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Operation

This page outlines how to successfully operate the application

Configuration Pre-Requisites​

You will first need to create a .env file as described in the Configuration Guide

Operation Using Docker​

Docker is used to build, deploy, and manage applications within isolated, lightweight containers, effectively packaging an application with all its dependencies so it can run consistently across different environments, allowing for faster development, testing, and deployment of software.

We use it to simplify installation

Prerequisites​

Follow these steps to install Docker on your system:

  1. The steps are different for Windows/Mac versus Linux users:

    1. Docker Desktop for Windows/Mac
    2. Docker Engine for Linux

  2. You must ensure that docker is running for the Talawa-Admin application to work correctly.

The next steps will depend on whether you are:

  1. an end user installing our software (Production Environments) or
  2. one of our open source contributors (Development Environments).

Please follow them closely.

For Production Environments​

This section describes how to setup the application in a production environment.

  1. Configure nginx.conf file located at config/docker/setup. Modify it to fit your preferences before running the application.

Starting The Application​

To start the application you will need to build, then run the Docker Image. These steps follow:

  1. Windows Systems:

    1. Run the following command to first build the Docker image:

      docker-compose -f docker/docker-compose.prod.yaml build

    2. Run the following command to run the Docker image:

      docker-compose -f docker/docker-compose.prod.yaml --env-file .env up -d

      For troubleshooting purposes, you can run docker in interactive mode to directly see the logs by removing the -d at the end.

    3. The application will be accessible at

      http://localhost:4321

  2. Linux Systems:

    1. Run the following command to first build the Docker image:

      docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.prod.yaml build

    2. Run the following command to run the Docker image:

      docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.prod.yaml --env-file .env up -d

      For troubleshooting purposes, you can run docker in interactive mode to directly see the logs by removing the -d at the end.

    3. The application will be accessible at

      http://localhost:4321

  3. Linux Systems (Rootless Docker - Optional):

    1. Set DOCKER_HOST dynamically (do not hardcode UID):

      export DOCKER_HOST=unix:///run/user/$UID/docker.sock

      Or run:

      eval "$(./scripts/docker/resolve-docker-host.sh --mode rootless --emit-export --warn-if-docker-group)"

    2. Build using the rootless compose file:

      docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.rootless.prod.yaml build

    3. Start the app:

      docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.rootless.prod.yaml --env-file .env up -d

Stopping The Application​

To stop the container run the following command:

  1. Windows Systems: Run the following command to stop the Docker image:

    docker-compose -f docker/docker-compose.prod.yaml down

  2. Linux Systems: Run the following command to stop the Docker image:

    docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.prod.yaml down

  3. Linux Systems (Rootless Docker - Optional): Run:

    docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.rootless.prod.yaml down

For Development Environments​

This section describes how to setup the application in a development environment.

Starting The Application​

To start the application you will need to build, then run the Docker Image. These steps follow:

  1. Windows Systems:

    1. Run the following command to first build the Docker image:

      docker-compose -f docker/docker-compose.dev.yaml build

    2. Run the following command to run the Docker image:

      docker-compose -f docker/docker-compose.dev.yaml --env-file .env up -d

      For troubleshooting purposes, you can run docker in interactive mode to directly see the logs by removing the -d at the end.

    3. The application will be accessible at

      http://localhost:4321

  2. Linux Systems:

    1. Run the following command to first build the Docker image:

      docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.dev.yaml build

    2. Run the following command to run the Docker image:

      docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.dev.yaml --env-file .env up -d

      For troubleshooting purposes, you can run docker in interactive mode to directly see the logs by removing the -d at the end.

    3. The application will be accessible at

      http://localhost:4321

  3. Linux Systems (Rootless Docker - Optional):

    1. Set DOCKER_HOST dynamically:

      export DOCKER_HOST=unix:///run/user/$UID/docker.sock

      Or run:

      eval "$(./scripts/docker/resolve-docker-host.sh --mode rootless --emit-export --warn-if-docker-group)"

    2. Build rootless development image:

      docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.rootless.dev.yaml build

    3. Start rootless development container:

      docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.rootless.dev.yaml --env-file .env up -d

Stopping The Application​

To stop the container run the following command:

  1. Windows Systems: Run the following command to stop the Docker image:

    docker-compose -f docker/docker-compose.dev.yaml down

  2. Linux Systems: Run the following command to stop the Docker image:

    docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.dev.yaml down

  3. Linux Systems (Rootless Docker - Optional): Run:

    docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.rootless.dev.yaml down

Operation Without Docker​

If you are running Talawa-Admin natively then the next steps will depend on whether you are:

  1. an end user installing our software (Production Environments) or
  2. one of our open source contributors (Development Environments).

Please follow them closely.

For Production Environments​

Follow these steps if you are running the app in a production environment without Docker.

Starting The Application​

Run the following command to start the production server:

pnpm run serve &

Stopping The Application​

Since the production server runs in the background, you need to find and stop the process:

  1. Find the process ID:

    pgrep -f "pnpm run serve"

  2. Stop the process using the process ID from step 1:

    kill <process_id>

    Replace <process_id> with the actual process ID number.

Alternatively, you can use a single command:

pkill -f "pnpm run serve"

Rootless Troubleshooting​

If Docker rootless mode fails to start, check the following:

  1. Socket mismatch (/var/run/docker.sock vs /run/user/$UID/docker.sock)
    • Ensure DOCKER_HOST is set dynamically: 
      export DOCKER_HOST=unix:///run/user/$UID/docker.sock
    • Or run: 
      eval "$(./scripts/docker/resolve-docker-host.sh --mode rootless --emit-export --warn-if-docker-group)"
  2. dockerd-rootless-setuptool.sh run with sudo
    • Re-run as your regular user (no sudo): 
      dockerd-rootless-setuptool.sh install
  3. mkdir /var/run/docker.sock: file exists
    • This usually indicates a rootful/rootless context mix.
    • Stop containers, verify DOCKER_HOST, then restart with the intended compose file.

For Development Environments​

Follow these steps if you are running the app in a development environment without Docker.

Starting The Application​

Run the following command to start the development server:

pnpm run serve

The app will run until you hit:

<CTRL-C>