Run with Docker Compose

The prebuilt Docker image contains Node.js 22, Git, OpenSSH, the OWB editor, and its Linux dependencies. GitHub Actions builds it from the included Dockerfile for amd64 and arm64, then publishes it to GitHub Container Registry. Your website remains outside the image and is mounted at /workspace, so editor changes and generated output persist on the host.

The editor frontend is built into the image and served as static files. The container does not run Vite's development watcher or HMR server. Backend API middleware remains active for editing content, repository operations, image uploads, and publishing.

Project layout

The included docker-compose.yml defaults to the repository's sibling my-personal-website project:

open-website-builder/
├── open-website-builder/
│   ├── Dockerfile
│   └── docker-compose.yml
└── my-personal-website/
    ├── package.json
    ├── package-lock.json
    ├── owb.config.js
    └── data/

Set OWB_PROJECT_PATH to use another website. Relative paths are resolved from the directory containing docker-compose.yml.

SSH access to GitHub

The filesystem backend's repository status, Pull, Commit & Push, and the Git step after Publish run inside the container. The Compose file mounts the host's ${HOME}/.ssh directory read-only at /run/host-ssh. At startup, the entrypoint copies regular files into the container user's ephemeral /home/node/.ssh, removes links and special files, and applies OpenSSH's strict ownership and permissions. Root exec shells use the same copied directory. The host SSH directory is never modified.

Before starting the container:

1. Configure the website repository with an SSH remote such as git@github.com:owner/repository.git.
2. Ensure ${HOME}/.ssh contains the private key, its public key, and any SSH config required for that remote.
3. Ensure known_hosts contains GitHub's verified host key. Obtain the fingerprint from GitHub's published documentation and verify it before adding it. Host-key verification is not disabled by this setup.

Set the commit identity in your shell or a Compose .env file. Both values must be provided together:

GIT_USER_NAME=Your Name
GIT_USER_EMAIL=you@example.com

The entrypoint writes this identity to the container's system Git configuration, so it is available to both the editor process and root exec shells. It does not modify the host Git configuration.

Do not put private keys, tokens, or credentials in the Dockerfile, Compose environment, or image build context.

Start the editor

From the open-website-builder package directory, pull and start the image:

HOST_UID=$(id -u) HOST_GID=$(id -g) docker compose up

On Docker Desktop for macOS, the default UID and GID usually also work:

docker compose up

Open http://localhost:3003/editor/. The first startup installs the mounted website's Linux dependencies into a named volume. Later startups reuse that volume unless package-lock.json (or package.json when no lockfile exists) changes. The image then links its baked OWB package into the website's node_modules before starting the website's normal npm run dev script.

To mount a different website:

OWB_PROJECT_PATH=../owb-file-example \
HOST_UID=$(id -u) HOST_GID=$(id -g) \
docker compose up

Set OWB_IMAGE to use a specific published tag or another registry:

OWB_IMAGE=ghcr.io/loic294/open-website-builder:0.1.7 docker compose up

The mounted project must provide package.json, vite.config.js, and owb.config.js. OWB_SITE_CONFIG defaults to ./owb.config.js.

Publishing with the filesystem backend

Before a Docker filesystem publish that pushes to Git, OWB compares the version baked into the editor image with the mounted project's dependencies["open-website-builder"]. If they differ, OWB preserves an existing exact, caret, or tilde range, updates the dependency, and runs HUSKY=0 npm i so package-lock.json and the dependency volume are current.

OWB creates a local commit containing only package.json and package-lock.json before running the configured upload script. The normal Git step then commits any remaining website changes and pushes both commits. If the dependency update, installation, or dependency commit fails, upload and push do not run. Matching versions do not run npm or create a dependency commit.

Filesystem and SQLite backends

For the filesystem backend, mount the repository root so /workspace includes its .git directory. Git commands use the mounted repository and the copied SSH credentials. The entrypoint configures only /workspace as a system-level Git safe.directory, so Git also works from a root docker compose exec shell when bind-mount ownership differs. It does not configure safe.directory=* or mutate host Git configuration.

For the SQLite backend, set sqliteDbPath to a path inside the website project, such as data/site.sqlite. The bind mount persists the database, journals, images, configuration, and generated output. Git and SSH are present but the SQLite provider does not expose repository actions.

Dependency volume

The named volume keeps Linux-native dependencies such as Sharp separate from the host's node_modules. To force a clean project dependency installation:

docker compose down --volumes
docker compose up

Useful commands

Generate the static site without uploading it:

docker compose exec editor npm run generate

Check Git and SSH from the same runtime used by the editor:

docker compose exec editor git status
docker compose exec editor git ls-remote origin

Stop the editor while retaining project dependencies:

docker compose down