Docker Deployment

Deploy Formbricks on any server using Docker and Docker Compose. This method is ideal for single-server deployments and development environments.

Prerequisites

A Linux server (Ubuntu 20.04+ recommended)
SSH access to the server
A domain name pointing to your server (for SSL)
Minimum 4GB RAM and 2 CPU cores

Quick Start (Automated Setup)

The fastest way to deploy Formbricks with Docker is using our automated setup script:

Run the Installation Script

Execute the following command on your server:

/bin/sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/formbricks/formbricks/stable/docker/formbricks.sh)"

The script will:

Install Docker and Docker Compose if not present
Set up Traefik as a reverse proxy
Configure SSL certificates via Let’s Encrypt
Deploy Formbricks with PostgreSQL and Redis

Provide Required Information

The script will prompt you for:

Email Address: For SSL certificate registration with Let’s Encrypt
Domain Name: Your Formbricks domain (e.g., formbricks.example.com)

Ensure your domain’s A record points to your server’s IP address before running the script.

Access Your Instance

After the script completes, visit your domain in a browser. You should see the Formbricks setup wizard.Complete the wizard to create your first admin account and organization.

Manual Setup

For more control over the deployment, you can manually configure Docker Compose:

Create Project Directory

mkdir formbricks && cd formbricks

Download docker-compose.yml

Create a docker-compose.yml file with the following content:

docker-compose.yml

x-environment: &environment
  environment:
    # Required Configuration
    WEBAPP_URL: https://formbricks.example.com
    NEXTAUTH_URL: https://formbricks.example.com
    
    # Database Connection
    DATABASE_URL: "postgresql://postgres:postgres@postgres:5432/formbricks?schema=public"
    
    # Generate these with: openssl rand -hex 32
    NEXTAUTH_SECRET: # Add your secret here
    ENCRYPTION_KEY: # Add your secret here
    CRON_SECRET: # Add your secret here
    
    # Redis Cache
    REDIS_URL: redis://redis:6379
    
    # Disable email features (or configure SMTP below)
    EMAIL_VERIFICATION_DISABLED: 1
    PASSWORD_RESET_DISABLED: 1
    
    # Optional: SMTP Configuration
    # MAIL_FROM: noreply@example.com
    # MAIL_FROM_NAME: Formbricks
    # SMTP_HOST: smtp.example.com
    # SMTP_PORT: 587
    # SMTP_USER: your-user
    # SMTP_PASSWORD: your-password
    # SMTP_SECURE_ENABLED: 1

services:
  postgres:
    restart: always
    image: pgvector/pgvector:pg17
    volumes:
      - postgres:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres || exit 1"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 3s
      retries: 30
      start_period: 30s

  redis:
    restart: always
    image: valkey/valkey:latest
    command: valkey-server --appendonly yes
    volumes:
      - redis:/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "valkey-cli", "ping"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 3s
      retries: 30
      start_period: 10s

  formbricks:
    restart: always
    image: ghcr.io/formbricks/formbricks:latest
    depends_on:
      postgres:
        condition: service_healthy
      redis:
        condition: service_healthy
    ports:
      - 3000:3000
    volumes:
      - ./uploads:/home/nextjs/apps/web/uploads
    <<: *environment

volumes:
  postgres:
    driver: local
  redis:
    driver: local

Generate Secret Keys

Generate three secure keys for your deployment:

openssl rand -hex 32  # For NEXTAUTH_SECRET
openssl rand -hex 32  # For ENCRYPTION_KEY
openssl rand -hex 32  # For CRON_SECRET

Add these to the docker-compose.yml file in the environment section.

Configure Your Domain

Update the WEBAPP_URL and NEXTAUTH_URL values in the compose file:

WEBAPP_URL: https://your-domain.com
NEXTAUTH_URL: https://your-domain.com

Start the Services

Launch all services:

docker compose up -d

Check the logs to ensure everything started correctly:

docker compose logs -f formbricks

Configuration Reference

Essential Environment Variables

The following variables must be configured:

Variable	Description	Example
`WEBAPP_URL`	Public URL of your Formbricks instance	`https://formbricks.example.com`
`NEXTAUTH_URL`	NextAuth URL (same as WEBAPP_URL)	`https://formbricks.example.com`
`DATABASE_URL`	PostgreSQL connection string	`postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/db`
`REDIS_URL`	Redis connection string	`redis://redis:6379`
`NEXTAUTH_SECRET`	NextAuth encryption secret	Generated with `openssl rand -hex 32`
`ENCRYPTION_KEY`	2FA & link encryption key	Generated with `openssl rand -hex 32`
`CRON_SECRET`	API secret for cron jobs	Generated with `openssl rand -hex 32`

Optional Features

Enable Email Verification

Configure SMTP and enable email features:

environment:
  EMAIL_VERIFICATION_DISABLED: 0
  PASSWORD_RESET_DISABLED: 0
  MAIL_FROM: noreply@example.com
  MAIL_FROM_NAME: Formbricks
  SMTP_HOST: smtp.gmail.com
  SMTP_PORT: 587
  SMTP_USER: your-email@gmail.com
  SMTP_PASSWORD: your-app-password
  SMTP_SECURE_ENABLED: 1

S3 File Storage

Store file uploads in S3:

environment:
  S3_ACCESS_KEY: your-access-key
  S3_SECRET_KEY: your-secret-key
  S3_REGION: us-east-1
  S3_BUCKET_NAME: formbricks-uploads
  # For S3-compatible storage (MinIO, StorJ, etc.)
  S3_ENDPOINT_URL: https://s3.example.com
  S3_FORCE_PATH_STYLE: 0

OAuth Authentication

Enable GitHub, Google, or Azure AD login:

environment:
  # GitHub
  GITHUB_ID: your-github-client-id
  GITHUB_SECRET: your-github-client-secret
  
  # Google
  GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID: your-google-client-id
  GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET: your-google-client-secret
  
  # Azure AD
  AZUREAD_CLIENT_ID: your-azure-client-id
  AZUREAD_CLIENT_SECRET: your-azure-client-secret
  AZUREAD_TENANT_ID: your-tenant-id

Enterprise License

Activate Enterprise features:

environment:
  ENTERPRISE_LICENSE_KEY: your-license-key

SSL/TLS Configuration

Using Traefik (Recommended)

The automated setup script uses Traefik for automatic SSL. To manually configure Traefik:

Traefik will automatically obtain certificates from Let’s Encrypt
Certificates are renewed automatically
HTTP traffic is redirected to HTTPS

Using Nginx

If you prefer Nginx as a reverse proxy:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name formbricks.example.com;
    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name formbricks.example.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/formbricks.example.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/formbricks.example.com/privkey.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        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;
    }
}

Updating Formbricks

Pull the Latest Image

docker compose pull formbricks

Restart the Container

docker compose up -d formbricks

The database migrations will run automatically on startup.

Verify the Update

Check the logs to ensure the update was successful:

docker compose logs -f formbricks

Backup and Restore

Backup Database

docker compose exec postgres pg_dump -U postgres formbricks > backup.sql

Restore Database

docker compose exec -T postgres psql -U postgres formbricks < backup.sql

Backup Volumes

# Backup PostgreSQL data
docker run --rm -v formbricks_postgres:/data -v $(pwd):/backup \
  ubuntu tar czf /backup/postgres-backup.tar.gz /data

# Backup Redis data
docker run --rm -v formbricks_redis:/data -v $(pwd):/backup \
  ubuntu tar czf /backup/redis-backup.tar.gz /data

Troubleshooting

Container won't start

Check the logs for error messages:

docker compose logs formbricks

Common issues:

Missing or invalid environment variables
Database connection failures
Port 3000 already in use

Database connection failed

Ensure PostgreSQL is healthy:

docker compose ps postgres

Test the connection:

docker compose exec postgres psql -U postgres -c "SELECT 1;"

SSL certificate issues

If using the automated script:

Ensure your domain’s A record points to your server
Check that ports 80 and 443 are open
Wait a few minutes for DNS propagation

View Traefik logs:

docker logs traefik

Performance Tuning

Increase PostgreSQL Performance

Add PostgreSQL tuning to your compose file:

postgres:
  environment:
    - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres
  command:
    - "postgres"
    - "-c"
    - "shared_buffers=256MB"
    - "-c"
    - "max_connections=200"
    - "-c"
    - "work_mem=16MB"

Redis Persistence

The default configuration uses AOF (Append-Only File) for Redis persistence, which provides good durability. Adjust if needed:

redis:
  command: valkey-server --appendonly yes --appendfsync everysec

Deployment

Configuration

Advanced

Prerequisites

Quick Start (Automated Setup)

Manual Setup

Configuration Reference

Essential Environment Variables

Optional Features

SSL/TLS Configuration

Using Traefik (Recommended)

Using Nginx

Updating Formbricks

Backup and Restore

Backup Database

Restore Database

Backup Volumes

Troubleshooting

Performance Tuning

Increase PostgreSQL Performance

Redis Persistence

Next Steps

Configure Integrations

Create Your First Survey

Deployment

Configuration

Advanced

Documentation Index

​Prerequisites

​Quick Start (Automated Setup)

​Manual Setup

​Configuration Reference

​Essential Environment Variables

​Optional Features

​SSL/TLS Configuration

​Using Traefik (Recommended)

​Using Nginx

​Updating Formbricks

​Backup and Restore

​Backup Database

​Restore Database

​Backup Volumes

​Troubleshooting

​Performance Tuning

​Increase PostgreSQL Performance

​Redis Persistence

​Next Steps

Configure Integrations

Create Your First Survey

Prerequisites

Quick Start (Automated Setup)

Manual Setup

Configuration Reference

Essential Environment Variables

Optional Features

SSL/TLS Configuration

Using Traefik (Recommended)

Using Nginx

Updating Formbricks

Backup and Restore

Backup Database

Restore Database

Backup Volumes

Troubleshooting

Performance Tuning

Increase PostgreSQL Performance

Redis Persistence

Next Steps