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Install the server with Docker

The quickest way to a server of your own: one image from Docker Hub, for Intel/AMD and ARM, with the web app included.

5 min · Updated 26 October 2026

  1. 1

    Check what you need

    A computer that stays on, with Docker installed: a Synology or QNAP NAS (Container Manager), a Raspberry Pi 4 or newer, a mini PC, or a small VPS. Intel/AMD and ARM 64-bit are both supported.

    2 GB of memory at least, 4 GB or more if you shoot big raw files: the server decodes each photo once to build its previews. Disk is for the originals your devices upload and about 1 MB of previews per photo; photo folders it only reads cost just the previews.

  2. 2

    Start the container

    This pulls elrumo/lightcraft-server and starts it on port 8080. The data volume holds your users, libraries, uploaded photos and previews. Leave out the /photos line if you have no photo folders on this machine.

    Terminal
    docker run -d --name lightcraft --restart unless-stopped \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  -v lightcraft-data:/data \
  -v /path/to/your/photos:/photos:ro \
  elrumo/lightcraft-server
  3. 3

    Find the setup code

    The first time it starts, the server logs a one-time code that proves you are the owner. Look for “enter the setup code”.

    Terminal
    docker logs lightcraft
  4. 4

    Create your admin account

    Open http://<the machine’s address>:8080/admin in a browser, enter the setup code, and choose a user name and password. Then add a user for each person who will sign in; everyone gets a library of their own.

    Prefer a docker compose file, or a NAS project? Use the compose file, or on a NAS paste the same image name into Container Manager and map /data to a folder that user id 10001 can write.

  5. 5

    Check it works

    docker ps shows the container as healthy, and http://<address>:8080 opens the LightCraft web app. Next: connect LightBites.