local-deep-research/docs/docker-compose-guide.md

Docker Compose Guide

This guide covers Docker Compose setup for Local Deep Research. For the quickest start, see the Quick Start section below.

Quick Start

CPU-Only (All Platforms)

Works on macOS (M1/M2/M3/M4 and Intel), Windows, and Linux:

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/LearningCircuit/local-deep-research/main/docker-compose.yml && docker compose up -d

With NVIDIA GPU (Linux Only)

For hardware-accelerated inference:

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/LearningCircuit/local-deep-research/main/docker-compose.yml && \
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/LearningCircuit/local-deep-research/main/docker-compose.gpu.override.yml && \
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.gpu.override.yml up -d

Prerequisites for GPU: Install the NVIDIA Container Toolkit first. For step-by-step Ubuntu/Debian install commands, see the Installation Guide.

Open http://localhost:5000 after ~30 seconds.

Using a Different Model

Specify a model with the LDR_LLM_MODEL environment variable:

LDR_LLM_MODEL=gemma3:4b docker compose up -d

The model will be automatically pulled if not already available.

Configuration Options

docker-compose.yml

The base configuration includes:

Service	Description
local-deep-research	The main web application (port 5000)
ollama	Local LLM inference engine
searxng	Privacy-focused meta search engine

Key Environment Variables

Most settings can be configured through the web UI at http://localhost:5000/settings. Environment variables override UI settings and lock them. For the complete list of all environment variables and their defaults, see CONFIGURATION.md.

⚠️ Warning: Setting environment variables causes a hard override—the setting becomes read-only in the UI and cannot be changed until the environment variable is removed. For settings you may want to adjust later, use the web UI instead. Environment variables are best suited for deployment-specific values like LDR_DATA_DIR or API keys.

Note: Empty environment variables (e.g., LDR_LLM_PROVIDER= or LDR_LLM_PROVIDER="") are treated as not set — they will not override anything and the setting remains editable in the UI. This prevents Docker Compose templates with blank fields from accidentally locking settings. Only non-empty values act as overrides. Setting an API key to an empty string does not block or clear it — if a key exists in the database, it will still be used. To explicitly block a key, set it to any non-empty invalid value (e.g., DISABLED).

Variable	Description
LDR_WEB_HOST	Bind address (default: 0.0.0.0 for Docker)
LDR_WEB_PORT	Internal port (default: 5000)
LDR_DATA_DIR	Data directory (default: /data)
LDR_APP_ALLOW_REGISTRATIONS	Allow new user registration (default: true). Set to false for public deployments after creating your initial account.
LDR_LLM_PROVIDER	LLM provider (ollama, openai, anthropic, etc.)
LDR_LLM_MODEL	Model name (e.g., gemma3:12b)

Changing the External Port

Use Docker's port mapping instead of environment variables:

ports:
  - "8080:5000"  # Expose on port 8080 instead of 5000

Volume Mounts

Volume	Purpose
ldr_data	Application data
ldr_scripts	Startup scripts
ldr_rag_cache	RAG index cache
ollama_data	Downloaded models
searxng_data	Search engine config

Resource Limits

Warning: Resource limits in the base docker-compose.yml are intentionally minimal:

• nofile (file descriptors): Not set. Docker's daemon default (typically 1M+) is appropriate. Setting a lower value can cause unable to open database file errors under load.
• memlock: Set to unlimited so SQLCipher's mlock() (a system call that prevents memory from being swapped to disk) can lock encryption keys in RAM when cipher_memory_security is enabled (opt-in, off by default).
• To customize, use a docker-compose.override.yml for your deployment.

Local Document Collections

Use the Collections system in the Web UI to manage your local documents. Upload files directly through the Collections page — no volume mounts required.

Advanced: Cookie Cutter Configuration

For more customization, use Cookie Cutter to generate a tailored docker-compose file:

# Install cookiecutter
pip install --user cookiecutter

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/LearningCircuit/local-deep-research.git
cd local-deep-research

# Generate custom configuration
cookiecutter cookiecutter-docker/

Cookie Cutter will prompt you for:

Option	Description
config_name	Name for your configuration
host_port	Port to expose (default: 5000)
host_ip	IP to bind (default: 0.0.0.0)
host_network	Use host networking
enable_gpu	Enable NVIDIA GPU support
enable_searxng	Include SearXNG service

Then start with:

docker compose -f docker-compose.default.yml up -d

Using External LLM Providers

OpenRouter (100+ Models)

environment:
  - LDR_LLM_PROVIDER=openai_endpoint
  - LDR_LLM_OPENAI_ENDPOINT_URL=https://openrouter.ai/api/v1
  - LDR_LLM_OPENAI_ENDPOINT_API_KEY=<your-api-key>
  - LDR_LLM_MODEL=anthropic/claude-3.5-sonnet

LM Studio (Running on Host)

environment:
  - LDR_LLM_PROVIDER=lmstudio
  - LDR_LLM_LMSTUDIO_URL=http://host.docker.internal:1234/v1
  # - LDR_LLM_LMSTUDIO_API_KEY=<api-key-if-required>   # optional; leave out for unauth instances
  - LDR_LLM_MODEL=<your-loaded-model>

Common Commands

# Start services
docker compose up -d

# Start with GPU support
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.gpu.override.yml up -d

# View logs
docker compose logs -f

# Stop services
docker compose down

# Update to latest version
docker compose pull && docker compose up -d

# Remove all data (fresh start)
docker compose down -v

Troubleshooting

Container won't start

• Check logs: docker compose logs local-deep-research
• Ensure port 5000 is available

Ollama model not loading

• Check Ollama logs: docker compose logs ollama
• Verify model name in LDR_LLM_MODEL environment variable
• Ensure sufficient disk space for model download

GPU not detected

• Verify NVIDIA drivers: nvidia-smi
• Check container toolkit: docker run --rm --gpus all nvidia/cuda:11.0-base nvidia-smi

Related Documentation

• Installation Guide
• Environment Configuration
• Full Configuration Reference
• SearXNG Setup
• Unraid Deployment
• Architecture - Resource Lifecycle