Deploy Pluton with Docker

This guide walks you through deploying Pluton using Docker and Docker Compose for a production-ready backup server.

---

Quick Start

1. Create Docker Compose File

Create docker-compose.yml:

services:
  pluton:
    image: plutonhq/pluton:latest
    # Uncomment below to build locally instead of pulling from Docker Hub
    # build:
    #   context: .
    #   dockerfile: Dockerfile
    container_name: pluton-backup
    restart: unless-stopped

    ports:
      - "${SERVER_PORT:-5173}:${SERVER_PORT:-5173}"

    volumes:
      # Main data volume - contains database, config, logs
      - pluton-data:/data

      # Optional: Mount host directories to backup

      # Example: Make user's documents folders Accessible to Pluton
      # - /home/user/documents:/mnt/documents:ro  #linux
      # - /home/user/photos:/mnt/photos:ro  #linux
      # - C:/Users/username/Documents:/mnt/documents:ro # Windows
      # - C:/Users/username/Pictures:/mnt/photos:ro # Windows

      # Example: Make a Docker volume (named 'wp-data') Accessible to Pluton
      # - /var/lib/docker/volumes/wp-data/_data:/mnt/wordpress:ro #linux
      # - C:/ProgramData/docker/volumes/wp-data/_data:/mnt/wordpress:ro  # Windows

    environment:
      # ===== REQUIRED: Security & Authentication =====
      # Generate secure random strings (min 12 characters for the first three)
      ENCRYPTION_KEY: ${ENCRYPTION_KEY} # Encryption key for restic/rclone Snapshot encryption
      USER_NAME: ${USER_NAME} # Admin username for login
      USER_PASSWORD: ${USER_PASSWORD} # Admin password for login

      # ===== Application Settings =====
      APP_TITLE: ${APP_TITLE:-Pluton}
      APP_URL: ${APP_URL:-http://localhost:5173}
      SERVER_PORT: ${SERVER_PORT:-5173}
      MAX_CONCURRENT_BACKUPS: ${MAX_CONCURRENT_BACKUPS:-2}
      SESSION_DURATION: ${SESSION_DURATION:-7} # How long frontend login Session lasts in Days

      # ===== User Interface Security Settings =====
      ALLOW_CUSTOM_RESTORE_PATH: ${ALLOW_CUSTOM_RESTORE_PATH:-true}
      ALLOW_FILE_BROWSER: ${ALLOW_FILE_BROWSER:-true}
      DISABLE_EVENT_SCRIPTS: ${DISABLE_EVENT_SCRIPTS:-false}

      # ===== Docker-specific (do not change) =====
      NODE_ENV: production
      IS_DOCKER: "true"

    healthcheck:
      test:
        [
          "CMD",
          "sh",
          "-c",
          "wget --no-verbose --tries=1 --spider http://localhost:${SERVER_PORT:-5173}/api/health",
        ]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 40s

volumes:
  pluton-data:
    driver: local

2. Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the same directory for easier management:

ENCRYPTION_KEY=s0eK1r12973fS501SW
USER_NAME=admin
USER_PASSWORD=0123456789

# Optional - override defaults
SERVER_PORT=5173

3. Start Pluton

docker compose up -d

4. Access Pluton

Open your browser and navigate to:

http://localhost:5173

Login with:

• Username: admin (or your configured USER_NAME)
• Password: Your configured USER_PASSWORD

---

Configuration Details

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Default	Description
USER_NAME	Yes	admin	Initial admin username
USER_PASSWORD	Yes	-	Initial admin password (min 8 chars)
SECRET	Yes	-	JWT token secret key
ENCRYPTION_KEY	Yes	-	Backup encryption master key
APP_URL	No	http://localhost:5173	Public URL for the application
SERVER_PORT	No	5173	Port for the web server
MQTT_PORT	No	1883	[PRO] Port for MQTT broker (remote agents)
ALLOW_CUSTOM_RESTORE_PATH	No	true	Allow custom restore locations
ALLOW_FILE_BROWSER	No	true	Enable file browser for path selection
DISABLE_EVENT_SCRIPTS	No	false	Disable pre/post backup scripts

Security Notes:

• Never use default passwords in production
• Generate unique SECRET and ENCRYPTION_KEY
• Keep ENCRYPTION_KEY safe - without it, encrypted backups cannot be restored
• Store keys securely (password manager, vault)

---

Reverse Proxy Setup

For HTTPS and custom domains, use a reverse proxy (nginx, Traefik, Caddy).

Example nginx configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name backup.yourdomain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:5173;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;

        # WebSocket support
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
    }
}

Update environment:

environment:
  - APP_URL=https://backup.yourdomain.com

---

Advanced Configuration

Running Behind Traefik

services:
  pluton:
    image: plutonhq/pluton:latest
    labels:
      - "traefik.enable=true"
      - "traefik.http.routers.pluton.rule=Host(`backup.yourdomain.com`)"
      - "traefik.http.routers.pluton.entrypoints=websecure"
      - "traefik.http.routers.pluton.tls.certresolver=letsencrypt"
      - "traefik.http.services.pluton.loadbalancer.server.port=5173"
    networks:
      - traefik-network
      - pluton-network

Custom Health Check

healthcheck:
  test: ["CMD-SHELL", "curl -f http://localhost:5173/api/health || exit 1"]
  interval: 30s
  timeout: 10s
  retries: 5
  start_period: 60s

---

Useful Commands

# View container details
docker inspect pluton

# Execute commands in container
docker exec -it pluton sh

# Copy files from container
docker cp pluton:/app/data/logs ./logs

# Copy files to container
docker cp ./config.json pluton:/app/data/

# View container processes
docker top pluton

# View container resource usage
docker stats pluton --no-stream

---

Getting Help

If you encounter issues:

1. Check logs: docker compose logs -f pluton
2. Verify configuration: Review environment variables and volumes
3. Check disk space: df -h
4. Review documentation: Pluton Docs
5. Report issues: GitHub Issues

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Quick Reference

# Start
docker compose up -d

# Stop
docker compose down

# Restart
docker compose restart

# Logs
docker compose logs -f

# Update
docker compose pull && docker compose up -d

# Backup data
docker run --rm -v pluton-data:/data -v $(pwd):/backup \
  alpine tar czf /backup/pluton-backup.tar.gz -C /data .

# Check status
docker compose ps

# Shell access
docker exec -it pluton sh