Domains

When using Docker Compose, there are two ways to configure domains for your services:

Method 1: Using Dokploy Domains (Recommended)

The easiest way to configure domains is using Dokploy's native domain management feature. This method allows you to configure domains directly through the Dokploy UI without manually editing your Docker Compose file.

Recommended: Since v0.7.0, Dokploy supports domains natively. You can configure your domains directly in the Dokploy UI through the Domains tab of your Docker Compose application. This is the simplest and most user-friendly approach.

To use this method:

Navigate to your Docker Compose application in Dokploy
Go to the Domains tab
Click Add Domain and configure your domain
Dokploy will automatically handle the routing configuration

How It Works

At runtime, during the deployment phase, Dokploy automatically adds Traefik labels internally to your Docker Compose file. You don't need to manually add these labels - Dokploy handles this automatically based on the domains you configure in the UI.

Example:

Here's a default Docker Compose file:

version: "3.8"

services:
  beszel:
    image: henrygd/beszel:0.10.2
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - 8090
    volumes:
      - beszel_data:/beszel_data
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro

volumes:
  beszel_data: {}

Preview Compose Feature:

You can click the Preview Compose button to see the final Docker Compose file that will be executed. If you have at least one domain added, the preview will show the compose file with all the labels and network configurations automatically added.

Here's what the final compose file looks like when deployed (this example uses Isolated Deployments):

version: "3.8"

services:
  beszel:
    image: henrygd/beszel:0.10.2
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - 8090
    volumes:
      - beszel_data:/beszel_data
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro
    networks:
      - a-beszel-a95pzl
    labels:
      - traefik.http.routers.a-beszel-a95pzl-715-web.rule=Host(`a-beszel-d073ee-31-220-108-27.traefik.me`)
      - traefik.http.routers.a-beszel-a95pzl-715-web.entrypoints=web
      - traefik.http.services.a-beszel-a95pzl-715-web.loadbalancer.server.port=8090
      - traefik.http.routers.a-beszel-a95pzl-715-web.service=a-beszel-a95pzl-715-web
      - traefik.enable=true

volumes:
  beszel_data: {}

networks:
  a-beszel-a95pzl:
    name: a-beszel-a95pzl
    external: true

Important Notes:

If you don't add any domains through the UI and don't use Isolated Deployments, your application will be deployed exactly as you specified in your original Docker Compose file - no labels or network modifications will be added.
If you're not using Isolated Deployments, Dokploy will add the dokploy-network to the service you selected, however you need to add dokploy-network to the other services to maintain connectivity.
The Preview Compose button is useful for verifying how Dokploy will modify your compose file before deployment.
All label generation and network configuration is handled automatically by Dokploy based on your domain settings.

For detailed instructions on using Dokploy's domain management, see the Domains guide.

Method 2: Manual Configuration (Advanced)

If you prefer to configure domains manually using Traefik labels in your Docker Compose file, you can do so by following the steps below. This method gives you more control but requires manual configuration.

Manual configuration is more complex and requires editing your Docker Compose file. We recommend using Method 1 (Dokploy Domains) unless you have specific requirements that need manual Traefik label configuration.

Manual Configuration Steps

Key Steps for manual configuration:

Add the service to the dokploy-network.
Use Traefik labels to configure routing.

Example Scenario

Let's consider an application with three components: a frontend, a backend, and a database. We'll start with a basic Docker Compose file and then enhance it with manual domain configuration.

version: "3.8"

services:
  frontend:
    build:
      context: ./frontend
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    volumes:
      - ./frontend:/app
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    depends_on:
      - backend

  backend:
    build:
      context: ./backend
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    volumes:
      - ./backend:/app
    ports:
      - "5000:5000"
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres:password@database:5432/mydatabase
    depends_on:
      - database

  database:
    image: postgres:13
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: password
      POSTGRES_DB: mydatabase
    volumes:
      - db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

volumes:
  db-data:

Step 1: Add the Network

First, we'll add the dokploy-network to our services:

Tip: If you prefer to isolate all services and avoid adding them to the dokploy-network, you can use the Isolated Deployments feature. This feature isolates all services and eliminates the need to manually add them to the dokploy-network. See the Isolated Deployments guide for more information.

version: "3.8"

services:
  frontend:
    # ... (previous configuration)
    networks:
      - dokploy-network

  backend:
    # ... (previous configuration)
    networks:
      - dokploy-network

  database:
    # ... (previous configuration)
    networks:
      - dokploy-network

volumes:
  db-data:

networks:
  dokploy-network:
    external: true

Step 2: Configuring Traefik Labels

Now, let's add Traefik labels to route domains to our services. We'll focus on the frontend and backend services:

Important for Docker Stack: If you're using Docker Stack (Docker Swarm mode), the Traefik labels must be placed in the deploy.labels section instead of directly in the labels section. See the Docker Stack example below.

version: "3.8"

services:
  frontend:
    build:
      context: ./frontend
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    volumes:
      - ./frontend:/app
    expose:
      - 3000
    depends_on:
      - backend
    networks:
      - dokploy-network
    labels:
      - traefik.enable=true
      - traefik.http.routers.frontend-app.rule=Host(`frontend.dokploy.com`)
      - traefik.http.routers.frontend-app.entrypoints=web
      - traefik.http.services.frontend-app.loadbalancer.server.port=3000

  backend:
    build:
      context: ./backend
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    volumes:
      - ./backend:/app
    expose:
      - 5000
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgres://postgres:password@database:5432/mydatabase
    depends_on:
      - database
    networks:
      - dokploy-network
    labels:
      - traefik.enable=true
      - traefik.http.routers.backend-app.rule=Host(`backend.dokploy.com`)
      - traefik.http.routers.backend-app.entrypoints=web
      - traefik.http.services.backend-app.loadbalancer.server.port=5000

  database:
    # ... (same as before)

volumes:
  db-data:

networks:
  dokploy-network:
    external: true

Understanding Traefik Labels

traefik.enable=true Enables Traefik routing for the service.
traefik.http.routers.<UNIQUE-RULE>.rule=Host('your-domain.dokploy.com') Specifies the domain for the service
traefik.http.routers.<UNIQUE-RULE>.entrypoints=web Sets the service to be accessible via HTTP.
traefik.http.services.<UNIQUE-RULE>.loadbalancer.server.port=3000 Specifies the port your service is using internally.

Note: Replace <UNIQUE-RULE> with a unique identifier for each service (e.g., frontend-app, backend-app, etc.).

Docker Stack Configuration

When using Docker Stack (Docker Swarm mode), labels must be placed under the deploy.labels section. Additionally, Docker Stack does not support the build directive, so you must use pre-built images from a registry:

Important: Docker Stack does not support the build directive. You must build your images separately and push them to a Docker registry, then reference them using the image: directive.

version: "3.8"

services:
  frontend:
    image: your-registry.com/frontend:latest  # Pre-built image from registry
    volumes:
      - ./frontend:/app
    expose:
      - 3000
    networks:
      - dokploy-network
    deploy:
      labels:
        - traefik.enable=true
        - traefik.http.routers.frontend-app.rule=Host(`frontend.dokploy.com`)
        - traefik.http.routers.frontend-app.entrypoints=web
        - traefik.http.services.frontend-app.loadbalancer.server.port=3000

  backend:
    image: your-registry.com/backend:latest  # Pre-built image from registry
    volumes:
      - ./backend:/app
    expose:
      - 5000
    networks:
      - dokploy-network
    deploy:
      labels:
        - traefik.enable=true
        - traefik.http.routers.backend-app.rule=Host(`backend.dokploy.com`)
        - traefik.http.routers.backend-app.entrypoints=web
        - traefik.http.services.backend-app.loadbalancer.server.port=5000

networks:
  dokploy-network:
    external: true

The key differences for Docker Stack are:

Labels must be nested under deploy.labels (not directly under labels)
You must use image: with a pre-built image from a registry (Docker Stack does not support build)
Build your images separately and push them to a registry before deploying with Docker Stack

Important Considerations

Port Exposure: Use expose instead of ports to limit port access to the container network, avoiding exposure to the host machine.
DNS Configuration: Ensure you create A records pointing to your domain in your DNS Provider Settings.
HTTPS: For HTTPS, you can use Let's Encrypt or other SSL/TLS certificates.
Isolated Deployments: As an alternative to manually adding services to dokploy-network, you can use the Isolated Deployments feature, which automatically isolates all services and handles networking configuration for you.

Deployment

With these manual configurations in place, you're now ready to deploy your application using Docker Compose. This setup should be sufficient to get your services up and running with custom domain routing through Traefik.

Remember: For most use cases, we recommend using Method 1 (Dokploy Domains) as it's simpler and doesn't require manual Docker Compose file editing. See the Domains guide for more information.

If you have any further questions or need assistance, join our Discord server and we'll be happy to help.

On this page