`latest`	The most recent release. The default.
`vX.Y.Z`	A specific release, e.g. `v0.11.2`. Set `LATESTARR_VERSION=v0.11.2` to pin.
`dev`	The upcoming release, rebuilt whenever the `dev` branch is updated. For testers.

To try the upcoming release, set LATESTARR_VERSION=dev in .env, then pull and restart:


docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

🚫

Don’t point an instance you depend on at dev. Back up first, and expect to find bugs. That’s what it’s for.

Without Compose


docker run -d \
  --name latestarr \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  -e ENCRYPTION_KEY="your-generated-key" \
  -v latestarr-data:/app/data \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  ghcr.io/jshields-ca/latestarr:latest

Pass any other environment variables the same way. Don’t generate the key inline with $(openssl …): you’d get a new key every time you recreate the container, and lose access to everything encrypted with the old one.

Building from source

docker compose up -d --build builds from docker/Dockerfile instead of pulling. For a development setup, see Contributing.