islandflow/deployment/docker/README.md

Docker Deployment

This directory contains a VPS-oriented Docker deployment for the full Islandflow stack.

It is separate from the repo-root docker-compose.yml, which is still the lightweight local infra stack for development.

What this stack does

• Assumes Nginx Proxy Manager is the edge proxy and runs on a shared user-defined Docker network.
• Keeps web and api internal to the Docker network instead of publishing host ports.
• Targets a two-subdomain routing model by default:
  • app.<domain> -> web:3000
  • api.<domain> -> api:4000
• Runs ClickHouse, Redis, and NATS JetStream with persistent Docker volumes.
• Runs the core runtime services: ingest-options, ingest-equities, compute, candles, api, and web.
• Keeps replay opt-in through a Compose profile, because the current replay service starts immediately when the container is enabled.

Files

• deployment/docker/docker-compose.yml: production-style stack for a single VPS
• deployment/docker/Dockerfile.service: shared Bun runtime image for most services
• deployment/docker/Dockerfile.ingest-options: Bun runtime plus Python dependencies for Databento and IBKR adapters
• deployment/docker/Dockerfile.web: multi-stage build for the Next.js web app
• deployment/docker/clickhouse/listen.xml: forces ClickHouse to listen on IPv4 for other containers on the Docker network
• deployment/docker/.env.example: container-oriented environment template

Prerequisites

• A Linux VPS with Docker Engine and Docker Compose v2 installed
• Enough RAM for ClickHouse plus the Bun services
• Nginx Proxy Manager running in Docker on the same host
• A shared user-defined Docker network for NPM and this stack

Optional:

• A DNS record pointed at the VPS
• Alpaca, Databento, or IBKR credentials if you are not using the synthetic adapters

First deployment

1. Copy the env template:

cd deployment/docker
cp .env.example .env

2. Edit .env.

Important defaults:

• NATS_URL, CLICKHOUSE_URL, and REDIS_URL should stay on the internal container hostnames unless you intentionally split infra out.
• OPTIONS_INGEST_ADAPTER=synthetic and EQUITIES_INGEST_ADAPTER=synthetic are the safest first boot settings.
• NPM_SHARED_NETWORK=npm-shared is the recommended external Docker network name for NPM and this stack.
• NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=https://api.example.com uses a two-subdomain setup (app + api).
• NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL= (empty) uses same-origin mode where the app host also proxies API paths to api:4000.

3. Build and start the stack:

If you have not created the shared Docker network yet, do that once first:

docker network create npm-shared

Then make sure .env keeps NPM_SHARED_NETWORK=npm-shared, or set it to whatever user-defined network you want to share with NPM.

Now build and start the stack:

docker compose up -d --build

If you are updating an existing deployment that already has failing api restart loops, do a full recreate so the ClickHouse config mount and dependency changes are applied cleanly:

docker compose down
docker compose up -d --build --force-recreate

4. Confirm the containers are healthy:

docker compose ps
docker compose logs -f api web compute candles ingest-options ingest-equities

5. Make sure NPM can reach the stack network.

This deployment attaches web and api to the external Docker network named by NPM_SHARED_NETWORK, in addition to the stack-local network.

If your NPM container is not already attached to that network, connect it once:

docker network connect npm-shared <npm-container-name>

If you want to use a different network name, set NPM_SHARED_NETWORK in .env and make sure that external Docker network already exists. The important part is that NPM, web, and api all share the same user-defined Docker network.

6. Create these NPM proxy hosts:

• app.example.com -> forward to web (or islandflow-vps-web-1), port 3000
• api.example.com -> forward to api (or islandflow-vps-api-1), port 4000

For the API host, enable websocket support.

If NPM is attached to multiple Docker networks and another stack also has an api container alias, prefer the explicit container name (islandflow-vps-api-1) to avoid DNS collisions.

7. Open the app:

• https://app.example.com/
• Health check: https://api.example.com/health

Replay service

Replay is disabled by default in this stack.

Start it only when you want it:

docker compose --profile replay up -d replay

Stop it again:

docker compose stop replay

Adapter notes

Synthetic mode

This is the easiest way to smoke-test the deployment:

• OPTIONS_INGEST_ADAPTER=synthetic
• EQUITIES_INGEST_ADAPTER=synthetic

Alpaca mode

Set the adapter values and credentials in .env:

• OPTIONS_INGEST_ADAPTER=alpaca
• EQUITIES_INGEST_ADAPTER=alpaca
• ALPACA_KEY_ID=...
• ALPACA_SECRET_KEY=...

Databento mode

The ingest-options image in this deployment includes Python plus the repo’s sidecar dependencies, so Databento can run without a custom image. Set the Databento env vars in .env, especially:

• OPTIONS_INGEST_ADAPTER=databento
• DATABENTO_API_KEY=...
• DATABENTO_START=...

IBKR mode

If TWS or IB Gateway is running on the VPS host, the default .env.example already points IBKR_HOST at host.docker.internal, and the Compose stack adds the required host gateway mapping.

If IBKR is running somewhere else, change:

• IBKR_HOST
• IBKR_PORT

NPM routing

The Islandflow stack expects an external NPM instance on the shared Docker network. The dedicated NPM stack now lives in ../npm.

Supported routing modes:

1. Two-subdomain mode

   • app.<domain> -> web:3000
   • api.<domain> -> api:4000
   • Build web with NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL=https://api.<domain>.

2. Same-origin fallback mode

   • Build web with NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL= (empty).
   • Keep app.<domain> -> web.
   • Add path-based proxy rules on app.<domain> for API routes to api:4000:
     • /ws/*, /replay/*, /prints/*, /joins/*, /nbbo/*, /dark/*, /flow/*, /candles/*

Use websocket support on whichever host serves /ws/*.

If NPM is on multiple networks and names collide (for example another stack also exposes api), target explicit container names (islandflow-vps-api-1, islandflow-vps-web-1) instead of generic aliases.

Updating the deployment

When you pull new code:

cd deployment/docker
docker compose up -d --build

If you changed only env values for the Bun services:

docker compose up -d

If you changed NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL or NEXT_PUBLIC_NBBO_MAX_AGE_MS, rebuild the web image because those are public Next.js build-time values:

docker compose build web
docker compose up -d web

Backups and persistence

Persistent data lives in Docker volumes:

• clickhouse-data
• redis-data
• nats-data

Before destructive maintenance, back up those volumes or the underlying Docker data directory for the host.

Shutdown

Stop everything while keeping data:

docker compose down

Stop everything and remove volumes too:

docker compose down -v

Only use -v if you intentionally want to wipe ClickHouse, Redis, and JetStream state.

Known caveats

• The root .env.example still contains a REPLAY_ENABLED comment, but the current replay service does not read that variable. Use the Compose replay profile instead.
• This stack does not publish web or api to host ports. NPM must be able to resolve web and api over the shared user-defined network from NPM_SHARED_NETWORK.
• If NPM is attached to more than one application network, generic upstream aliases like api can resolve to the wrong stack. Prefer explicit container names in NPM upstream settings.
• Some hosts disable IPv6 inside containers; the bundled ClickHouse config pins listen_host to 0.0.0.0 so the API can reach ClickHouse reliably over Docker networking.
• The stack assumes a single-node VPS deployment. If you later split infra or add external managed services, update the three core connection URLs in .env.

Smoke checks

After NPM is wired up:

• https://app.<domain>/ should load the UI.
• In two-subdomain mode, browser requests should target https://api.<domain>/... and live feeds should use wss://api.<domain>/ws/....
• In same-origin mode, browser requests should target https://app.<domain>/... for API paths and live feeds should use wss://app.<domain>/ws/....
• docker compose ps should show no service publishing host port 80.