Self-host NodeBB with Docker

A modern forum platform with real-time discussions, SSO, and a plugin ecosystem, backed by Postgres.

This page describes the Levelrail template for NodeBB (Communication). It deploys the services below as one Docker Compose app on your own server.

Project site: https://docs.nodebb.org/.

Recommended memory: about 512 MiB.

Services, ports and volumes

Service	Image	Container ports	Volumes
nodebb	ghcr.io/nodebb/nodebb:latest	4567	nodebb_build -> /usr/src/app/build nodebb_uploads -> /usr/src/app/public/uploads nodebb_config -> /opt/config
postgres	postgres:16-alpine	none	nodebb_postgres_data -> /var/lib/postgresql/data

Environment variables

Service	Variable	Value
nodebb	POSTGRES_PASSWORD	Generated at deploy
postgres	POSTGRES_DB	Preset in the template
postgres	POSTGRES_PASSWORD	Generated at deploy
postgres	POSTGRES_USER	Preset in the template

Passwords and keys marked as generated are created for you when the app is deployed and stored as secrets. Values are not shown here.

Deploy NodeBB with Levelrail

In the dashboard, open Apps, choose New app, then Browse templates, and select NodeBB. Review the Compose body and deploy.

With the CLI:

levelrail-cli templates deploy nodebb --name my-nodebb

See Service template catalog for how templates work, and Getting started if you have not installed Levelrail yet.

More Communication templates

• Apache Answer
• Apprise API
• Campfire
• Chatwoot
• FreeScout
• Gotify

All templates are listed in the self-host gallery.