How to run ERPNext software in docker

🚀 How to Run ERPNext Using Docker – The Simple Way

ERPNext is a powerful, open-source ERP system built on the Frappe framework. Whether you're exploring it for the first time or deploying it for your team, running ERPNext using Docker can save hours of setup time and headaches.

In this post, you’ll learn how to get ERPNext up and running in minutes using Docker.

🧱 Why Use Docker for ERPNext?

Running ERPNext without Docker requires manually setting up:

• MariaDB
• Redis (3 instances)
• Node.js and Yarn
• Python, Bench, Nginx
• Scheduler processes

With Docker, you avoid all that by using prebuilt containers with these components isolated, tested, and configured.

🔧 Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

✅ Docker installed ✅ Docker Compose installed ✅ At least 4 GB RAM and 2 CPUs available ✅ Ensure you are running linux or Macos as ERPnext works only on windows.

Optional: Git for cloning the ERPNext Docker repo.

📦 Step 1: Clone the Frappe/ERPNext Docker Repository

git clone https://github.com/frappe/frappe_docker.git
cd frappe_docker
docker compose -f pwd.yml up -d

This will start the ERPNext on port 8080. You can access it at http://localhost:8080 But if you want to do further configuration, you can follow below steps.

🏗️ Step 2: Set Up Your Environment

Create a .env file (or copy from the example):

cp .env-example .env

Edit it as needed. You’ll define things like:

PROJECT_NAME=erpnext
FRAPPE_VERSION=version-15
ERPNEXT_VERSION=version-15
MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=root

You can use other versions like develop, version-14, etc.

🛠️ Step 3: Build and Start the Containers

Run this to bring up all containers:

docker compose -f compose.yaml -f overrides/erpnext.yaml up -d

It will set up:

• Frappe/ERPNext app container
• MariaDB
• Redis Queue, Cache, and SocketIO
• Nginx
• Worker and Scheduler

🌐 Step 4: Access ERPNext in Browser

Once the containers are running, open your browser:

http://localhost:8080

You’ll see the ERPNext login screen.

🧪 Optional: Create First User and Company

After login, ERPNext will prompt you to set up the first user and company. You can also automate this with scripts.

📂 Directory Structure Overview

frappe_docker/
├── compose.yaml
├── overrides/
│   └── erpnext.yaml
├── patches/ (optional)
├── sites/
│   └── erp.localhost/

🧹 Stopping and Cleaning Up

To stop the containers:

docker compose down

To remove all data:

docker volume prune

💡 Tips and Troubleshooting

• Custom apps? Mount your custom app inside /apps volume.
• Email not working? Configure SMTP inside ERPNext settings UI.
• Debug logs? Use docker compose logs -f backend.

If you need help with this setup, you can contact https://it.softpost.org/services/erp and they will help with this.