--- title: Running DreamFactory as a Docker Container description: DreamFactory can be run as a Docker container, which makes it easy to get the backend for your apps running. The DreamFactory Docker image is available on Docker Hub. image: https://blog.dreamfactory.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/large_h-dark.png --- [![DreamFactory logo](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/64ed8da8a866be7a702fbae0/68d51994d3678214b54acb60_dreamfactory-navbar-logo.svg)](https://www.dreamfactory.com/) Products & Services [AI Data Gateway](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/overview) [Overview Why DreamFactory exists](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/overview) [Data Gov, Comp, Security Policy enforcement at the API layer](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/ai-data-governance) [Standard API Layer One contract for every backend](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/standard-api-layer) [API Gateway Functionality Routing, auth, rate limits, observability](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/api-gateway-functionality) [Deployment & Integration Self-hosted, cloud, hybrid](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/on-premise-deployment-and-integration) [Developer Productivity Auto-generated, never hand-coded](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/ai-development-accelerated) [AI App Architectures Patterns for RAG, agents, MCP](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/enterprise-ai-architectures) AI Data Models [AIOpenAI](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/openai) [GGoogle Gemini](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/google-gemini) [CAnthropic Claude](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/anthropic-claude-landing) [LMeta Llama](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/meta-llama) [MMistral AI](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/mistral) [CoCohere](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/cohere) Services and support [Quickstart Service Packages Expert-led Quickstarts to production](https://www.dreamfactory.com/services-and-support/quickstart-services-packages) API Management [Generate & Manage REST APIs From any database, in seconds](https://www.dreamfactory.com/api-management/generate-rest-apis) [Features Security, scripting, self-hosted & more](https://www.dreamfactory.com/api-management/features) [API Generation The complete guide to auto-generated APIs](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/a-complete-guide-to-api-generation) [API Management Concepts, tools, and best practises](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/what-is-api-management-a-brief-overview-of-api-management-concepts-and-tools?_gl=1*jl0njh*_gcl_au*MjQzMjgwMTc3LjE3ODIzMjI3MzY) Use Cases AI Use Cases [AI Data Access Secure, governed reads for your LLMs](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/ai-data-access) [MCP Server Drop-in Model Context Protocol](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/mcp-server) [Legacy Modernization Wrap mainframes with REST](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/legacy-modernization) [Data Governance Audit every call, enforce every policy](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/data-governance) [Customer Case Studies](https://www.dreamfactory.com/case-studies) [Energy Modernization](https://www.dreamfactory.com/case-studies/energy-snowflake-modernization) [Government Modernization](https://www.dreamfactory.com/case-studies/government-mainframe-oracle-modernization) [Government Business Intelligence](https://www.dreamfactory.com/case-studies/government-sql-server-bi-analyst-queries) [Manufacturing Modernization](https://www.dreamfactory.com/case-studies/steel-manufacturing-sap-erp-modernization) [Financial Services Investor Portal](https://www.dreamfactory.com/case-studies/financial-services-sql-server-investor-portal) [Non-Profit Partner Data Sharing](https://www.dreamfactory.com/case-studies/non-profit-sql-server-partner-data-sharing) [Professional Services Exec Dashboards](https://www.dreamfactory.com/case-studies/professional-services-erp-dashboards) [Education HR and External Data Sharing](https://www.dreamfactory.com/case-studies/education-student-hr-sql-server-mysql-external-data-sharing) Industries Industries #### [Healthcare HIPAA-grade APIs across EHR, claims, and labs.](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/healthcare) #### [Financial Services Portfolios, partners, and portals on one layer.](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/financial-services) #### [Government Modernize mainframes without re-platforming.](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/government) #### [Manufacturing SAP, MES, and shop-floor data, governed.](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/manufacturing) #### [Spotlight How enterprises run on DreamFactory From healthcare to energy to finance — governance baked into every endpoint. Browse case studies →](https://www.dreamfactory.com/case-studies) Connectors SQL Database [SQL SQL Server](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/sql-server) [OR Oracle](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/oracle) [PG PostgreSQL](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/postgresql) [My MySQL](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/mysql) NoSQL & Docs [Dy DynamoDB](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/dynamodb) [Do DocumentDB](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/azure-documentdb) [Mo MongoDB](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/mongodb) [Cb CouchDB](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/couch-db) Cloud Warehouses [S3 S3](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/amazon-s3) [Ab Azureblob](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/azure-blob) [FS FTP/SFTP](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/ftp-sftp) [LS Local Storage](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/local-storage) C & SaaS [Sf Salesforce](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/salesforce) [API REST / SOAP](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/soap-to-rest) [See all 30+ connectors](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors) [Blog](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/) [FREE 30 Minute Demo](https://www.dreamfactory.com/demo) [![DreamFactory logo](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/64ed8da8a866be7a702fbae0/68d51994d3678214b54acb60_dreamfactory-navbar-logo.svg)](https://www.dreamfactory.com/) ![hamburger](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/dreamfactory/images/megamenu/menu-hamburger.svg) ![close](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/dreamfactory/images/megamenu/close-menu.svg) Back to main menu Products & Services Use Cases Industries Connectors [Blog](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/) [FREE 30 Minute Demo](https://www.dreamfactory.com/demo) [AI Data Gateway](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/overview) [Overview Why DreamFactory exists](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/overview) [Data Gov, Comp, Security Policy enforcement at the API layer](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/ai-data-governance) [Standard API Layer One contract for every backend](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/standard-api-layer) [API Gateway Functionality Routing, auth, rate limits, observability](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/api-gateway-functionality) [Deployment & Integration Self-hosted, cloud, hybrid](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/on-premise-deployment-and-integration) [Developer Productivity Auto-generated, never hand-coded](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/ai-development-accelerated) [AI App Architectures Patterns for RAG, agents, MCP](https://www.dreamfactory.com/ai-data-gateway/enterprise-ai-architectures) AI Data Models [AIOpenAI](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/openai) [GGoogle Gemini](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/google-gemini) [CAnthropic Claude](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/anthropic-claude-landing) [LMeta Llama](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/meta-llama) [MMistral AI](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/mistral) [CoCohere](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/cohere) Services and support [Quickstart Service Packages Expert-led Quickstarts to production](https://www.dreamfactory.com/services-and-support/quickstart-services-packages) AI Data Models [Generate & Manage REST APIs From any database, in seconds](https://www.dreamfactory.com/api-management/generate-rest-apis) [Features Security, scripting, self-hosted & more](https://www.dreamfactory.com/api-management/features) [API Generation The complete guide to auto-generated APIs](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/a-complete-guide-to-api-generation) [API Management Concepts, tools, and best practises](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/what-is-api-management-a-brief-overview-of-api-management-concepts-and-tools?_gl=1*jl0njh*_gcl_au*MjQzMjgwMTc3LjE3ODIzMjI3MzY) AI Use Cases [AI Data Access Secure, governed reads for your LLMs](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/ai-data-access) [MCP Server Drop-in Model Context Protocol](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/mcp-server) [Legacy Modernization Wrap mainframes with REST](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/legacy-modernization) [Data Governance Audit every call, enforce every policy](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/data-governance) [Customer Case Studies](https://www.dreamfactory.com/case-studies) [Energy Modernization](https://www.dreamfactory.com/case-studies/energy-snowflake-modernization) [Government Modernization](https://www.dreamfactory.com/case-studies/government-mainframe-oracle-modernization) [Government Business Intelligence](https://www.dreamfactory.com/case-studies/government-sql-server-bi-analyst-queries) [Manufacturing Modernization](https://www.dreamfactory.com/case-studies/steel-manufacturing-sap-erp-modernization) [Financial Services Investor Portal](https://www.dreamfactory.com/case-studies/financial-services-sql-server-investor-portal) [Non-Profit Partner Data Sharing](https://www.dreamfactory.com/case-studies/non-profit-sql-server-partner-data-sharing) [Professional Services Exec Dashboards](https://www.dreamfactory.com/case-studies/professional-services-erp-dashboards) [Education HR and External Data Sharing](https://www.dreamfactory.com/case-studies/education-student-hr-sql-server-mysql-external-data-sharing) Industries #### [Healthcare HIPAA-grade APIs across EHR, claims, and labs.](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/healthcare) #### [Financial Services Portfolios, partners, and portals on one layer.](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/financial-services) #### [Government Modernize mainframes without re-platforming.](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/government) #### [Manufacturing SAP, MES, and shop-floor data, governed.](https://www.dreamfactory.com/use-cases/manufacturing) SQL Database [SQL SQL Server](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/sql-server) [OR Oracle](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/oracle) [PG PostgreSQL](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/postgresql) [My MySQL](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/mysql) NoSQL & Docs [Dy DynamoDB](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/dynamodb) [Do DocumentDB](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/azure-documentdb) [Mo MongoDB](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/mongodb) [Cb CouchDB](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/couch-db) Cloud Warehouses [S3 S3](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/amazon-s3) [Ab Azureblob](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/azure-blob) [FS FTP/SFTP](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/ftp-sftp) [LS Local Storage](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/local-storage) C & SaaS [Sf Salesforce](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/salesforce) [API REST / SOAP](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors/soap-to-rest) [See all 30+ connectors](https://www.dreamfactory.com/connectors) [![back arrow](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/dreamfactory/images/orange-arrow.svg) Blog](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/) # Running DreamFactory as a Docker Container by Terence Bennett ![calendar icon](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/dreamfactory/images/calendar-icon.svg) January 18, 2026 Table of contents RECOMMENDED ARTICLES - [A Complete Guide to API Generation](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/a-complete-guide-to-api-generation) - [10 Best API Management Tools](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/what-is-api-management-a-brief-overview-of-api-management-concepts-and-tools) - [Creating a Microsoft SQL Server API in Less Than 5 minutes with DreamFactory](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/creating-a-microsoft-sql-server-api-in-less-than-5-minutes-with-dreamfactory) - [Hasura vs. DreamFactory: A Comprehensive Comparison](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/hasura-vs-dreamfactory) - [Build A Snowflake REST API in Less Than 5 Minutes](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/generate-a-snowflake-rest-api-in-less-than-5-minutes) ![large_h-dark](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/large_h-dark.png) Note: We have updated the instructions here to match our DF-Docker repo instructions.  This will pull the latest GitHub repo now. [DreamFactory](https://www.dreamfactory.com) can be run as a Docker container, which makes it easier than ever to get the backend for your apps up and running. The DreamFactory Docker image is available on [Docker Hub](https://hub.docker.com/r/dreamfactorysoftware/df-docker/), or you can build your own image from the [GitHub](https://github.com/dreamfactorysoftware/df-docker) repo. Using these two methods, I'll show you how to use Docker to fire up your own DreamFactory instance in just a few steps. This setup uses MySQL for the system database and Redis for the system cache. The basic idea is that you first start the containers for MySQL and Redis, then a container for DreamFactory which links to the others.  ## Method 1: Using the Docker Hub Image The DreamFactory image on Docker Hub is an automated build based on our [df-docker repo](https://github.com/dreamfactorysoftware/df-docker) on GitHub.  It's a basic DreamFactory install, meaning that it doesn't include drivers for some services like MS SQL or Oracle. If you need to customize your image with extra drivers all you need to do is clone the GitHub repo and build your own image that includes those extra drivers. See Method 2 below. Note that all the provided database credentials are defaults and you should change them. ## Configuration method 1a (use docker-compose) The easiest way to configure the DreamFactory application is to use docker-compose. ## 1) Clone the df-docker repo `cd ~/repos` (or wherever you want the clone of the repo to be) `git clone https://github.com/dreamfactorysoftware/df-docker.git` `cd df-docker` ## 2) Edit docker-compose.yml (optional) ## 3) Build images `docker-compose build` ## 4) Start containers `docker-compose up -d` ``` NOTE: volume df-storage:/opt/dreamfactory/storage is created to store all file based (apps, logs etc.) data from DreamFactory. This basically stores all data written by DreamFactory (at /opt/dreamfactory/storage location) in the df-storage volume. This way if you delete your DreamFactory container your data will persist as long as you don't delete the df-storage volume. to stop and remove all containers you can use the command docker-compose down to stop and remove all containers including volumes use docker-compose down -v ``` ## 5) Add an entry to /etc/hosts `127.0.0.1 dreamfactory.app` ## 6) Access the app Go to 127.0.0.1 in your browser. It will take some time the first time. You will be asked to create your first admin user. ## Configuration method 2 (build your own) If you don't want to use docker-compose you can build the images yourself. ## 1) Clone the df-docker repo `cd ~/repos` (or wherever you want the clone of the repo to be) `git clone https://github.com/dreamfactorysoftware/df-docker.git` `cd df-docker` ## 2) Build dreamfactory/v2 image `docker build -t dreamfactory .` ## 3) Ensure that the database container is created and running `docker run -d --name df-mysql -e "MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=root" -e "MYSQL_DATABASE=dreamfactory" -e "MYSQL_USER=df_admin" -e "MYSQL_PASSWORD=df_admin" mysql` ## 4) Ensure that the redis container is created and running `docker run -d --name df-redis redis` ## 5) Start the dreamfactorysoftware/df-docker container with linked MySQL and Redis server If your database and redis runs inside another container you can simply link it under the name `db` and `rd` respectively. `docker run -d --name df-web -p 80:80 -e "DB_DRIVER=mysql" -e "DB_HOST=db" -e "DB_USERNAME=df_admin" -e "DB_PASSWORD=df_admin" -e "DB_DATABASE=dreamfactory" -e "CACHE_DRIVER=redis" -e "CACHE_HOST=rd" -e "CACHE_DATABASE=0" -e "CACHE_PORT=6379" --link df-mysql:db --link df-redis:rd dreamfactory` ## 6) Add an entry to /etc/hosts 127.0.0.1 dreamfactory.app ## 7) Access the app Go to 127.0.0.1 in your browser. It will take some time the first time. You will be asked to create your first admin user.  Notes - You may have to use ``` sudo ``` for Docker commands depending on your setup. - By default, the container only sends nginx error logs to STDOUT. If you also want to have dreamfactory.log, e.g. for forwarding via docker logging driver you can set environment variable ``` LOG_TO_STDOUT=true ``` With the DreamFactory container running you can access your instance's admin console by going to https://127.0.0.1 in your browser. The first time you'll be asked to create an admin user for your instance. Use this email and password to login to the admin console. That's all there is to it. Now you're ready to start building apps using the REST API at, in this case, https://127.0.0.1/api/v2. From this point on you can use the Docker CLI commands to manage the containers. TAGS: [Services,](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/tag/services) [Docker,](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/tag/docker) [DreamFactory,](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/tag/dreamfactory) [API](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/tag/api) ![Terence Bennett](https://blog.dreamfactory.com/hs-fs/hubfs/1624046620145.jpg?width=100&height=100&name=1624046620145.jpg) Terence Bennett Terence Bennett, CEO of DreamFactory, has a wealth of experience in government IT systems and Google Cloud. His impressive background includes being a former U.S. Navy Intelligence Officer and a former member of Google's Red Team. Prior to becoming CEO, he served as COO at DreamFactory Software. Stay Connected with The Connector Newsletter! Subscribe to stay up-to-date with DreamFactory's latest product updates, API best practices, and tech humor in your inbox. 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All rights reserved. [Terms of Use](https://www.dreamfactory.com/terms-of-use) [Privacy Policy](https://www.dreamfactory.com/privacy-policy) [LLMs](https://www.dreamfactory.com/llms.txt) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Terence Bennett", "url" : "https://blog.dreamfactory.com/author/terencebennett" }, "dateModified" : "2024-05-07T08:19:24.243Z", "datePublished" : "2026-01-19T00:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Running DreamFactory as a Docker Container", "image" : [ "https://blog.dreamfactory.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/large_h-dark.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.dreamfactory.com/running-dreamfactory-as-a-docker-container", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.dreamfactory.com/hubfs/DreamFactory%20-%20Orange%20-%20Transparent-1.png" } } } ```