> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.obsidianlog.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Docker Compose Quickstart

> Run the ingest server in a container against the local backend, or wire up a self-hosted indexd.

`docker/docker-compose.yml` runs the ingest server in a container against
the **local backend** by default. It needs no Sia node, no wallet, and
nothing beyond Docker itself.

## The local-backend path

```sh theme={null}
# 1. Start the ingest server (builds the image on first run).
docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml up -d obsidianlog

# 2. One-time setup: generates the encryption key (stored inside the
#    container's persistent volume, not your host keychain) and config.toml
#    (written to ./docker/config, so you can inspect/edit it).
docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml run --rm obsidianlog \
  init --non-interactive --config /etc/obsidianlog/config.toml

# 3. Restart so the now-configured server picks up the generated key.
docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml restart obsidianlog

# 4. Send a test log.
curl -s -X POST http://localhost:7080/ingest \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '[{"timestamp":"2026-08-06T10:00:00Z","service":"api","level":"info","msg":"hello from docker"}]'

# 5. Query it back.
docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml run --rm obsidianlog \
  query --config /etc/obsidianlog/config.toml --service api

# 6. Verify the hash chain.
docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml run --rm obsidianlog \
  verify --config /etc/obsidianlog/config.toml
```

The encryption key and archived data live in the `obsidianlog-data` named
volume. They survive `docker compose restart`/`down` (without `-v`), so you
only run step 2 once. The key lands in that volume rather than a host
keychain because a bare container has no keychain daemon to talk to. The
same file-based fallback described in
[Security Model](/architecture-and-security/security-model) kicks in
automatically. To ship real logs instead of the `curl` smoke test,
see [Sending Logs with Vector](/deployment/sending-logs-with-vector).

## Optional: self-hosted `indexd`

The `sia` Compose profile adds `indexd` + the PostgreSQL database it
requires, matching indexd's own official example. It's off by default.
`docker compose up` alone never starts it:

```sh theme={null}
cp docker/.env.example docker/.env    # set POSTGRES_PASSWORD
docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml --profile sia up -d
```

`indexd` itself needs its own one-time setup first (indexd's own documented
flow, not an ObsidianLog step):

```sh theme={null}
docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml run --rm indexd seed
docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml run --rm -it indexd config
```

Then run `obsidianlog init` interactively, choose the Sia backend, and enter
`http://localhost:9982` at the indexer URL prompt in place of the
`https://sia.storage` default. Onboarding happens inline, no separate
command needed. See
[Bring Your Own Indexer](/storage-backends/bring-your-own-indexer) for when
this is the right choice.