For most users, we recommend starting with the public version of Docent. We also provide white-glove hosting support for larger organizations; please reach out if you’re interested.
git clone https://github.com/TransluceAI/docent.git
cd docent
cp .env.template .env
.env file at the project root. See Environment Variables for details on how to fill it in.
If you’re self-hosting Docent anywhere other than localhost, make sure to set the frontend URL as a CORS origin; e.g., DOCENT_CORS_ORIGINS=http://domain:3001.
2. Start the backend server and frontend UI
Docker Compose is the easiest way to get started, but you may want a manual installation to support faster development loops (e.g., for hot reloading).
First ensure Docker Engine and Docker Compose are installed. Then run:DOCENT_HOST=http://localhost DOCENT_SERVER_PORT=8889 DOCENT_WEB_PORT=3001 docker compose up --build
# Note that `sudo` strips environment variables, so you have to set them *inside* the command.
sudo DOCENT_HOST=http://localhost DOCENT_SERVER_PORT=8889 DOCENT_WEB_PORT=3001 docker compose up --build
If you’re not using localhost, make sure DOCENT_HOST is set to the correct domain. Ensure that it’s prefixed correctly with http:// or https://.
CONTAINER ID IMAGE COMMAND CREATED STATUS PORTS NAMES
b8bba5b86251 docent-backend "bash -c 'bash /app/…" 34 seconds ago Up 33 seconds 0.0.0.0:8889->8889/tcp, [::]:8889->8889/tcp docent_backend
0cfc73d80407 docent-frontend "docent web --build …" 34 seconds ago Up 33 seconds 0.0.0.0:3001->3001/tcp, [::]:3001->3001/tcp docent_frontend
c80f4302db12 postgres:15 "docker-entrypoint.s…" 34 seconds ago Up 33 seconds 0.0.0.0:5432->5432/tcp, [::]:5432->5432/tcp docent_postgres
f9d86be37643 redis:alpine "docker-entrypoint.s…" 34 seconds ago Up 33 seconds 0.0.0.0:6379->6379/tcp, [::]:6379->6379/tcp docent_redis
Ctrl+C in the terminal or run:If you make changes to the codebase, you’ll need to stop the containers, then rebuild by keeping the --build argument. If --build is omitted, your changes will not be reflected.
If you don’t already have Postgres and Redis installed, you can start them with Docker:docker compose -f docker-compose-db.yml up --build
sudo docker compose -f docker-compose-db.yml up --build
.env. To set up your own databases, visit the official docs for Postgres and Redis.Then run:to install the core library, andto set up pre-commit hooks for development.Before running the application, you need to set up your database with Alembic migrations. First create a PostgreSQL database that matches the name in your .env file. Then runto create all database tables. Now run: Prod
Dev (with autoreload)
docent_core server --port 8889 --workers 4
docent_core server --port 8889 --reload
docent_core worker --workers 4 --queue all
Prod
Dev (with autoreload)
docent_core web --build --port 3001 --backend-url http://localhost:8889
docent_core web --port 3001 --backend-url http://localhost:8889
http://$DOCENT_HOST:$DOCENT_WEB_PORT.
3. Customize the Docent client
When creating Docent client objects, you’ll need to specify custom server and frontend URLs:
import os
from docent import Docent
client = Docent(
server_url="http://localhost:8889", # or your own server URL
frontend_url="http://localhost:3001", # or your own frontend URL
api_key=os.getenv("DOCENT_API_KEY"),
)
