# Building Discourse image from discourse/discourse - how to install plugins

**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/building-discourse-image-from-discourse-discourse-how-to-install-plugins/394969
**Category:** Self-hosting
**Tags:** docker, install, hosting
**Created:** [February 2, 2026, 6:10pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/building-discourse-image-from-discourse-discourse-how-to-install-plugins/394969 "2026-02-02T18:10:55Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![pfaffman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/pfaffman/32/120154_2.png) [@pfaffman](https://meta.discourse.org/u/pfaffman)
#### Post date: [February 2, 2026, 6:52pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/building-discourse-image-from-discourse-discourse-how-to-install-plugins/394969/2 "2026-02-02T18:52:40Z")

</div>

> [@stevejr](#):
>
> Would anyone be able to advise on building a Discourse Docker image that has a number of plugins built in rather than installing via the UI?

You can’t install plugins from the UI. You install them from the YML file. If you’re using some not-yet-supported container that you didn’t build yourself with launcher, then you’d do something like you suggest.

> [@stevejr](#):
>
> ```plaintext
> git clone https://github.com/discourse/discourse-chat-integration.git 
> 
> ```

But that plugin is in core (but maybe not yet in stable?).

> [@stevejr](#):
>
> ather than having these hardcode in the `app.yml` file.

They aren’t really hard-coded in the YML file. The yml file is used to build and launch the container. You can build it and then launch it yourself, however you want. You can use `./launcher start-cmd container-name` (or something like that, you can look in launcher to see if I got it wrong).

So what I think you want to do is continue to use launcher, add the plugin, `./launcher bootstrap app` the container, and then launch it however you want. You can even push it to a repo where you can launch it from some other machine.

yeah, I think there might not be stable anymore, at least not much longer. See [RFC: A new versioning strategy for Discourse](https://meta.discourse.org/t/rfc-a-new-versioning-strategy-for-discourse/383536)

---

_[View the full topic](https://meta.discourse.org/t/building-discourse-image-from-discourse-discourse-how-to-install-plugins/394969)._