Docker

Docker is the recommended path when you want the smallest host footprint, or when you are running Fabricator on macOS or Windows through Docker Desktop / WSL2. Each release publishes a multi-architecture image to GitHub Container Registry:

ghcr.io/philderks/fabricator:latest

The container runs as an unprivileged fabricator user and stores all persistent state on one /data volume.

Quick start

Download the compose file from the product repository and start the service:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/philderks/Fabricator/main/docker-compose.yml -o docker-compose.yml
docker compose up -d

By default the compose file publishes the dashboard to host loopback only:

ports:
  - "127.0.0.1:5000:5000"

Open http://127.0.0.1:5000/ locally, or put a reverse proxy on the same host in front of that loopback port.

First boot

Authentication is enabled by default. On first boot, if no password has been configured yet, Fabricator redirects to a one-time setup page. Create the operator password there before exposing the dashboard beyond a trusted local connection.

If the dashboard will be reachable before you can complete the setup page, configure the password declaratively instead:

# Run from a Fabricator source checkout, or inside a temporary container with the app available.
python -m backend.auth hash

Then set the generated value as FABRICATOR_AUTH_PASSWORD_HASH in docker-compose.yml. Pin SECRET_KEY too if you want to manage the session signing key explicitly; otherwise Fabricator generates and persists it in /data/auth.json.

Ports and Minecraft servers

The compose file intentionally does not publish Minecraft server ports. For each server, either:

• use the built-in playit.gg tunnel guide to expose Minecraft without router port-forwarding, or
• map the server port explicitly, for example 25565:25565.

Keep HOST=0.0.0.0 inside the container. Restrict exposure with the host-side port mapping, firewall, VPN, or reverse proxy instead.

Persistent data

The image pins runtime paths onto /data:

Path	Purpose
/data/servers	Managed server instances.
/data/servers.json	Server index.
/data/java	Managed Java runtimes.
/data/backups	Backup storage.
/data/playit	playit.gg secret, socket, logs, and enabled-state marker.
/data/auth.json	Session signing key and hashed operator password when not env-managed.

Updating

Pull the latest image and recreate the container. The named volume keeps server data and configuration:

docker compose pull && docker compose up -d

The Docker image disables Fabricator’s in-dashboard self-update. Use image updates for container installs.