The project uses Docker Compose to provide local infrastructure for development. Two services are defined: a PostgreSQL database and a Mailpit SMTP server for local email testing.
Services
db PostgreSQL 16 (Alpine). Stores all fleet management data. Persisted via the postgres_data named volume.
mailpit Local SMTP server and web UI for catching outgoing emails during development. No emails are delivered externally.
Port mappings Service Port Purpose db 5432 PostgreSQL connections mailpit 1025 SMTP (send emails to) mailpit 8025 Mailpit web UI
Open http://localhost:8025 in your browser to inspect captured emails.
Starting services
Start the database
This starts PostgreSQL with the postgres_data volume mounted at /var/lib/postgresql/data. Data persists across container restarts.
Start the mail server
docker-compose up -d mailpit
Point your backend SMTP_HOST to 127.0.0.1 and SMTP_PORT to 1025.
Start all services at once
Starts both db and mailpit in the background. docker-compose.yml version : "3.9" services : db : image : postgres:16-alpine restart : unless-stopped environment : POSTGRES_DB : fleet_management POSTGRES_USER : postgres POSTGRES_PASSWORD : postgres ports : - "5432:5432" volumes : - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data mailpit : image : axllent/mailpit:latest restart : unless-stopped ports : - "1025:1025" - "8025:8025" volumes : postgres_data :
Backend Dockerfile The backend image is built from packages/backend/Dockerfile. Here is what each stage does:
FROM node:20-alpine WORKDIR /app # Copy manifests first to leverage Docker layer caching COPY package.json yarn.lock ./ COPY packages/backend/package.json packages/backend/package.json COPY shipfree/core/package.json shipfree/core/package.json # Install all workspace dependencies RUN yarn install --frozen-lockfile || yarn install # Copy application source COPY packages/backend packages/backend COPY shipfree/core shipfree/core WORKDIR /app/packages/backend # Create the uploads directory for file storage RUN mkdir -p uploads EXPOSE 3001 # On startup: run pending Prisma migrations, then start the server CMD [ "sh" , "-lc" , "npx prisma migrate deploy && yarn start" ]
The image:
Uses Node 20 on Alpine Linux for a small footprint.
Copies package.json manifests before source code so dependencies are cached unless lockfiles change.
Includes the shipfree/core shared package alongside the backend.
Creates an uploads directory for user-uploaded files (mounted as a bind volume in production).
Runs prisma migrate deploy automatically on every container start before launching the server.
Exposes port 3001.
Environment variables for Docker-based setup Set these in packages/backend/.env when running against the Docker Compose database and Mailpit:
PORT = 3001 NODE_ENV = development DB_SYNC = false DB_SEED = false DATABASE_URL = postgresql://postgres:[email protected] :5432/fleet_management? schema = public DB_HOST = 127.0.0.1 DB_PORT = 5432 DB_NAME = fleet_management DB_USER = postgres DB_PASSWORD = postgres JWT_SECRET = change-me DEFAULT_LOGIN_PASSWORD = changeme123 SMTP_HOST = 127.0.0.1 SMTP_PORT = 1025 SMTP_SECURE = false SMTP_USER = SMTP_PASS = EMAIL_FROM = [email protected]
The default PostgreSQL credentials (postgres / postgres) are intended for local development only. Never use these credentials in staging or production.
Volumes The postgres_data named volume persists your database across docker-compose down and container restarts. To fully reset local data, remove the volume explicitly: