Docker Installation

Docker provides a consistent environment for running Jack on any server. This is the recommended approach for self-hosted production deployments.

Prerequisites

• Docker Engine 20.10+ or Docker Desktop
• Docker Compose v2 (optional but recommended)
• At least 1GB RAM
• 500MB disk space (plus storage for database)

Quick Start

Pull and run the official image:

docker run -d \
  --name jack-butler \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  -v jack-data:/app/data \
  -e JWT_SECRET="your-secret-min-32-chars" \
  -e ENCRYPTION_KEY="your-encryption-key-32-chars" \
  ghcr.io/jackthebutler/jackthebutler:latest

Access the dashboard at http://localhost:3000

Docker Compose

For easier management, create a docker-compose.yml file:

version: '3.8'

services:
  jack:
    image: ghcr.io/jackthebutler/jackthebutler:latest
    container_name: jack-butler
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    volumes:
      - jack-data:/app/data
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - JWT_SECRET=${JWT_SECRET}
      - ENCRYPTION_KEY=${ENCRYPTION_KEY}
      - DATABASE_PATH=/app/data/jack.db

volumes:
  jack-data:

Create a .env file with your secrets:

JWT_SECRET=your-secret-key-minimum-32-characters-long
ENCRYPTION_KEY=your-encryption-key-minimum-32-chars

Then start the service:

docker compose up -d

Generating Secrets

Generate secure random secrets:

# Using openssl
openssl rand -base64 32

# Or using /dev/urandom
head -c 32 /dev/urandom | base64

Reverse Proxy with Nginx

For production, run Jack behind a reverse proxy with SSL. Example Nginx configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name jack.yourhotel.com;
    return 301 https://$server_name$request_uri;
}

server {
    listen 443 ssl http2;
    server_name jack.yourhotel.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/jack.yourhotel.com/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/jack.yourhotel.com/privkey.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}

The WebSocket upgrade headers are important for real-time updates in the dashboard.

Updating Jack

To update to the latest version:

# Pull the latest image
docker compose pull

# Restart with the new image
docker compose up -d

Your data is preserved in the named volume.

Backup & Restore

Backup

Copy the SQLite database from the volume:

# Stop the container first for consistency
docker compose stop

# Copy the database
docker cp jack-butler:/app/data/jack.db ./backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).db

# Restart
docker compose start

Or backup without stopping (less consistent but no downtime):

docker exec jack-butler sqlite3 /app/data/jack.db ".backup /app/data/backup.db"
docker cp jack-butler:/app/data/backup.db ./backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).db

Restore

# Stop the container
docker compose stop

# Copy backup into container
docker cp ./backup.db jack-butler:/app/data/jack.db

# Start the container
docker compose start

Viewing Logs

# View recent logs
docker compose logs jack

# Follow logs in real-time
docker compose logs -f jack

# View last 100 lines
docker compose logs --tail 100 jack

Troubleshooting

Container won't start

Check logs for errors:

docker compose logs jack

Permission denied on volume

The container runs as a non-root user. Ensure volume permissions:

docker exec jack-butler chown -R node:node /app/data

Database locked errors

SQLite can have issues with concurrent writes. Ensure only one instance of Jack is running and that the volume is not mounted by multiple containers.

Next Steps

1. Complete the Setup Wizard
2. Configure AI providers
3. Set up WhatsApp or other channels