Installation

Install Durabull locally with Docker, or build a self-hosted instance from source.

For a first run, use Docker. For desktop installation, see Desktop Apps. If you need to choose authentication or persistence first, read Self Hosting Setup.

Try it locally with Docker

This example starts an empty Redis instance and an ephemeral Durabull instance. Docker and OpenSSL must be installed.

docker network create durabull
docker run -d --name durabull-redis --network durabull redis:8-alpine

docker run --rm -p 127.0.0.1:3000:3000 --network durabull \
  -e DURABULL_AUTHLESS=true \
  -e MCP_AUTHLESS_BEARER_TOKEN="$(openssl rand -hex 32)" \
  -e DURABULL_ENV_CONNECTIONS=true \
  -e DURABULL_REDIS_URL_ENCRYPTION_KEY="$(openssl rand -hex 32)" \
  -e DURABULL_REDIS_URL_MAIN=redis://durabull-redis:6379 \
  -e DURABULL_REDIS_URL_MAIN_ENVIRONMENT=development \
  -e DURABULL_REDIS_URL_DEFAULT=MAIN \
  -e APP_BASE_URL=http://localhost:3000 \
  -e VITE_PUBLIC_APP_URL=http://localhost:3000 \
  ghcr.io/durabullhq/durabull:latest

Open http://localhost:3000. Queues appear after your BullMQ application writes to this Redis instance. To inspect existing queues, replace DURABULL_REDIS_URL_MAIN with a Redis URL reachable from the container; localhost inside the container refers to the container itself.

This command binds Durabull to localhost. Authless mode grants owner access to the entire web UI and HTTP API. MCP_AUTHLESS_BEARER_TOKEN protects only MCP, and is required by production images when authless mode is enabled. If you want to use an MCP client, supply a token you have saved securely instead of generating an unknown value inline.

The app container is removed when it exits, including its local database. For persistent data, authenticated Compose deployment, image version pinning, and production configuration, continue to Docker Image and Compose.

After stopping the app with Ctrl+C, remove this example's Redis container and network:

docker rm -f durabull-redis
docker network rm durabull

This also discards the example Redis data.

Run from source

For contributor development, follow Local Development. For a production build, install Bun 1.3.5 and a compatible Node.js version (20.19+ or 22.12+), then:

git clone https://github.com/durabullhq/durabull.git
cd durabull
bun install --frozen-lockfile
cp .env.example .env

Edit .env before starting. Replace all secret placeholders with generated values, set the public app URLs, configure a reachable Redis instance, and choose PostgreSQL (DATABASE_URL) or PGlite (clear DATABASE_URL). The example's database and Redis URLs target the development Docker stack; replace them for your deployment.

For an authenticated deployment, keep DURABULL_AUTHLESS=false. Configure environment-managed Redis connections or add connections through the UI. See Environment Variables for a complete reference.

NODE_ENV=production bun run prod

The build creates the web assets and the API serves them on port 3000 by default. Use a process supervisor and a reverse proxy with HTTPS for a lasting deployment. Database migrations run when Durabull initializes its database.

Verify the installation

curl -fsS http://localhost:3000/api/health
curl -fsS http://localhost:3000/api/mode

Use your public origin instead of localhost for a remote deployment. Confirm:

Health returns status: "ok" and /api/app/config returns JSON.
Mode reports the authentication, connection, and persistence choices you configured.
Login works when authentication is enabled.
The selected Redis connection shows your expected queues and job details.

Try it locally with Docker

Run from source

Verify the installation

Next steps

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