📦 Flarum-In-A-Box — Try Flarum 2.x in One Command with Docker

navindra · 2026-05-02T06:32:33+00:00

📦 Flarum-In-A-Box One command. 80+ extensions. A fully working Flarum 2.x forum. Inspired by the discussion about demo sites + the fact that PianoTell itself is already on Docker, I built Flarum-In-A-Box — an all-in-one Docker container that gives you a complete Flarum 2.x forum with 80+ popular extensions pre-installed. No server setup, no configuration, no database provisioning. Now everyone can have admin access and customize Flarum 2.x at will in the comfort and safety of Flarum-In-A-Box. Quick Start Install Docker Desktop Search for pianotell/flarum-in-a-box Click Run — in Optional Settings be sure to set the host port to 8080 Open http://localhost:8080 and you're in. 🚀 This is the One Command: docker run -d -p 8080:80 --name flarum-in-a-box pianotell/flarum-in-a-box if(window.hljsLoader && !document.currentScript.parentNode.hasAttribute('data-s9e-livepreview-onupdate')) { window.hljsLoader.highlightBlocks(document.currentScript.parentNode); } To update to the latest release, run these three commands: docker pull pianotell/flarum-in-a-box docker rm -f flarum-in-a-box docker run -d -p 8080:80 --name flarum-in-a-box pianotell/flarum-in-a-box if(window.hljsLoader && !document.currentScript.parentNode.hasAttribute('data-s9e-livepreview-onupdate')) { window.hljsLoader.highlightBlocks(document.currentScript.parentNode); } Screenshots Why? This makes it effortless for anyone to: 🧪 Demo Flarum for fun and profit 💻 Develop extensions against a real, fully loaded Flarum instance 📚 Learn and experiment with features and extensions 🏗️ Test themes like the included Avocado theme ⚠️ This is a demo/playground image — not intended for production use but perfect for testing and development. Data is ephemeral for the lifetime of the container. What's Inside? PHP 8.5 on Alpine Linux, with nginx, MariaDB, and s6-overlay — all in a single container. Multi-arch (amd64 + arm64), so it runs on Intel PCs, Apple Silicon Macs, and ARM cloud instances. 80+ Extensions Pre-Installed Enabled by default — Tags, Likes, Mentions, Lock, Sticky, Suspend, Markdown, BBCode, Emoji, Flags, Nicknames, Subscriptions, Approval, Statistics, Extension Manager, plus: Composer & posting 📸 PhotoSwipe — Full-screen tap-to-zoom image lightbox (try the Photo Gallery seed discussion) Flamoji — Intuitive emoji picker 😉 Drafts, Formatting, Polls, Upload, Rich Text, BBCode Details BBCode FA, Mermaid (diagrams — sample ones sprinkled across the seed discussions), Markdown Tables, Inline Audio Discussions & navigation Best Answer, Byobu (private discussions), Categories, Follow Tags, Frontpage, Sitemap, Synopsis, Discussion Views Stickiest, Last Post Avatar, External Links in New Tab Menu Control, Mobile Search, Mobile Tab User experience Reactions, Gamification (voting + rankings), User Bio, User Directory, Ignore Users Profile Cover (GIF/WebP), MagicSlider, MagicRead Profile Messages (XenForo-style), Profile Views (view counts), Topic Rating, Forum Widgets Moderation & admin Audit (admin/mod action log), Moderator Notes, Impersonate (log in as any user), Split, Merge Discussions, Move Posts Diff (post edit history), Recycle Bin, Backup (on-demand DB + storage backups), Log Viewer (browse Flarum logs from the admin panel) Other Linguist, Links, Post Search, AutoVerify (skip email verification on signup) Installed but not enabled (try them from Admin Panel → Extensions): 🥑 Avocado — Modern, polished theme with hero banner and rich customization 🎨 Colored — Colorful usernames by group 🦶 Modern Footer — Responsive footer 🔤 Font Sizer — Adjustable font sizes 🧰 MagicBB — Extended BBCode toolkit (extra composer icons) 👋 WelcomeBox — Customizable welcome banner 🃏 Discussion Cards — Card-style discussion list 💬 Shoutbox — Lightweight realtime chat box 🔑 Passkey — WebAuthn passwordless sign-in 🔐 OAuth — Social login framework (Google, Discord, GitHub, etc.) 🟡 Yandex OAuth / SmartCaptcha And several utilities (Terms, Pages, Share Social, Discussion Thumbnail, Anti Spam) Ready Out of the Box The container comes pre-configured with: Default accounts: admin (Admin), moderator (Mod group — try the moderation tools), user, plus user1–user5 — all with password password 8 sample tags with icons and colors (General, Announcements, Support, Feedback, Showcase, Off-Topic, Guides, Bugs) 9 seed discussions including a 🛠️ Moderation Playground — a deliberately-heated thread where user1–user5 argue about moderation policy so you can practice locking, hiding, suspending, and reviewing logs (via Log Viewer) on real-looking content Email auto-verified on signup — no mail server needed Rankings page accessible to everyone Tips & Tricks Run Flarum CLI commands directly from the host: docker exec flarum-in-a-box php flarum info if(window.hljsLoader && !document.currentScript.parentNode.hasAttribute('data-s9e-livepreview-onupdate')) { window.hljsLoader.highlightBlocks(document.currentScript.parentNode); } Get a shell inside the container (to run Composer, edit files, etc.): docker exec -it flarum-in-a-box /bin/sh if(window.hljsLoader && !document.currentScript.parentNode.hasAttribute('data-s9e-livepreview-onupdate')) { window.hljsLoader.highlightBlocks(document.currentScript.parentNode); } Copy files to and from the container: # Host → container docker cp my-logo.png flarum-in-a-box:/var/www/html/public/assets/ # Container → host docker cp flarum-in-a-box:/var/www/html/config.php ./config.php if(window.hljsLoader && !document.currentScript.parentNode.hasAttribute('data-s9e-livepreview-onupdate')) { window.hljsLoader.highlightBlocks(document.currentScript.parentNode); } Technical Details Base: PHP 8.5-FPM on Alpine Linux (multi-stage build) Web server: nginx Database: MariaDB (bundled, internal) Process manager: s6-overlay (nginx + PHP-FPM + MariaDB) Architectures: amd64, arm64 Links Docker Hub Changelog Source code on GitHub Report an issue Feedback Welcome! Is this useful to anyone at all?

navindra

Walid Subarist You may need to change it inside the container to http://localhost:8280 (e.g. in config.php) and clear the cache.

Indeed. This is actually supported if you define the environment variable FLARUM_FORUM_URL:

docker run -d -p 9090:80 -e FLARUM_FORUM_URL=http://localhost:9090 \
    --name flarum-in-a-box pianotell/flarum-in-a-box

I wish I didn't have to put the URL in config.php at all, but I think it's a hard Flarum requirement.

I really was striving for a 1 command and it works deal, but the port number is a complication. I can't make it simpler without having folks download a script... and then it's no longer simple at all.

Walid Note: I'm on linux mint 22.3 (no docker desktop and I use portainer)

One thing I figured is that most Linux folks would have no problem figuring this out, no matter which container technology they were using.

I figured that Docker Desktop was the most push-button solution and so started with that. On Mac I use colima and on Linux I just use Docker Engine. What does portainer do?

If anyone has some brilliant idea for how I can remove the port dependency or make Flarum-In-A-Box any simpler, I'm all ears!

Capybara Thank you!

Subarist

navindra
Yeah, same here when I was using ngrok 😅
Just have to set the correct URL in config.php.

navindra

New Release: 0.2.8

Changed

Auto-detect forum URL from request host (FLARUM_FORUM_URL still wins; honors X-Forwarded-Proto/Host)
Switched database driver from mysql to mariadb
Replaced sycho/move-posts with fof/move-posts
Extensions updated to latest versions.

Quick Start

Option A: Docker Desktop (no terminal needed)

Install Docker Desktop
Search for pianotell/flarum-in-a-box
Click Run — in Optional Settings be sure to set the host port to 8080
Open http://localhost:8080

Option B: Command Line (one command)

docker run -d -p 8080:80 --name flarum-in-a-box pianotell/flarum-in-a-box

Then open http://localhost:8080.

Updating to the Latest Version

Docker caches images locally, so to get the latest release you need to explicitly pull, remove the old container, and start a fresh one:

docker pull pianotell/flarum-in-a-box
docker rm -f flarum-in-a-box
docker run -d -p 8080:80 --name flarum-in-a-box pianotell/flarum-in-a-box

Notes

Walid Subarist I've attempted to auto-detect the port/host on the fly now. Although this is not a production solution, I think this should address the 99% case for the purposes of Flarum-In-A-Box and hopefully make things easier.

Walid

navindra Thanks for this update! I'll try to test as soon as I can (I've been battling my system for the last couple of days with sys restoration etc. -unrelated to this or flarum- and I'm not finished resting and fixing everything up, when I solve an issue, another arise 😓 )

navindra One thing I figured is that most Linux folks would have no problem figuring this out, no matter which container technology they were using.

It's a fair assumption but no 😉 (and I think most of those kind of linux users wouldn't be using mint, but I might be making the same assumption too)

navindra What does portainer do?

it's a tool to manage & monitor docker environments (among other things) in a simple web UI. https://docs.portainer.io

navindra

Walid I'll try to test as soon as I can

Hope it works!

Walid mint

Oh interesting. I just checked out Mint... and I'm a little sad that it doesn't support KDE. I used to work on KDE quite a bit back in the day. It should have been really good by now.

Walid it's a tool to manage & monitor docker environments (among other things) in a simple web UI.

Oh, I see. It looks similar to Docker Desktop. Nice. Glad it works.

Walid

navindra So I've installed it and it seems to work properly and get the proper URL/port.

Great Job.

May I suggest adding the Log-viewer extension by default and a default moderator account.

navindra

New Release: 0.2.9

Added

7 new extensions enabled by default:
- Menu Control (resofire/menu-control)
- Mobile Search (resofire/mobile-search)
- External Links in New Tab (walsgit/external-links-in-new-tab)
- Recycle Bin (walsgit/recycle-bin)
- Last Post Avatar (rob006/flarum-ext-last-post-avatar)
- Profile Views (michaelbelgium/flarum-profile-views)
- Log Viewer (ianm/log-viewer)
Discussion Cards (walsgit/flarum-discussion-cards) installed but not enabled
Moderator account (moderator / password) in the Mod group with standard permissions
Sample members user1–user5
🛠️ Moderation Playground seed discussion — a heated debate among user1–user5 so you can practice locking, hiding, suspending, etc. on real-looking content

Quick Start

Option A: Docker Desktop (no terminal needed)

Install Docker Desktop
Search for pianotell/flarum-in-a-box
Click Run — in Optional Settings be sure to set the host port to 8080
Open http://localhost:8080

Option B: Command Line (one command)

docker run -d -p 8080:80 --name flarum-in-a-box pianotell/flarum-in-a-box

Then open http://localhost:8080.

Updating to the Latest Version

Docker caches images locally, so to get the latest release you need to explicitly pull, remove the old container, and start a fresh one:

docker pull pianotell/flarum-in-a-box
docker rm -f flarum-in-a-box
docker run -d -p 8080:80 --name flarum-in-a-box pianotell/flarum-in-a-box

Notes

Walid May I suggest adding the Log-viewer extension by default and a default moderator account.

Great to hear it works. Log Viewer is an awesome extension that I didn't know existed. I've added it along with a moderator playground as you suggested. Also added some new 2.x extensions I discovered along the way. 🙂

maisen20

Thanks for sharing this — it looks great for testing and quick demos.

You – @navindra – mentioned that it is not intended for production use. Could you elaborate on what specifically makes it unsuitable for production? For example, is the main concern the all-in-one container approach, the large number of bundled extensions, upgrade stability, security hardening, or operational concerns like backups and scaling?

navindra

maisen20 You – @navindra – mentioned that it is not intended for production use.

Very interesting question indeed.

For example, is the main concern the all-in-one container approach,

Personally I don't understand the only 1 process per container philosophy. In my opinion, that is too extreme and gets complicated to manage. I prefer to think of containers as lightweight VMs. And why not? Linux has no equal in terms of process management.

PianoTell-web already runs multiple processes but Flarum-In-A-Box is superior in that regard since it uses s6-overlay to manage the processes. So I'm not sure this is a disqualifying reason.

the large number of bundled extensions

PianoTell launched on FreeFlarum which has even more extensions. It never was a problem because I could disable all the extensions I didn't need.

upgrade stability, security hardening, or operational concerns like backups and scaling?

These are the main reasons. All the secrets are in the clear, for one. Although, scaling is probably not an issue for smaller communities.

The big gotcha is that all the data is stored directly on the container. So when your container is gone, so is your data. I didn't think volumes or file/directory mounts were worth the added complication for Flarum-In-A-Box.

navindra

New Release: 0.2.10 & 0.2.11

Changed

Flarum upgraded to 2.0.0-rc.2 (was 2.0.0-rc.1)

Added

📸 PhotoSwipe image lightbox (fof/photoswipe) — click any post image to open a full-screen, swipeable, pinch-zoomable gallery
New seed discussion "📸 Photo Gallery — powered by PhotoSwipe" with sample images to try the lightbox immediately
4 more extensions enabled by default:
- Mermaid Diagrams (datlechin/flarum-mermaid) — sample diagrams sprinkled across the seed discussions (extensions guide, customization tips, moderation playground)
- Passkey Authentication (datlechin/flarum-passkey) so cool!
- Backup (ramon/backup)
Shoutbox (linkrobins/shoutbox) installed but not enabled

Quick Start

Option A: Docker Desktop (no terminal needed)

Install Docker Desktop
Search for pianotell/flarum-in-a-box
Click Run — in Optional Settings be sure to set the host port to 8080
Open http://localhost:8080

Option B: Command Line (one command)

docker run -d -p 8080:80 --name flarum-in-a-box pianotell/flarum-in-a-box

Then open http://localhost:8080.

Updating to the Latest Version

Docker caches images locally, so to get the latest release you need to explicitly pull, remove the old container, and start a fresh one:

docker pull pianotell/flarum-in-a-box
docker rm -f flarum-in-a-box
docker run -d -p 8080:80 --name flarum-in-a-box pianotell/flarum-in-a-box

Gerriet

Hi there ;D
I have no waords for this project, that is very awesome ;D Very big thanks for you work ;D

Edit: Fantastic project ;D So a project has I brought vor 16 years, as I install the mybb forum. Well, the box is very brilliant for tests from new plugins ;D

Ok, when I found issues, you hear from me ;D

navindra

Gerriet I have no waords for this project, that is very awesome

Thank you so much!

Thanks for letting me know it's working and having the intended impact! 🙂

Feedback like yours helps a ton. I think this is true for any contributor here. Many extensions and resources show lots of usage, yet little feedback.

ClaudiusH

navindra Any chance you can update the container for 2.0.0-rc.4? I use Flarum-In-A-Box daily to break stuff deliberately (and then start anew). So having it bumped to the latest helps tremendously.

navindra

New Release: 0.2.12

Added

Audit (flarum/audit) — audit log of admin and moderation actions, enabled by default

Changed

Passkey now installed but disabled by default (enable from Admin Panel → Extensions)

Quick Start

Option A: Docker Desktop (no terminal needed)

Install Docker Desktop
Search for pianotell/flarum-in-a-box
Click Run — in Optional Settings be sure to set the host port to 8080
Open http://localhost:8080

Option B: Command Line (one command)

docker run -d -p 8080:80 --name flarum-in-a-box pianotell/flarum-in-a-box

Then open http://localhost:8080.

Updating to the Latest Version

Docker caches images locally, so to get the latest release you need to explicitly pull, remove the old container, and start a fresh one:

docker pull pianotell/flarum-in-a-box
docker rm -f flarum-in-a-box
docker run -d -p 8080:80 --name flarum-in-a-box pianotell/flarum-in-a-box

Notes

ClaudiusH Any chance you can update the container for 2.0.0-rc.4? I use Flarum-In-A-Box daily to break stuff deliberately (and then start anew). So having it bumped to the latest helps tremendously.

Done! I was waiting for this release too. 🙂

navindra

SpikeNit With my update, Flarum Audit was not installed. I had to go to extension area and download it, via extension manager method.

How did you update?

PS I switched to this discussion to avoid forking the RC4 discussion.

SpikeNit

navindra I "updated" using composer update, in terminal. I just noticed the audit extension wasn't there so, found it in the extension list inside extension manager and downloaded/installed from there.

navindra

SpikeNit Ah ok.

Yes, that is expected! You did the right thing to install the extension manually.

Karl

@navindra can I contribute to your project?
I am undergoing a brand shift and would love to contribute my docker orchestration to help take flarum in a box to a production ready state. This includes my database sidecar orchestration, redis, horizon, realtime, typesense search integration, tinybird analytics, etc.
I can do a pull request so your existing code and mine can be merged safely, as well as making the data permanent for the docker images, so a restart doesn't purge everything.

navindra

Karl This includes my database sidecar orchestration, redis, horizon, realtime, typesense search integration, tinybird analytics, etc.

Of course I'm all for contributions, but I'm trying to wrap my head around this one.

I have the sense that your project intent/goal is very different from Flarum-In-A-Box and the final thing would look very different with multiple containers involved, need for configuration, and such. The level of complexity would be very different. So would the target audience.

Am I understanding that correctly?

Karl

navindra my docker orchestration is built on automation so I don't have to manually build each container as someone subscribes.
I am offering that automation layer into this docker image, this way the end user doesn't have to configure it too much.
If you want, and if you allow, after I make the contribution, I can stand up a page in Link Robins that can make this entire thing copy and paste for the simplicity of the end user. Free.

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