Install with Docker (install.sh)

In short. On a Linux machine where Docker is installed, a single command sets everything up: Agora's container, its database and your license key. You have no database to create: the script provides it and picks its password. Agora downloads itself on the first start, then you finish in the browser.

Before you start #

• A Linux machine that you manage: a VPS (a server rented from a host), a NAS (a network storage box) or a dedicated computer. If you are unsure between this route, a panel or a Node.js server, read Choose between Docker, the panel egg and a Node.js server.

• Docker and its Compose version 2 plugin (the command is written docker compose, with a space and no hyphen). To check, type docker --version then docker compose version: both must answer with a version number. Docker missing? The official installation script is explained at https://get.docker.com. Both words are defined in the glossary.

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• Administrator rights: sign in as root, or put sudo in front of the command.

• Your license key (it starts with AGORA-). It is on the Install on my panel page of your space on agorapanel.com (My account → Install on my panel), despite the page's name: your Docker files are there too. No key yet? Click Get my free trial key: see The 14-day free trial.

• An outgoing HTTPS connection to the Internet from the machine (the full list is in Requirements).

Steps #

1. Connect to your machine over SSH (a secure connection to the machine's terminal). From Windows 10 or 11, open PowerShell and type ssh root@YOUR-MACHINE-ADDRESS; your host gives you the address and the login. You then see the machine's prompt (root@…).

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2. Start the installation. Paste this command, replacing the key with yours:

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   curl -fsSL https://agorapanel.com/install.sh | sh -s -- AGORA-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

   The script prints its steps (▸ Installation dans /opt/agora, ▸ Démarrage…) and gives you the prompt back within seconds.

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3. Check that both containers are running.

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   docker ps

   You must see two lines, agora and agora-db, with the status Up.

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4. Follow the first start. On the very first launch, Agora downloads itself, which takes a few minutes:

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   docker logs -f agora

   To leave the log view without stopping Agora, type Ctrl+C. Wait for the ✓ Ready in … line.

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5. Open the site. In your browser, go to http://YOUR-MACHINE-ADDRESS:3000. If the page does not open from another computer, open port 3000 in your host's firewall (the firewall is the filter that allows or blocks ports: see Requirements).

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6. Do the setup. The screen that appears guides you through three steps: see First start and setup.

You know it worked when… #

• docker ps lists agora and agora-db with the status Up.
• The console shows ✓ Ready in ….
• Your browser shows the Mise en route (setup) screen, or the address http://YOUR-MACHINE-ADDRESS:3000/api/health answers "ok": true.

If it does not work #

Going further #

What the script does #

The application never runs as root in the container: it runs as user 1000, with no Linux capability. The script is public and contains no product code: the boot.mjs bootstrap downloads Agora, checking the signature and the fingerprint (the short summary that proves a file has not been modified).

Running the script again #

Running the same command again is safe: your .env and volumes are kept. The bootstrap and the compose file are refreshed. A key passed as an argument is ignored if a .env already exists (the script says so: "Clé passée en argument IGNORÉE"): change AGORA_KEY in /opt/agora/.env, then docker compose up -d. Likewise, the port announced at the end is always the one in the existing .env: if you pass a different AGORA_PORT, it is ignored and the script tells you; to change port, edit AGORA_PORT in the .env. The script's downloads have a timeout and two retries: a frozen connection no longer leaves the installation hanging.

The port open directly on the Internet #

A new installation writes AGORA_TRUSTED_PROXIES=none in .env: no visitor can pick their IP address to get around rate limits. If you later put a reverse proxy on the same machine, read Behind a proxy.

Folder diagram #

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Variant: writing the compose file by hand #

Prefer to place the files yourself?

1. On the Install on my panel page, click Download my .env (Docker Compose): your key and randomly drawn secrets are already in it. Because the file contains your key, the site first asks you to verify your session (see Activate or change a license key).

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2. Get Agora's docker-compose.yml file. <!-- À CONFIRMER : DOC-4, aucun lien public vers le docker-compose.yml manuel (absent de public/ du site) ; le compose.yml écrit par install.sh en tient lieu -->

3. In the same folder, download the bootstrap: curl -fsSL https://agorapanel.com/boot.mjs -o boot.mjs

4. Run docker compose up -d.

Do not mix the two ways. The .env downloaded from the site (variant above) goes with the hand-written compose file; install.sh writes its own .env and compose file. Putting the site's .env in /opt/agora before running install.sh gives an empty key and a bootstrap message that mentions AGORA_LICENSE_KEY. Pick one or the other.

This compose file also offers a Caddy profile for automatic HTTPS (see Behind a proxy). In that case the key is called AGORA_LICENSE_KEY in the .env: see Environment variables.