Portainer Templates logo

Portainer Templates

NodeBB NodeBB

Stack

SocialChat

Forum software with a modern feel: categories, topics and replies that update live, chat, notifications, groups, Markdown with image uploads, and a plugin and theme library. Source: https://github.com/NodeBB/NodeBB

Source details

Repo: NodeBB/NodeBB
Stars: 15.2k
Forks: 3k
Language: JavaScript
License: GPL-3.0
Latest: v4.16.3 · 6 days ago
Updated: 1 hour ago
Website: nodebb.org/

Configuration

Type
Compose
Platform
linux
Env vars
NODEBB_DB_PASSWORD=''NODEBB_PORT=4567
Restart
unless-stopped
Source
Repo

Template by NotAFlightRisk·Source

Report issue

Notes

Fill in the database password before you deploy, since the stack won't start without it. Then open http://<your-host>:4567 (or whichever port you picked) straight away, as whoever finishes the installer first makes the admin account. The database is already sorted, so it only asks for the address and an admin login. Keep the address it fills in as the one you'll always open it on, since NodeBB builds its links from it. If you ever need to change it, it's the url in config.json in the nodebb-config volume. Installing takes two or three minutes while it builds, then the forum appears. Anyone who can reach it can read the forum. Sign-ups are open with no email check (change that under Admin --> Settings --> Users), and a new member's first posts wait in the post queue until you approve them. Nothing gets emailed until you set up SMTP under Admin --> Settings --> Email, and browser push notifications need HTTPS. Federation with Mastodon and friends (Admin --> Federation) is on by default, but needs a public HTTPS address to do anything. Plugins you install from the admin panel live in nodebb-modules, uploads in nodebb-uploads, and posts and users in db-data. Docs: docs.nodebb.org

Services

nodebb

Configuration

Image
ghcr.io/nodebb/nodebb:4.x
Ports
${NODEBB_PORT:-4567}:4567
Volumes
/opt/config : nodebb-config/usr/src/app/node_modules : nodebb-modules/usr/src/app/build : nodebb-build/usr/src/app/public/uploads : nodebb-uploads
Env vars
database=postgrespostgres__host=dbpostgres__port=5432postgres__username=nodebbpostgres__password=${NODEBB_DB_PASSWORD:?Set a database password}postgres__database=nodebb
Restart
unless-stopped

Image details

User: nodebb

db

Configuration

Image
postgres:17-alpine
Volumes
/var/lib/postgresql/data : db-data
Env vars
POSTGRES_DB=nodebbPOSTGRES_USER=nodebbPOSTGRES_PASSWORD=${NODEBB_DB_PASSWORD:?Set a database password}
Restart
unless-stopped

Image details

Pulls: 12.0B
User: stackbrew
Created: Jun 05, 2014
Updated: 3 days ago
Status: active

Standalone Install

Select an install method, to see config/commands for deploying NodeBB

Installation method

Install on Portainer

Import all app templates into your Portainer instance, for easy 1-click deploys

  1. Ensure both Docker and Portainer are installed, and up-to-date
  2. Log into your Portainer web UI
  3. Under Settings → App Templates, paste the below URL
  4. Head to Home → App Templates, and the list of apps will show up
  5. Select NodeBB, fill in any config options, and hit Deploy

Template Import URL

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Lissy93/portainer-templates/main/templates.json
Show Me demo
Original stackfile

The compose file this template deploys, straight from its repo:

services:
  nodebb:
    image: ghcr.io/nodebb/nodebb:4.x
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "${NODEBB_PORT:-4567}:4567"
    environment:
      database: postgres
      postgres__host: db
      postgres__port: "5432"
      postgres__username: nodebb
      postgres__password: ${NODEBB_DB_PASSWORD:?Set a database password}
      postgres__database: nodebb
    volumes:
      - nodebb-config:/opt/config
      - nodebb-modules:/usr/src/app/node_modules
      - nodebb-build:/usr/src/app/build
      - nodebb-uploads:/usr/src/app/public/uploads
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy

  db:
    image: postgres:17-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: nodebb
      POSTGRES_USER: nodebb
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${NODEBB_DB_PASSWORD:?Set a database password}
    volumes:
      - db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U nodebb -d nodebb"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 20

volumes:
  nodebb-config:
  nodebb-modules:
  nodebb-build:
  nodebb-uploads:
  db-data:

Or deploy it directly from the source:

git clone https://github.com/NotAFlightRisk/portainer-templates-extras
cd portainer-templates-extras
docker compose -f apps/nodebb/compose.yml up -d

More install options in our documentation, or see NodeBB/NodeBB for app-specific guidance.

Container Documentation

db Documentation

The PostgreSQL object-relational database system provides reliability and data integrity.

Check the logs first

Nine times out of ten the logs tell you exactly what went wrong.

  • In Portainer, go to Containers, click the container, then Logs. Or run docker logs <container>
  • Exit codes help too: 137 means killed, usually out of memory. 126 or 127 means the command inside the image is broken.

Image won't pull

Test the pull directly on the host: docker pull ghcr.io/nodebb/nodebb:4.x

  • "manifest unknown" means the tag no longer exists.
  • "toomanyrequests" is the Docker Hub rate limit. Log in with docker login to raise it.
  • "no space left on device" means a full disk. Reclaim space with docker system prune

"exec format error"

This means the image was built for a different CPU architecture than your server.

  • Check yours with uname -m: x86_64 is amd64, aarch64 is arm64. Raspberry Pi and other ARM boards are the usual culprits.

Container keeps restarting

The unless-stopped restart policy relaunches the app after every crash, so the real error can scroll past.

  • Check the logs right after a restart, the last few lines before it died are the useful ones.
  • Get the exit code with docker inspect <container> --format '{{.State.ExitCode}}'
  • Still stuck? Redeploy once with the restart policy set to no so the failure stays visible.

Stack won't deploy

Compose stacks fail fast on small mistakes, and Portainer shows the reason just above the editor.

  • YAML only accepts spaces for indentation, a single tab breaks the whole file.

Raise an issue

Found something which isn't working as it should? Here's how to report it.

A Compose stack

NodeBB is a Compose stack, a set of containers (2 of them) defined in one file and brought up together by Portainer, then started and stopped as a single app.

The services

This stack is built from 2 containers that run side by side. Here's each one, with the image it runs and anything it waits for first:

  • nodebb runs ghcr.io/nodebb/nodebb:4.x, starts after db
  • db runs postgres:17-alpine

Volumes

A volume is where NodeBB keeps its files so they survive an update or a restart. Without one, anything it saves would sit inside the container and vanish the moment it's recreated. This template mounts:

  • /opt/config kept in the nodebb-config volume Docker manages
  • /usr/src/app/node_modules kept in the nodebb-modules volume Docker manages
  • /usr/src/app/build kept in the nodebb-build volume Docker manages
  • /usr/src/app/public/uploads kept in the nodebb-uploads volume Docker manages
  • /var/lib/postgresql/data kept in the db-data volume Docker manages

Environment variables

Environment variables are the settings you hand over when you deploy, things like a password or a timezone. NodeBB takes 9 of them, and 2 need a value before it'll start properly:

  • database, defaults to postgres
  • postgres__host, defaults to db
  • postgres__port, defaults to 5432
  • postgres__username, defaults to nodebb
  • postgres__password, needs a value
  • postgres__database, defaults to nodebb
  • POSTGRES_DB, defaults to nodebb
  • POSTGRES_USER, defaults to nodebb
  • POSTGRES_PASSWORD, needs a value

Restart policy

The restart policy here is unless-stopped, so Docker restarts NodeBB after a crash or reboot, but leaves it off when you stop it on purpose. You can change this on the deploy screen. The choices are no (never restart), on-failure (only after a crash), unless-stopped (restart unless you stop it), and always (bring it back no matter what).

Networking

Portainer puts these services on one shared private network, so they can find each other by name (like nodebb) while only the ports above are open to you.

Platform

The platform is linux, the kind of system the container is built to run on. Docker and Portainer handle this on a normal Linux server.

Open source license

NodeBB is open source, released under the GPL-3.0 license. In plain terms the code is out in the open, so you're free to run it and change it to fit what you need.

Portainer app templates

Zooming out, this whole page comes from a Portainer app template: a short recipe telling Portainer how to set NodeBB up. Add the template list to Portainer once, then deploying NodeBB is a click rather than a wall of config.