Installation

Glyph runs entirely in Docker. The setup is the same on macOS, Linux, and Windows.

Prerequisites

• Docker Engine 24+ and Docker Compose v2 (Docker Desktop bundles both)
• A few hundred MB of free disk space (more if you import large repositories)

That's it. No Node.js, Python, or database to install on the host.

Method 1 - One-line installer (fastest)

The installer downloads the compose file, generates secure random secrets, and starts Glyph in one command.

mkdir glyph && cd glyph
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/r-seize/Glyph/main/install.sh | bash

Within ~1 minute, open http://localhost:3000 to create your first account.

The script:

1. Downloads docker-compose.prod.yml and .env.example
2. Generates strong random values for SECRET_KEY, MYSQL_PASSWORD, MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD, MEILISEARCH_KEY
3. Writes a ready-to-use .env
4. Runs docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml up -d

Method 2 - Manual install with Docker Hub (recommended)

Same result as Method 1, with full visibility on each step.

1. Download the compose file and template env

mkdir glyph && cd glyph
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/r-seize/Glyph/main/docker-compose.prod.yml
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/r-seize/Glyph/main/.env.example
cp .env.example .env

2. Set the required values in .env

At minimum:

Generate SECRET_KEY:

python3 -c "import secrets; print(secrets.token_hex(32))"

See Environment Variables for the full list.

3. Start the stack

docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml up -d

The first start takes 1-2 minutes - Docker pulls images, MySQL initializes, the backend runs migrations, and Meilisearch boots.

Check progress:

docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml logs -f

When all four containers report healthy, open http://localhost:3000.

The published Docker Hub images are:

• rseize/glyph-backend
• rseize/glyph-frontend

Both are multi-architecture (linux/amd64, linux/arm64) and work on Intel/AMD servers, Apple Silicon, and Raspberry Pi.

Method 3 - GitHub Container Registry (alternative)

If you prefer GHCR over Docker Hub - same images, different registry. Use this variant of the compose file:

mkdir glyph && cd glyph
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/r-seize/Glyph/main/docker-compose.ghcr.yml
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/r-seize/Glyph/main/.env.example
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env, then:
docker compose -f docker-compose.ghcr.yml up -d

Mirrors:

• ghcr.io/r-seize/glyph-backend
• ghcr.io/r-seize/glyph-frontend

GHCR pulls don't count against Docker Hub's rate limits, useful for CI environments.

Method 4 - Build from source (development)

Only needed if you want to modify the code or test unreleased changes.

git clone https://github.com/r-seize/Glyph.git
cd Glyph
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env
docker compose up -d

docker-compose.yml (without .prod) builds the images locally instead of pulling them. The first build takes 3-5 minutes; subsequent builds are cached and faster.

Verifying the install

If any of these fail, see Troubleshooting.

Stopping

docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml down       # stop containers, keep data
docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml down -v    # also wipe data (destructive)

Next step

Create your first account and workspace.