docker: run install stage at build time, configure+activate at startup

Move the CMDEPLOY_STAGES=install execution into the Dockerfile these
operations baked into the image layer. On container start, only
configure and activate stages run by default. Users can override with
CMDEPLOY_STAGES="install,configure,activate" to force a full reinstall
without rebuilding the image.

Also fixes CERTS_MONITORING_TIMEOUT typo in docker-compose.yaml (was
"$CERTS MONITORING TIMEOUT"), and replaces the docker-commit workaround
in docs with CMDEPLOY_STAGES documentation.
This commit is contained in:
j4n
2026-02-13 15:10:23 +01:00
parent e5ba9f9d03
commit ae0b2345de
5 changed files with 42 additions and 82 deletions

View File

@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
# Known issues and limitations
- Chatmail will be reinstalled every time the container is started (longer the first time, faster on subsequent starts). This is how the original installer works because it wasnt designed for Docker. At the end of the documentation, theres a [proposed solution](#locking-the-chatmail-version).
- Requires cgroups v2 configured in the system. Operation with cgroups v1 has not been tested.
- Yes, of course, using systemd inside a container is a hack, and it would be better to split it into several services, but since this is an MVP, it turned out to be easier to do it this way initially than to rewrite the entire deployment system.
- The Docker image is only suitable for amd64. If you need to run it on a different architecture, try modifying the Dockerfile (specifically the part responsible for installing dovecot).
@@ -59,6 +58,7 @@ cp ./docker/example.env .env
- `PATH_TO_SSL` Path to where the certificates are stored. (default: `/var/lib/acme/live/${MAIL_DOMAIN}`)
- `ENABLE_CERTS_MONITORING` Enable certificate monitoring if `USE_FOREIGN_CERT_MANAGER=true`. If certificates change, services will be automatically restarted. (default: `false`)
- `CERTS_MONITORING_TIMEOUT` Interval in seconds to check if certificates have changed. (default: `'60'`)
- `CMDEPLOY_STAGES` Deployment stages to run on container start. (default: `"configure,activate"`). Set to `"install,configure,activate"` to force a full reinstall.
You can also use any variables from the [ini configuration file](https://github.com/chatmail/relay/blob/main/chatmaild/src/chatmaild/ini/chatmail.ini.f); they must be in uppercase.
@@ -114,79 +114,19 @@ docker compose down
docker compose up -d
```
## Locking the Chatmail version
## Forcing a full reinstall
> [!note]
> These steps are optional and should only be done if you are not satisfied that the service is installed each time the container starts.
The Docker image bakes the install stage (binary downloads, package setup, chatmaild venv) into the image at build time. On container start, only the `configure` and `activate` stages run by default.
Since the current Docker version installs the Chatmail service every time the container starts, you can lock the container version after installation as follows:
1. Commit the current state of the configured container:
To force a full reinstall (e.g., after updating the source), either rebuild the image:
```shell
docker container commit chatmail configured-chatmail:$(date +'%Y-%m-%d')
docker image ls | grep configured-chatmail
```
2. Change the entrypoint for the container in `docker-compose.yaml` to:
```yaml
services:
chatmail:
image: <image name from step 1>
volumes:
...
## custom resources
- ./custom/setup_chatmail_docker.sh:/setup_chatmail_docker.sh
```
3. Create the file `./custom/setup_chatmail_docker.sh` with the new configuration:
```shell
mkdir -p ./custom
cat > ./custom/setup_chatmail_docker.sh << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
set -eo pipefail
export ENABLE_CERTS_MONITORING="${ENABLE_CERTS_MONITORING:-true}"
export CERTS_MONITORING_TIMEOUT="${CERTS_MONITORING_TIMEOUT:-60}"
export PATH_TO_SSL="${PATH_TO_SSL:-/var/lib/acme/live/${MAIL_DOMAIN}}"
calculate_hash() {
find "$PATH_TO_SSL" -type f -exec sha1sum {} \; | sort | sha1sum | awk '{print $1}'
}
monitor_certificates() {
if [ "$ENABLE_CERTS_MONITORING" != "true" ]; then
echo "Certs monitoring disabled."
exit 0
fi
current_hash=$(calculate_hash)
previous_hash=$current_hash
while true; do
current_hash=$(calculate_hash)
if [[ "$current_hash" != "$previous_hash" ]]; then
# TODO: add an option to restart at a specific time interval
echo "[INFO] Certificate's folder hash was changed, reloading nginx, dovecot and postfix services."
systemctl reload nginx.service
systemctl reload dovecot.service
systemctl reload postfix.service
previous_hash=$current_hash
fi
sleep $CERTS_MONITORING_TIMEOUT
done
}
monitor_certificates &
EOF
```
4. Restart the service:
```shell
docker compose down
docker compose build chatmail
docker compose up -d
```
Or override the stages at runtime without rebuilding:
```shell
CMDEPLOY_STAGES="install,configure,activate" docker compose up -d
```