Deploy your first instance

Start a local-account installation with the published Docker images and bundled PostgreSQL. Run these commands in a terminal on your Linux x64 Docker host. Have Docker Compose v2, OpenSSL, curl, tar and sha256sum installed.

1. Download and verify

Use a new directory for the release downloads:

mkdir netratel-downloads
cd netratel-downloads
curl -fLO https://github.com/BostonTechnologies/netratel/releases/download/v0.1.2/netratel-compose-0.1.2.tar.gz
curl -fLO https://github.com/BostonTechnologies/netratel/releases/download/v0.1.2/SHA256SUMS
sha256sum -c --ignore-missing SHA256SUMS

The checksum result for netratel-compose-0.1.2.tar.gz must be OK. Then extract the bundle:

mkdir ../netratel-instance
tar -xzf netratel-compose-0.1.2.tar.gz -C ../netratel-instance
cd ../netratel-instance
umask 077
cp .env.images.example .env

The archive extracts directly into that directory. Its .env.images.example already contains the release’s immutable image digests. Keep those values.

2. Set the password and login mode

Generate a database password:

openssl rand -hex 32

Open .env in your editor. Set POSTGRES_PASSWORD to the generated value and set these entries:

NETRATEL_AUTHENTICATION_MODE=Local
NETRATEL_AGENT_AUTH_PRIVATE_KEY=./.netratel-agent-es256-private.pem
NETRATEL_PUBLIC_ORIGIN=
NETRATEL_PUBLIC_GATEWAY_ORIGIN=

Leave OIDC settings empty. Clear both example public origins for this loopback setup. The database password is separate from the administrator passphrase you choose later.

3. Create the signing key

openssl ecparam -name prime256v1 -genkey -noout \
  -out .netratel-agent-es256-private.pem
sudo chown 1654:1654 .netratel-agent-es256-private.pem
sudo chmod 600 .netratel-agent-es256-private.pem

The API runs as UID 1654. The key path is relative to the Compose file.

4. Start NetRatel

docker compose --env-file .env -f compose.images.yaml config --quiet
docker compose --env-file .env -f compose.images.yaml pull
docker compose --env-file .env -f compose.images.yaml up -d
docker compose --env-file .env -f compose.images.yaml ps -a

Expect PostgreSQL to be healthy, migrations and volume-init to exit with code 0, and API and Web to run. To inspect a failed migration:

docker compose --env-file .env -f compose.images.yaml logs migrations

5. Create the administrator

Open http://127.0.0.1:8080 in a browser on the Docker host. On a remote server, open an SSH tunnel from your own computer first:

ssh -L 8080:127.0.0.1:8080 admin@your-server

Keep the tunnel open and browse to the same local address. Retrieve the one-time setup code in the Docker-host terminal:

docker compose --env-file .env -f compose.images.yaml exec -T api \
  cat /var/netratel/bootstrap/setup-proof

Enter the code, initial tenant, administrator name, email and a passphrase of at least 15 characters. Sign in with that email and passphrase. There is no default administrator password.

The API restarts once as setup finishes. If the code is unavailable, inspect its state:

docker compose --env-file .env -f compose.images.yaml exec -T api \
  dotnet NetRatel.API.dll --setup-status

Connect a computer

Your console is ready when you can sign in and see the initial tenant. Add public HTTPS before generating your first client installer.

For a different database or sign-in method, use External PostgreSQL, OIDC or Hybrid.