Hi, is it possible to use discourse as a standalone without docker?
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In a discussion titled “Discourse standalone” under the Dev category, Justman10000 asks if Discourse can be used without Docker. Falco responds that only Docker-based installs following the official guide are supported, and asks why Docker is being avoided. pfaffman suggests development-focused guides for Windows, Ubuntu, and macOS for local testing. Justman10000 explains difficulty with Docker Desktop on Linux and desire for multiple instances. Falco clarifies that Docker Desktop is meant for desktops, while Discourse is designed for 24/7 server environments; local installs are fine for development but not recommended for production unless technically proficient. merefield shares experience running Discourse on a cloud Ubuntu machine without Docker, using custom nginx and HTTPS — but notes it’s not low-maintenance for production, though setup is quick.
We only support installs that follow our official install guide, and that does use Docker underneath.
May I ask why you doesn’t want to run Discourse with Docker?
If you want to play with Discourse, but not have other people use it, you can use a Beginners Guide to Install Discourse on Windows 10 for Development, Beginners Guide to Install Discourse on Ubuntu for Development, Beginners Guide to Install Discourse on macOS for Development.
Since I’m having trouble with Docker! I like to manage Docker with Docker Desktop, which is also available for Linux, but doesn’t work on my Linux Mashine! It would also be useful to be able to use multiple instances…
Hmmm, Docker Desktop is something people run on, well, desktops right? The official install is something aimed at people running Discourse on servers, where Docker Desktop is not a thing.
Discourse, as website software, is something people run on servers that are 24/7 on and connected to the internet so they are always up and can be remotely accessed by users. It’s different from local software, like Blender and Firefox that you can install on your desktop and use it.
While running Discourse on your desktop is used for development (and we have plenty of guides on it), running a production install on a desktop while possible will be too much of a hassle unless your are really comfortable with the technologies involved.
I have a cloud dev machine running Ubuntu with a custom nginx config without docker. It has a domain name and runs over https. But I would not recommend it as low maintenance production solution. It doesn’t take that long to set up though.