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GLPI 11 with Docker Compose

This page installs GLPI 11 with the official GLPI Docker image. GLPI is an open source IT service management tool: tickets, asset inventory, a knowledge base, and change management in one application. It can create tickets from incoming email and send email notifications.

The stack has two containers:

  • glpi: the GLPI application, with Apache and PHP built in, plus a background worker that runs GLPI's scheduled tasks every minute.
  • db: MySQL 8.4, which holds the GLPI database.

A reverse proxy (Nginx Proxy Manager in this guide) handles HTTPS in front of it.

All names and addresses on this page are examples. Replace them with your own:

Example value Replace with
glpi.example.com The hostname for GLPI
192.168.1.50 The IP address of the Docker host
192.168.1.10 The IP address of Nginx Proxy Manager
mail.example.com Your mail server hostname
[email protected] The mailbox GLPI uses for tickets
America/New_York Your time zone

Tested with GLPI 11.0.11 on Debian 13.

Reference: GLPI Docker images (official)

Pin the version

The official example file uses the image tag glpi/glpi:latest. Since October 2026, latest points to GLPI 12, not 11.

The image also updates the GLPI database automatically every time the container starts. If the tag ever moves to a newer major version, the next restart upgrades your database to that version, and there is no automatic way back.

This guide pins an exact 11.x version (glpi/glpi:11.0.11). To see the current tags, open hub.docker.com/r/glpi/glpi/tags.

Prerequisites

  • A Debian 13 VM or LXC. 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, and 20 GB of disk is enough for a home lab.
  • SSH access with a user that can run sudo.
  • A reverse proxy that can forward a hostname to http://192.168.1.50:8080.
  • A DNS record for glpi.example.com that points at the reverse proxy.

Step 1: Install Docker

Install Docker Engine and the Compose plugin from Docker's own repository:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y ca-certificates curl
sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/debian/gpg -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc] https://download.docker.com/linux/debian $(. /etc/os-release && echo "$VERSION_CODENAME") stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

Check that Docker works:

sudo docker run --rm hello-world

Expected output includes Hello from Docker!.

Step 2: Create the stack files

Create a folder for the stack:

sudo mkdir -p /opt/glpi
cd /opt/glpi

Create the Compose file:

sudo nano /opt/glpi/docker-compose.yml

Paste this content, then save with Ctrl+O, Enter, and exit with Ctrl+X:

/opt/glpi/docker-compose.yml
name: glpi

services:
  glpi:
    # Pinned to 11.x on purpose. "latest" points to GLPI 12,
    # and the automatic database update would migrate to it.
    image: "glpi/glpi:11.0.11"
    container_name: glpi
    restart: unless-stopped
    env_file: .env
    environment:
      TZ: ${TZ}
    volumes:
      # config, files, logs, and marketplace plugins all live under /var/glpi
      - glpi_data:/var/glpi
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
    ports:
      # The reverse proxy forwards to http://<docker-host-ip>:8080
      - "8080:80"

  db:
    image: "mysql:8.4"
    container_name: glpi-db
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      TZ: ${TZ}
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD}
      MYSQL_DATABASE: ${GLPI_DB_NAME}
      MYSQL_USER: ${GLPI_DB_USER}
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: ${GLPI_DB_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - db_data:/var/lib/mysql
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "mysqladmin ping -h 127.0.0.1 -uroot -p$$MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD --silent"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 10
      start_period: 30s

volumes:
  glpi_data:
  db_data:

What differs from the official example file:

Change Why
GLPI pinned to 11.0.11 latest is GLPI 12 (see Pin the version).
MySQL pinned to 8.4 The untagged mysql image pulls MySQL 9.x.
Root password set in .env The official file generates a random root password and prints it in the container log. Setting it yourself keeps it out of the logs.
Host port 8080 Leaves port 80 free on the host. The reverse proxy handles HTTPS.
Database health check GLPI waits until MySQL is ready instead of failing on first start.

Generate two passwords, one for the GLPI database user and one for the MySQL root account. This command prints a random password on screen:

openssl rand -base64 24 | tr -d '/+='

Create the environment file:

sudo nano /opt/glpi/.env

Paste this content and replace both CHANGE_ME values with the passwords you generated:

/opt/glpi/.env
TZ=America/New_York

GLPI_DB_HOST=db
GLPI_DB_PORT=3306
GLPI_DB_NAME=glpi
GLPI_DB_USER=glpi
GLPI_DB_PASSWORD=CHANGE_ME_glpi_db_password

MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=CHANGE_ME_mysql_root_password

Note: CHANGE_ME_glpi_db_password and CHANGE_ME_mysql_root_password are placeholders. Replace each one with a password you generated with the openssl command above, and use a different password for each:

Placeholder Replace with
CHANGE_ME_glpi_db_password The first generated password. GLPI uses it to connect to its database.
CHANGE_ME_mysql_root_password The second generated password. It is the MySQL administrator password, used for maintenance such as Step 6 and backups.

Replace the whole value, including the CHANGE_ME_ part, and leave no spaces or quotes around it. MySQL only reads these passwords the very first time the stack starts. If you start the stack with the placeholders still in place, see Troubleshooting.

Limit who can read it, because it holds passwords:

sudo chmod 600 /opt/glpi/.env

Note: All five GLPI_DB_* variables are required. If any is missing, the image skips the automatic install and shows the web installation wizard instead.

Step 3: Start GLPI

cd /opt/glpi
sudo docker compose up -d
sudo docker compose logs -f glpi

On the first start, the container creates the GLPI database tables. Wait until the log stops scrolling and shows Apache running, then press Ctrl+C to stop following the log. The containers keep running.

Check that both containers are up:

sudo docker compose ps

Expected output: glpi shows Up and glpi-db shows Up (healthy).

Quick test from the Docker host:

curl -s -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}\n' http://localhost:8080

Expected output: 200 or 302.

Step 4: Reverse proxy and DNS

DNS

Create an A record for glpi.example.com that points at the reverse proxy (192.168.1.10). If you use split-horizon DNS, add it to the internal zone. See Split-Horizon DNS.

Nginx Proxy Manager

  1. Open the Nginx Proxy Manager admin page (http://192.168.1.10:81).
  2. Go to Hosts › Proxy Hosts and click Add Proxy Host.

  3. On the Details tab:

    Field Value
    Domain Names glpi.example.com
    Scheme http
    Forward Hostname / IP 192.168.1.50
    Forward Port 8080
    Block Common Exploits On

  4. On the SSL tab, select Request a new SSL Certificate, turn on Force SSL, and accept the Let's Encrypt terms. If glpi.example.com is not reachable from the internet, turn on Use a DNS Challenge and pick your DNS provider.

  5. Click Save.

Open https://glpi.example.com. The GLPI login page should load.

Step 5: First login and default accounts

The automatic install creates four accounts with well-known passwords:

Username Password Profile
glpi glpi Super-Admin
tech tech Technician
normal normal Normal user
post-only postonly Self-service
  1. Sign in as glpi / glpi.
  2. GLPI shows a warning listing the accounts that still use default passwords. Change each one:
    1. Go to Administration › Users.
    2. Click the username.
    3. Enter a new password in Password and Password confirmation.
    4. Click Save.
  3. Disable any account you do not need: open it, set Active to No, and click Save.

Step 6: Enable time zone support

GLPI can show dates in each user's time zone. It needs read access to MySQL's time zone table first. These commands use the passwords from .env inside the containers and do not print them:

cd /opt/glpi
sudo docker compose exec db sh -c 'mysql -uroot -p"$MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD" -e "GRANT SELECT ON mysql.time_zone_name TO '\''glpi'\''@'\''%'\''; FLUSH PRIVILEGES;"'
sudo docker compose exec glpi /var/www/glpi/bin/console database:enable_timezones

Step 7: Email

GLPI sends notifications over SMTP and creates tickets from a mailbox over IMAP. Use a dedicated mailbox such as [email protected].

Outbound notifications

  1. Go to Setup › Notifications.
  2. Set Enable followups via email to Yes and click Save.

  3. Click Email followups configuration and fill in:

    Field Value
    Administrator email address [email protected]
    Way of sending emails SMTP+SSL
    SMTP host mail.example.com
    Port 465
    SMTP login [email protected]
    SMTP password The mailbox password (or app password)
    Email sender [email protected]

  4. Click Save, then Send a test email to the administrator.

Inbound tickets (mail receiver)

  1. Go to Setup › Receivers and click Add.

  2. Fill in:

    Field Value
    Name (email address) [email protected]
    Active Yes
    Server mail.example.com
    Connection options IMAP, SSL
    Port 993
    Login [email protected]
    Password The mailbox password (or app password)

  3. Click Add, then open the receiver again and click Get email tickets now to test.

Note: GLPI ignores email sent from the receiver's own address, to avoid loops. Test from a different mailbox.

Scheduled tasks

The image runs GLPI's scheduled tasks (sending queued email, collecting mail) every minute by itself. Do not add a cron job on the host for GLPI.

To check them, go to Setup › Automatic actions. The Last run column should update every few minutes for queuednotification and mailgate.

Back up

Back up the database to a file in the current folder:

cd /opt/glpi
sudo docker compose exec -T db sh -c 'mysqldump -uroot -p"$MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD" --no-tablespaces glpi' > glpi-$(date +%F).sql

Uploaded documents and configuration live in the glpi_data volume. To find where Docker stores it on disk:

sudo docker volume inspect glpi_glpi_data --format '{{ .Mountpoint }}'

Update GLPI

  1. Back up the database (see Back up).
  2. Check the release notes at github.com/glpi-project/glpi/releases.
  3. Change the image tag in /opt/glpi/docker-compose.yml, for example from 11.0.11 to the next 11.x release.

  4. Pull and restart:

    cd /opt/glpi
sudo docker compose pull
sudo docker compose up -d
sudo docker compose logs -f glpi

The container updates the database on start. Moving to GLPI 12 is a major upgrade: test it on a copy first.

Troubleshooting

Symptom Cause Fix
The web installation wizard appears instead of the login page One of the five GLPI_DB_* variables is missing or misspelled in .env. Fix .env, then sudo docker compose up -d --force-recreate glpi.
glpi-db never becomes healthy Wrong MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD, or the volume was created earlier with a different password. MySQL only reads the passwords on the very first start. For a fresh install, remove the volume (sudo docker compose down -v, which deletes all data) and start again.
The stack was started with the CHANGE_ME_ placeholders still in .env MySQL created the database users with the placeholder passwords on first start. Editing .env afterwards does not change them. On a fresh install with no data yet: sudo docker compose down -v (deletes the database and GLPI data volumes), put real passwords in .env, then sudo docker compose up -d.
GLPI is on version 12 after a restart The image tag is latest. Restore the database backup and pin an 11.x tag.
Test email fails Wrong port and encryption pair, or a password the mail server rejects. Use 465 with SSL, or 587 with TLS. If the mail server uses single sign-on, create an app password for the mailbox.
Mail stays in the inbox and no ticket appears The receiver is inactive, the sender is the receiver's own address, or the automatic action mailgate is not running. Check Setup › Receivers and Setup › Automatic actions.