Installation¶
Nexplane runs as a set of Docker containers managed by Docker Compose. This page walks you through getting the control plane running locally or on a server in about 5 minutes.
Prerequisites¶
- Docker 24.0 or later
- Docker Compose v2.20 or later
- 2 GB RAM minimum (4 GB recommended)
- Ports 8000 (API) and 3000 (UI) available
Step 1: Pull the Compose File¶
Or clone the repo:
Step 2: Start the Stack¶
This starts:
| Service | Port | Description |
|---|---|---|
backend |
8000 | FastAPI control plane API |
frontend |
3000 | React UI |
db |
5432 | PostgreSQL (internal only) |
redis |
6379 | Task queue (internal only) |
Wait about 30 seconds for the database migrations to complete. You can watch the logs:
When you see Application startup complete, the backend is ready.
Step 3: Open the UI¶
Navigate to http://localhost:3000.
On first launch, Nexplane will prompt you to create an admin account. Enter your email and a password. This account has full access to all connectors and change requests.
Step 4: Verify the API¶
Expected response:
Environment Variables¶
The following variables can be set in a .env file in the same directory as docker-compose.yml:
| Variable | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
SECRET_KEY |
auto-generated | JWT signing key -- set this in production |
DATABASE_URL |
internal Postgres | Override to use an external database |
REDIS_URL |
internal Redis | Override to use an external Redis |
CORS_ORIGINS |
http://localhost:3000 |
Allowed frontend origins |
LOG_LEVEL |
info |
debug, info, warning, error |
Production deployments
Always set SECRET_KEY to a random 32-byte hex string in production. The auto-generated key changes on container restart, which invalidates all active sessions.
Upgrading¶
See the Upgrade Runbook for instructions on upgrading between versions.