Self-hosting with Docker

AutoData ships with a Dockerfile and a docker-compose.yml. By default two containers run from one image: web (API and web app) and worker (pipeline jobs). Optional profiles add PostgreSQL, Redis with Celery, and Nginx.

Quick start

cp .env.example .env
# set SECRET_KEY, ADMIN_PASSCODE and CONNECTOR_CREDENTIALS_FERNET_KEY
docker compose up --build -d
curl -s http://localhost:5000/health

Open http://localhost:5000. Then go to /admin, sign in with your admin passcode, and create user accounts.

Keep settings in the root .env only. The build copies the backend folder into the image, and only the root .env is excluded from that copy.

Services

Service	Profile	Purpose
web	default	API and web app on port 5000 (host port PORT), with a health check on /health
worker	default	Runs pipeline jobs, several at a time depending on its CPU allowance
db	postgres	PostgreSQL 16 (DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD, DB_PORT)
redis, celery_worker, beat	celery	Redis-backed, multi-host job execution
nginx	proxy	Reverse proxy on ports 80 and 443

Enable a profile with, for example, docker compose --profile postgres up -d. The image runs every stage on CPU; no GPU is needed.

Volumes

Volume	Holds
results_data (/app/results)	Session outputs, and what inference and retraining replay
upload_data (/app/uploads)	Uploaded media
db_data (/app/data)	The SQLite database, when DATABASE_URL points there
tmp_queue (/tmp)	The job queue shared by web and worker
postgres_data, redis_data, ssl_certs	Data for the optional profiles

Settings

Required

• SECRET_KEY: signs sign-in sessions. If it changes, everyone is signed out.
• ADMIN_PASSCODE: the admin passcode. In production, admin sign-in is disabled until it is set.
• CONNECTOR_CREDENTIALS_FERNET_KEY: encrypts saved connector credentials. Generate it once and never change it.

Common

Variable	Default	Purpose
PORT	5000	Host port for web
FLASK_ENV	production	HTTPS-only cookies; serve over HTTPS
ALLOWED_ORIGINS	—	Allowed CORS origins
DATABASE_URL	SQLite	Use sqlite:////app/data/datatoolpack.db, or PostgreSQL with the postgres profile
JOB_BROKER, REDIS_URL	local	Use redis or celery for several hosts
MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH	5000000000	Largest request, in bytes
SESSION_DIR	/opt/autodata/sessions	Point it at a volume so sign-ins survive container re-creation
APP_BASE_URL	—	Link base in notification emails
SMTP_HOST, SMTP_PORT, SMTP_USER, SMTP_PASSWORD, SMTP_FROM	—	Outgoing email for run notifications (all five needed)
DISK_OUTPUT_TTL_SECONDS	604800	Output file retention (7 days)
ARTIFACT_RETENTION_SECONDS	31536000	Whole-session retention (1 year)
LLM_ENABLED, LLM_BACKEND	1, auto	Turn language models off, or choose a local or OpenAI-compatible model
BILLING_ENABLED	1	0 records costs without debiting balances
SFTP_ENABLED, SFTP_PORT	false, 2222	Built-in SFTP inboxes; publish the port yourself
FEATURE_FLAG_STREAMING, FEATURE_FLAG_TRIGGERS	false	Streaming inference and triggers
ALLOW_LOCAL_FILE_CONNECTORS	off in production	1 lets a connection point at a file on this server: a file-based SQL URL or a local Delta Lake path
ALLOW_AMBIENT_CLOUD_CREDENTIALS	off in production	1 lets a connection saved without cloud keys use the server's own cloud role

Health check

GET /health needs no sign-in. It returns 200 when healthy and 503 when degraded. The body reports:

• checks for the upload folder, results folder, modules, database and broker;
• the worker queue state;
• whether credential encryption is enabled.

Reverse proxy

With FLASK_ENV=production, cookies are sent over HTTPS only, so put a TLS proxy in front of the containers.

• Forward every path to web on port 5000.
• Allow request bodies up to 5 GB and read timeouts of about 30 minutes.
• Set X-Forwarded-For: sign-in rate limits use it.

Upgrading

1. Back up the database and results.
2. Make sure no job is running.
3. Pull the new version, then run docker compose up --build -d.
4. Check /health.

Database migrations run automatically when web starts. Keep the same SECRET_KEY and credential key. docker compose down -v deletes all volumes, and your data with them.