vm-docker

name	vm-docker
description	Deploy Docker services on VM with Traefik and Homepage. Use for VM container deploys.

Docker on VM with Traefik + Homepage

Overview

Deploy Docker services on the VM (Pop!_OS). Web services go behind Traefik (port 80) and register on Homepage (dashboard at /).

• Access domain: vm.local (mDNS) — use for app CMD_DOMAIN/BASE_URL, NOT vm
• Network: traefik-proxy (external bridge) — all web containers must join
• Crane: ~/go/bin/crane (NOT on PATH)
• Compose: docker compose (plugin at ~/.docker/cli-plugins/). Must cd into service dir — -f flag broken

Architecture

Port 80 → Traefik ──┬── /              → Homepage (dashboard)
                     ├── /hedgedoc      → HedgeDoc (:3000) [subpath-aware]
                     ├── /freshrss      → FreshRSS (:80)
                     ├── /traefik       → Traefik dashboard (api@internal)
                     └── /<service>     → Your new service

Direct ports ───────── :6060            → BookLore [no subpath support]

Config:  ~/traefik/traefik.yml          — static config
         ~/traefik/dynamic/<service>.yml — per-service routing
         ~/homepage/config/services.yaml — dashboard entries

Deploy Checklist

1. Prepare — mkdir -p ~/docker/<service>/{data,config}
2. Pull — ~/go/bin/crane pull <image>:<tag> /tmp/<name>.tar
3. Load — docker load -i /tmp/<name>.tar
4. Compose — Write ~/docker/<service>/docker-compose.yml → cd ~/docker/<service> && docker compose up -d
5. Traefik — Create ~/traefik/dynamic/<service>.yml (auto-reloads)
6. Validate before writing configs — curl-test EVERY URL/route before hardcoding into config files (see Validation section)
7. Homepage — Add entry to ~/homepage/config/services.yaml + group in settings.yaml
8. Verify — curl -sI --noproxy '*' http://localhost/<service>

Validation (MUST DO before writing configs)

Always curl-test links before hardcoding them. Do not assume a route works — prove it.

# 1. Test container responds directly (find internal IP or use exposed port)
curl -sI --noproxy '*' http://127.0.0.1:<host-port>/

# 2. Test Traefik route works (after writing dynamic config, before Homepage)
curl -sI --noproxy '*' http://127.0.0.1/<service>/

# 3. Test subpath: check HTML AND assets (not just the first response)
curl -s --noproxy '*' http://127.0.0.1/<service>/ | grep -E '<base href|<script src|<link.*href'
# If asset paths are absolute (e.g. /styles.css not ./<service>/styles.css) → subpath won't work

# 4. Test Homepage href URL resolves (the exact URL that will go in services.yaml)
curl -sI --noproxy '*' <href-value>

# 5. Test widget URLs (e.g. Traefik widget)
curl -s --noproxy '*' http://traefik:8080/api/overview

Rule: If curl returns 404, 502, or broken assets → fix FIRST, then write the config.

Key Gotchas

Gotcha	Detail
Container name	Use http://<container>:<port> in Traefik config, NOT localhost
Sub-path + stripPrefix	Need BOTH: stripPrefix in Traefik AND app's BASE_URL/CMD_URL_PATH. Test CSS/JS assets, not just HTML. BUT some SPAs (e.g. Booklore) don't support subpath at all — use direct port instead
Subpath compatibility	Before deploying behind subpath, check if the app supports it. SPAs with hardcoded <base href="/"> and no BASE_PATH config will break. Use direct host port + Homepage href: http://172.16.252.7:<port> as fallback
CMD_DOMAIN must match access IP	For apps like HedgeDoc with CMD_DOMAIN, set it to the IP/hostname users actually use (e.g. 172.16.252.7), NOT vm.local if users access via IP
No host ports	Don't expose ports if Traefik handles routing. Exception: apps without subpath support MUST expose host ports
Traefik dashboard needs 2 routers	Dashboard at /traefik uses stripPrefix + api@internal. But dashboard JS calls /api/... hardcoded — need a second router PathPrefix(/api) → api@internal (no strip). Without it, API calls fall through to Homepage and dashboard shows empty data. Do NOT use api.basePath — it breaks the insecure port API and the Homepage widget
Priority 10	Set on all routers so Homepage / catch-all still works
Auth	auth@file for BasicAuth — omit for public services
Volume paths	Always absolute: /home/htlin222/docker/<service>/...

Deep-Dive Docs

Topic	File
Templates (compose, traefik, homepage, makefile)	@templates.md
Troubleshooting	@troubleshooting.md
Reference stacks (ready-to-deploy)	references/*.yml

Homepage Groups

Group	Current Services
Media	Booklore (direct port :6060, no subpath support)
Productivity	HedgeDoc (subpath via Traefik, CMD_DOMAIN=172.16.252.7)
Infrastructure	Traefik