6 min read
Docker Deployment for Your Headless CMS: A Complete Guide
Self-host your CMS with Docker Compose. Learn the setup, volumes, SSL, backups, and monitoring.
R
ruben
Why Docker for CMS
Docker makes self-hosting reproducible: one command spins up your CMS, database, and cache. No manual dependency installation, no version conflicts, no "works on my machine" problems.
Docker Compose Setup
version: "3.8"\nservices:\n web:\n build: .\n ports: ["3000:3000"]\n env_file: .env\n depends_on:\n postgres: { condition: service_healthy }\n redis: { condition: service_healthy }\n postgres:\n image: postgres:16\n volumes: [pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data]\n healthcheck:\n test: pg_isready\n redis:\n image: redis:7-alpine\n healthcheck:\n test: redis-cli ping\nvolumes:\n pgdata:Essential Configuration
- Volumes — Persist database data outside the container
- Health checks — Ensure services are ready before the app starts
- Environment files — Keep secrets in
.env, never in the compose file - Resource limits — Set memory and CPU limits to prevent runaway containers
SSL with Caddy or Traefik
Add a reverse proxy (Caddy is simplest) for automatic HTTPS:
caddy:\n image: caddy:2\n ports: ["80:80", "443:443"]\n volumes: [./Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile, caddy_data:/data]Backup Strategy
# Daily database backup\ndocker exec postgres pg_dump -U user dbname | gzip > backup_$(date +%Y%m%d).sql.gz\n# Upload to S3\naws s3 cp backup_*.sql.gz s3://your-bucket/backups/