This guide is for managed Pangolin. If you are looking for self-hosted Pangolin please see the Docker Compose guide.
This guide walks you through setting up Pangolin manually using Docker Compose without the automated installer. This approach gives you full control over the configuration and deployment process. This guide assumes you already have a Linux server with Docker and Docker Compose installed. If you don’t, please refer to the official Docker documentation for installation instructions. You must also have root access to the server.

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Prerequisites

Checkout the quick install guide for more info regarding what is needed before you install Pangolin.

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File Structure

Create the following directory structure for your Pangolin deployment: 
.
├── config/
│   ├── config.yml (*)
│   ├── db/
│   │   └── db.sqlite
│   ├── key
│   └── traefik/
│       ├── traefik_config.yml (*)
└── docker-compose.yml (*)
Files marked with (*) must be created manually. Volumes and other files are generated automatically by the services.
1

Create configuration directory

mkdir -p config/traefik config/db
2

Create configuration files

Create the main configuration files (see below):
  • docker-compose.yml (in project root)
  • config/traefik/traefik_config.yml
  • config/config.yml
3

Update domain

Edit the configuration files to replace:
  • 154.123.45.67 with your actual domain OR public IP address of the node
Ensure your domain DNS is properly configured to point to your server’s IP address if you choose DNS.

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Starting the Stack

1

Start the services

sudo docker compose up -d
2

Monitor startup

sudo docker compose logs -f
3

Verify services

sudo docker compose ps
All services should show “Up” status after a few minutes.

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Docker Compose Configuration

Create docker-compose.yml in your project root:
docker-compose.yml
services:
  pangolin:
    image: fosrl/pangolin:latest # https://github.com/fosrl/pangolin/releases
    container_name: pangolin
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - ./config:/app/config
      - pangolin-data:/var/certificates
      - pangolin-data:/var/dynamic
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:3001/api/v1/"]
      interval: "3s"
      timeout: "3s"
      retries: 15

  gerbil:
    image: fosrl/gerbil:latest # https://github.com/fosrl/gerbil/releases
    container_name: gerbil
    restart: unless-stopped
    depends_on:
      pangolin:
        condition: service_healthy
    command:
      - --reachableAt=http://gerbil:3003
      - --generateAndSaveKeyTo=/var/config/key
      - --remoteConfig=http://pangolin:3001/api/v1/
    volumes:
      - ./config/:/var/config
    cap_add:
      - NET_ADMIN
      - SYS_MODULE
    ports:
      - 51820:51820/udp
      - 21820:21820/udp
      - 443:8443
      - 80:80

  traefik:
    image: traefik:v3.4.0
    container_name: traefik
    restart: unless-stopped
    network_mode: service:gerbil # Ports appear on the gerbil service
    depends_on:
      pangolin:
        condition: service_healthy
    command:
      - --configFile=/etc/traefik/traefik_config.yml
    volumes:
      - ./config/traefik:/etc/traefik:ro # Volume to store the Traefik configuration
      - ./config/letsencrypt:/letsencrypt # Volume to store the Let's Encrypt certificates
      # Shared volume for certificates and dynamic config in file mode
      - pangolin-data:/var/certificates:ro
      - pangolin-data:/var/dynamic:ro

networks:
  default:
    driver: bridge
    name: pangolin

volumes:
  pangolin-data:

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Traefik Static Configuration

Create config/traefik/traefik_config.yml:
config/traefik/traefik_config.yml
api:
  insecure: true
  dashboard: true

providers:
  file:
    directory: "/var/dynamic"
    watch: true

experimental:
  plugins:
    badger:
      moduleName: "github.com/fosrl/badger"
      version: "v1.2.0"

log:
  level: "INFO"
  format: "common"

entryPoints:
  web:
    address: ":80"
  websecure:
    address: ":443"
    proxyProtocol:
      trustedIPs:
        - 0.0.0.0/0
        - ::1/128
    transport:
      respondingTimeouts:
        readTimeout: "30m"

serversTransport:
  insecureSkipVerify: true

ping:
    entryPoint: "web"

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Pangolin Configuration

config/config.yml
gerbil:
    start_port: 51820
    base_endpoint: "154.123.45.67" # REPLACE WITH YOUR IP OR DOMAIN

managed:
    id: "he4g78wevj25msf"
    secret: "n7sd18twfko0q0vrb7wyclqzbvvnx1fqt7ezv8xewhdb9s7d"