---
title: Docker Compose Development
description: Building SurfSense from source using docker-compose.dev.yml
---

If you're contributing to SurfSense and want to build from source, use `docker-compose.dev.yml` instead:

```bash
cd SurfSense/docker
docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml up --build
```

This file builds the backend and frontend from your local source code (instead
of pulling prebuilt images) and includes pgAdmin for database inspection at
[http://localhost:5050](http://localhost:5050). It intentionally keeps raw
frontend, backend, and zero-cache ports published for debugging. Use the
production `docker-compose.yml` for the default Caddy single-origin setup.

## Dev-Only Environment Variables

The following `.env` variables are **only used by the dev compose file** (they have no effect on the production `docker-compose.yml`):

| Variable | Description | Default |
|----------|-------------|---------|
| `PGADMIN_PORT` | pgAdmin web UI port | `5050` |
| `PGADMIN_DEFAULT_EMAIL` | pgAdmin login email | `admin@surfsense.com` |
| `PGADMIN_DEFAULT_PASSWORD` | pgAdmin login password | `surfsense` |
| `REDIS_PORT` | Exposed Redis port (internal-only in prod) | `6379` |
| `AUTH_TYPE` | Runtime auth mode | `LOCAL` |
| `ETL_SERVICE` | Runtime document parsing service | `DOCLING` |
| `DEPLOYMENT_MODE` | Runtime deployment mode | `self-hosted` |
| `ZERO_CACHE_PORT` | Exposed zero-cache port for debugging | `4848` |

In the production compose file, the frontend reads `AUTH_TYPE`, `ETL_SERVICE`,
and `DEPLOYMENT_MODE` at request time. Browser API and Zero traffic are
same-origin relative through bundled Caddy.
Production Docker exposes only the bundled Caddy proxy by default; dev compose
keeps direct service ports so contributors can inspect and restart individual
services without going through the proxy.
