Docker noob - can't access frontend

Installation
1

So I’m looking at moving from my self-installed virtual env install to the docker install.

I’ve run up HA using the docker command at the top of https://home-assistant.io/docs/installation/docker/ and if I docker attach I can see the logs tailing away.

However those instructions say I should be able to reach it on port 8123, but I can’t. I literally pointed it at the same configs I use for my virtualenv (SSL on with letsencrypt etc.). Maybe the ssl is breaking it.

How do I get at the logs from the container?

Sorry, total Docker noob :frowning:

2

Ok commenting out the SSL stuff seems to have got it to start, and figured out how to use ‘docker logs’ to get at my logs :slight_smile:

I guess I need to mount my certificate directories into the container.

Also need to get zwave working.

3

Have a look here:

I would recommend a reverse proxy to handle your certificates, personally, over letting HA handle certs.

4

Thanks will have a look!

Got z-wave working (had to shift to putting the z-wave configs in my main config dir and letting HA manage them).

Also got letsencrypt working by adding the letsencrypt directory as a volume in the container. What’s the benefit of going the reverse proxy route?

So as of now it’s all working fine!!

Going to look into docker-compose next. Though what’s the advantage if those is the only container I’m running?

5

The reverse proxy handles your all your SSL endpoints and your HA hides behind that. This means that you can use your public host.domain.name to access externally, and internally you can use the IP/local hostname. I find it a better way of managing, plus I can use my reverse proxy for other purposes as well. I have a firewall rule that will allow traffic to my HA instance ONLY from my reverse proxy in my Digital Ocean VPS.

LOL.

Just wait until you start looking at other containers that you can run, and you will want an easy way to manage them all. :wink:

So you don’t want to try Node-Red, or setup a proper database, or run your own MQTT instance?

6

Interesting - I use dynamic dns to use my host name externally and my Unifi Gateway handles the forwarding to my HASS server. Seems to work well enough that I hadn’t thought about needing an alternative.

So far I’ve avoided MQTT. I did set up influxdb but not in docker. Might think about dockerising it though :slight_smile:

Never heard of Node-Red - will go have a look :smiley:

7

This is a different thing than a reverse proxy. I still have those things in my setup, because you still need to forward a port, and have a way for the reverse proxy to resolve your address.

When you start adding devices that support it, you will love MQTT

I have moved ALL my automations out to node-red. I don’t have to edit yaml for my automations any more.

8

Yeah so far all my devices are zwave, or have direct integrations like Hue, Nest etc.

I have moved ALL my automations out to node-red. I don’t have to edit yaml for my automations any more.

Now this is intriguing :smiley:

9

Now using docker-compose :smiley:

1 Like
10

@flamingm0e I think having read your thread (and a few other threads you’ve posted in) that my next task should be to run an nginx reverse proxy, rather than doing my SSL with HA.

I’m probably going to make a mess of it :smiley:

1 Like
11

Actually I think I’ve got it working!!! :sunglasses:

12

That wasn’t long at all!

13

No surprisingly!

I had to comment out this

ssl_dhparam /etc/nginx/ssl/dhparams.pem;

as I’ve no idea where that file would be or even if I have one and it was causing nginx to crash.

I then set my Unifi gateway to forward 443 to 443 on the HASS server, instead of 8123 which is correct right? And bound 443 to 443 in the nginx container.

14

You would have to have created that file. Lol. Sorry. I forgot about that.

Yep.

15

Do I actually need that dhparams.pem? It seems to work fine without.

Have now got portainer running as well :smiley:

1 Like
16

No. I used it for something else and copied my config over

17

Oh cool.

Portainer is awesome :slight_smile: I’m wondering what else I can dockerify next!

2 Likes
18

I think Plex might be next.

Do i want all these things to be in the same docker-compose file though? Doesn’t that mean all these (possibly unrelated) apps have to all start together?

19

Yeah. If they’re all in the same compose file, they all start and stop at the same time with your compose commands.

I use a compose file for just my home automation stack. For other Docker containers I just use portainer and normal command line.

1 Like
20

Right that makes sense ta