Deploy with Docker¶

This guide assumes you have never used Docker before. It walks through what Docker is, how Docker Compose works, how to install Docker on Ubuntu, and how to deploy DUMB cleanly with persistent storage.

Prefer a UI?

Portainer is a great option if you want a web UI for managing containers, logs, and volumes. If you want to deploy DUMB with Portainer Stacks, follow the Portainer deployment guide instead.

Prerequisites¶

Before you begin, confirm you have:

A system running Ubuntu 20.04 or later
A non-root user with sudo privileges
An active internet connection
Access to a terminal

Avoid the Snap package

Do not install Docker via Snap. The Snap build often breaks networking, volume mounts, and socket permissions required by DUMB. Use the official Docker install method in this guide instead.

Windows users

If you're on Windows, use the Windows Setup Guide (Docker/WSL).

What Docker and Docker Compose do¶

Docker runs applications inside containers, which are isolated environments that package the app and its dependencies. Docker Compose is a helper tool that starts one or more containers using a docker-compose.yml file.

For DUMB, Compose:

Pulls the DUMB image from a registry
Creates a container with your settings
Mounts your local folders so configs and logs persist
Exposes ports so you can reach the UI and API

Install Docker (official method)¶

Download the official installer:

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh

Run it and follow any prompts:
```
sh get-docker.sh
```

WSL detected

If the installer reports WSL, follow the Windows Setup Guide (Docker/WSL).

Install Docker on other Linux distributions¶

If you are not on Ubuntu, use the official Docker Engine instructions for your OS:

Debian: https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/debian/
Fedora: https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/fedora/
RHEL/CentOS: https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/centos/
Arch: https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/archlinux/

Use the Docker Engine package (not Snap). Once installed, return to this guide and continue from Confirm Docker and Compose are installed.

Confirm Docker and Compose are installed¶

Check the Docker version:
```
docker --version
```
Check Docker Compose version:
```
docker compose version
```

Example output:

Docker version 26.1.4, build 5650f9b
Docker Compose version v2.24.2

Optional: allow non-root Docker usage¶

By default, Docker commands require sudo. If you want to run Docker without sudo, add your user to the docker group.

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Log out and back in (or reboot) so group membership refreshes.

If you skip this step, keep using sudo for Docker commands.

Define the directory structure¶

These folders store configs, logs, and data outside the container, so they survive upgrades and restarts.

Create a workspace:
```
cd ~
mkdir -p docker
cd docker
```

Create DUMB directories:

mkdir -p DUMB/config DUMB/log DUMB/data DUMB/mnt/debrid

Stopping here for Portainer

If you plan to deploy DUMB via Portainer Stacks, stop after creating the directory structure. You will paste the docker-compose.yml into Portainer and deploy it from there instead of running docker compose on the host.

Download and edit `docker-compose.yml`¶

Download the latest Compose file:

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/I-am-PUID-0/DUMB/master/docker-compose.yml

Replace the default path with your home directory:

sed -i "s|/home/username/docker/DUMB|$HOME/docker/DUMB|g" docker-compose.yml

Fill in TZ, PUID, and PGID:

read -p "Enter your timezone [UTC]: " TZ && TZ=${TZ:-UTC} && \
sed -i \
  -e "s|TZ=|TZ=$TZ|" \
  -e "s|PUID=|PUID=$(id -u)|" \
  -e "s|PGID=|PGID=$(id -g)|" \
  docker-compose.yml

Timezone format

Use a region format like America/New_York or Europe/London.

Start DUMB with Docker Compose¶

Run the container in detached mode:

sudo docker compose up -d

Example output:

[+] Running 2/2
 Container DUMB  Started
 Network docker_default  Created

The container now runs in the background.

Access the UI¶

By default:

DUMB Frontend: http://<host>:3005
DUMB API: http://<host>:8000

If you do not see the UI:

Confirm the container is running: sudo docker ps
Check logs: sudo docker logs -f DUMB
Ensure ports are exposed in your docker-compose.yml
See Service ports

Expose ports for direct UI access¶

Docker only exposes ports you explicitly map in your docker-compose.yml. If a UI is not reachable, it usually means the port is not mapped.

Example: expose the DUMB frontend and API.

services:
  DUMB:
    ports:
      - "3005:3005"
      - "8000:8000"

Example: expose an Arr service UI (Radarr).

services:
  DUMB:
    ports:
      - "7878:7878"

Reverse proxy or embedded UIs

If you use a reverse proxy (Traefik, Nginx, Caddy) or DUMB’s embedded UIs, you can avoid exposing every service port directly.

After updating ports, restart the stack:

sudo docker compose down
sudo docker compose up -d

Common Docker commands¶

Attach to the running container¶

sudo docker attach DUMB

Detach without stopping¶

Press Ctrl + P then Ctrl + Q to detach and leave it running.

Avoid Ctrl+C

Ctrl+C stops the container if it is attached to your terminal.

View logs¶

sudo docker logs -f DUMB

Stop and remove the container¶

sudo docker compose down

Next steps¶

Continue setup in the DUMB Frontend
Review Configuration
Use Service ports to expose UIs as needed