Docker Installation

Run Arc in Docker: pull the image, mount a data volume, capture the first-run admin token, point it at local, S3, MinIO, or Azure storage, and deploy with Docker Compose.

Install and run Arc using Docker for quick setup and isolated environments.

Prerequisites

Docker 20.10 or higher
4GB RAM minimum, 8GB+ recommended

Quick start

docker run -d \
  --name arc \
  -p 8000:8000 \
  -v arc-data:/app/data \
  ghcr.io/basekick-labs/arc:latest

Verify it's running:

curl http://localhost:8000/health

Get your admin token

When Arc starts for the first time, it generates an admin token.

Save This Token

Copy this token immediately - you won't see it again!

docker logs arc 2>&1 | grep -i "admin"

You should see:

======================================================================
  FIRST RUN - INITIAL ADMIN TOKEN GENERATED
======================================================================
  Initial admin API token: arc_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
======================================================================

Save it:

export ARC_TOKEN="arc_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"

Storage backends

Local Filesystem - Default, data stored in Docker volume.

docker run -d \
  --name arc \
  -p 8000:8000 \
  -e ARC_STORAGE_BACKEND=local \
  -v arc-data:/app/data \
  ghcr.io/basekick-labs/arc:latest

Data locations:

Path	Description
`/app/data/arc/`	Parquet files
`/app/data/arc_auth.db`	Auth tokens

Configuration

Environment variables

Common configuration options:

Variable	Default	Description
`ARC_SERVER_PORT`	`8000`	HTTP port
`ARC_STORAGE_BACKEND`	`local`	Storage: `local`, `s3`, `minio`, `azure`
`ARC_LOG_LEVEL`	`info`	Logging: `debug`, `info`, `warn`, `error`
`ARC_AUTH_ENABLED`	`true`	Enable authentication
`ARC_AUTH_BOOTSTRAP_TOKEN`	(unset)	Pre-set admin token value on first run (v26.04.1+)
`ARC_AUTH_FORCE_BOOTSTRAP`	`false`	Add a recovery admin token without removing existing ones (v26.04.1+)
`ARC_COMPACTION_ENABLED`	`true`	Enable auto-compaction
`ARC_WAL_ENABLED`	`false`	Enable WAL for durability

Custom configuration file

Mount a custom arc.toml:

docker run -d \
  --name arc \
  -p 8000:8000 \
  -v arc-data:/app/data \
  -v /path/to/arc.toml:/app/arc.toml \
  ghcr.io/basekick-labs/arc:latest

Container management

View logs

docker logs -f arc           # Follow logs
docker logs --tail=100 arc   # Last 100 lines

Start/stop/restart

docker start arc
docker stop arc
docker restart arc

Update Arc

docker stop arc && docker rm arc
docker pull ghcr.io/basekick-labs/arc:latest
docker run -d \
  --name arc \
  -p 8000:8000 \
  -v arc-data:/app/data \
  ghcr.io/basekick-labs/arc:latest

Production deployment

Pin version + resource limits

docker run -d \
  --name arc \
  -p 8000:8000 \
  -v arc-data:/app/data \
  --memory="8g" \
  --cpus="4" \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  ghcr.io/basekick-labs/arc:latest

Health check

docker ps --filter "name=arc" --filter "health=healthy"

Docker Compose

version: '3.8'

services:
  arc:
    image: ghcr.io/basekick-labs/arc:latest
    container_name: arc
    ports:
      - "8000:8000"
    environment:
      - ARC_STORAGE_BACKEND=local
      - ARC_AUTH_ENABLED=true
      - ARC_COMPACTION_ENABLED=true
    volumes:
      - arc-data:/app/data
    restart: unless-stopped
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:8000/health"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3

volumes:
  arc-data:

Troubleshooting

Container won't start

# Check logs
docker logs arc

# Check port availability
sudo lsof -i :8000

# Check container status
docker ps -a

Permission errors

# Remove and recreate volume
docker stop arc && docker rm arc
docker volume rm arc-data
# Restart with docker run command

Out of memory

# Check memory usage
docker stats arc

# Restart with memory limit
docker run -d --name arc --memory="4g" ...

Can't find admin token

docker logs arc 2>&1 | grep -i "admin"
docker logs arc | head -100