Docker

Create a docker-compose.yml file with following content:

services:
  # uncomment this section and comment out the mysql section to use postgres instead of mysql
  #postgres:
    #restart: unless-stopped
    #image: postgres:14
    #hostname: postgres
    #volumes: 
    #  - semaphore-postgres:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    #environment:
    #  POSTGRES_USER: semaphore
    #  POSTGRES_PASSWORD: semaphore
    #  POSTGRES_DB: semaphore
  # if you wish to use postgres, comment the mysql service section below 
  mysql:
    restart: unless-stopped
    image: mysql:8.0
    hostname: mysql
    volumes:
      - semaphore-mysql:/var/lib/mysql
    environment:
      MYSQL_RANDOM_ROOT_PASSWORD: 'yes'
      MYSQL_DATABASE: semaphore
      MYSQL_USER: semaphore
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: semaphore
  semaphore:
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - 3000:3000
    image: semaphoreui/semaphore:latest
    environment:
      SEMAPHORE_DB_USER: semaphore
      SEMAPHORE_DB_PASS: semaphore
      SEMAPHORE_DB_HOST: mysql # for postgres, change to: postgres
      SEMAPHORE_DB_PORT: 3306 # change to 5432 for postgres
      SEMAPHORE_DB_DIALECT: mysql # for postgres, change to: postgres
      SEMAPHORE_DB: semaphore
      SEMAPHORE_PLAYBOOK_PATH: /tmp/semaphore/
      SEMAPHORE_ADMIN_PASSWORD: changeme
      SEMAPHORE_ADMIN_NAME: admin
      SEMAPHORE_ADMIN_EMAIL: admin@localhost
      SEMAPHORE_ADMIN: admin
      SEMAPHORE_ACCESS_KEY_ENCRYPTION: gs72mPntFATGJs9qK0pQ0rKtfidlexiMjYCH9gWKhTU=
      SEMAPHORE_LDAP_ACTIVATED: 'no' # if you wish to use ldap, set to: 'yes' 
      SEMAPHORE_LDAP_HOST: dc01.local.example.com
      SEMAPHORE_LDAP_PORT: '636'
      SEMAPHORE_LDAP_NEEDTLS: 'yes'
      SEMAPHORE_LDAP_DN_BIND: 'uid=bind_user,cn=users,cn=accounts,dc=local,dc=shiftsystems,dc=net'
      SEMAPHORE_LDAP_PASSWORD: 'ldap_bind_account_password'
      SEMAPHORE_LDAP_DN_SEARCH: 'dc=local,dc=example,dc=com'
      SEMAPHORE_LDAP_SEARCH_FILTER: "(\u0026(uid=%s)(memberOf=cn=ipausers,cn=groups,cn=accounts,dc=local,dc=example,dc=com))"
      TZ: UTC
    depends_on:
      - mysql # for postgres, change to: postgres
volumes:
  semaphore-mysql: # to use postgres, switch to: semaphore-postgres

You must specify following confidential variables:

  • MYSQL_PASSWORD and SEMAPHORE_DB_PASS — password for the MySQL user.
  • SEMAPHORE_ADMIN_PASSWORD — password for the Semaphore's admin user.
  • SEMAPHORE_ACCESS_KEY_ENCRYPTION — key for encrypting access keys in database. It must be generated by using the following command: head -c32 /dev/urandom | base64.

If you are using Docker Swarm, it is strongly recommended that you don't embed credentials directly in the Compose file (nor in environment variables generally) and instead use Docker Secrets. Semaphore supports a common Docker container pattern for retrieving settings from files instead of the environment by appending _FILE to the end of the environment variable name. See the Docker documentation for an example.

A limited example using secrets:

secrets:
  semaphore_admin_pw:
    file: semaphore_admin_password.txt

services:
  semaphore:
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - 3000:3000
    image: semaphoreui/semaphore:latest
      SEMAPHORE_ADMIN_PASSWORD_FILE: /run/secrets/semaphore_admin_pw
      SEMAPHORE_ADMIN_NAME: admin
      SEMAPHORE_ADMIN_EMAIL: admin@localhost
      SEMAPHORE_ADMIN: admin

Run the following command to start Semaphore with configured database (MySQL or Postgres):

docker-compose up

Semaphore will be available via the following URL http://localhost:3000.