Skip to content

Home

Jump to bottom
Alien edited this page Oct 20, 2026 · 3 revisions

Dossier is a self-hosted job search app: one profile, a tailored resume and cover letter for every job, and every application tracked from draft to offer. This wiki shows how to install it, on your own computer to try it or on a server to use it every day, and how to set it up and look after it once it runs.

Run it on your own computer

Way What it is
Docker Two docker run commands, one for the database and one for the app. The quickest way to try Dossier.
Docker Compose The Compose file from the README: the app and its database in one file, easy to stop, upgrade and remove.
Node.js Built from source, next to a PostgreSQL you install yourself. No Docker.

Self-host on a server

Way What it is
Ubuntu server A plain server set up by hand: Docker Compose, Caddy for HTTPS and a firewall. Or without Docker, as a systemd service.
CapRover An app from the published image, next to CapRover's PostgreSQL one-click app.
Coolify A Compose file made for Coolify: the app and its database in one resource, with Coolify's proxy for HTTPS.
Dokploy An application from the published image, next to a Dokploy PostgreSQL database.

If you don't run CapRover, Coolify or Dokploy yet, the Ubuntu server guide is the shortest way: those platforms take more memory than Dossier does.

What every install needs

  • PostgreSQL 18. Each guide sets it up.
  • Three required variables: DATABASE_URL (with the Compose file, POSTGRES_PASSWORD instead), DOSSIER_SECRET and DOSSIER_PASSWORD, a hash made with hash-password. See Environment variables.
  • A place for /data, where nightly backups and zipped PDFs go: a volume, or a folder with DOSSIER_DATA_DIR.
  • About 1 GB of memory for Dossier, since it prints PDFs with a built-in Chromium. See Performance and sizing.
  • One copy of the app per database. See Known limitations.
  • An Intel or AMD processor (x86-64). The image is built for linux/amd64 only. Apple Silicon Macs run it under emulation; on an ARM server, only the Node.js way could work, and it isn't tested there.
  • On a server, HTTPS in front. Dossier relies on the reverse proxy for X-Forwarded-Proto and X-Forwarded-For, so its port 3000 must never be reachable from the internet. See Another proxy, or no HTTPS at home.

After installing

Installing Dossier

On your own computer

On a server

After installing

Clone this wiki locally