Deploy MoltBot with Docker

Docker is the recommended way to run MoltBot in production. This guide covers everything from basic setup to advanced configurations.

Prerequisites

Docker 20.10+
Docker Compose v2+
API key for your AI model (Claude, GPT, or Gemini)

Quick Start

Using Docker Run

The fastest way to start MoltBot:

docker run -d \
  --name moltbot \
  -e ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_key_here \
  -v moltbot_data:/app/data \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  moltbot/moltbot:latest

Using Docker Compose

Create a docker-compose.yml file:

version: '3.8'

services:
  moltbot:
    image: moltbot/moltbot:latest
    container_name: moltbot
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}
      - TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}
      - NODE_ENV=production
    volumes:
      - moltbot_data:/app/data
      - ./config:/app/config
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"

volumes:
  moltbot_data:

Create a .env file:

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-xxx
TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=123456:ABC-xxx

Start the container:

docker compose up -d

Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Required
`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	Anthropic API key for Claude	Yes*
`OPENAI_API_KEY`	OpenAI API key for GPT	Yes*
`GOOGLE_AI_API_KEY`	Google API key for Gemini	Yes*
`TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN`	Telegram bot token	Optional
`DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN`	Discord bot token	Optional
`NODE_ENV`	Environment (production/development)	Recommended

*At least one AI provider key is required.

Persistent Data

MoltBot stores data in /app/data:

Memory: Conversation history and context
Config: User preferences and settings
Skills: Custom skill configurations

Always mount a volume for persistence:

volumes:
  - moltbot_data:/app/data

Advanced Configurations

With Redis for Sessions

version: '3.8'

services:
  moltbot:
    image: moltbot/moltbot:latest
    environment:
      - REDIS_URL=redis://redis:6379
    depends_on:
      - redis
    # ... other config

  redis:
    image: redis:alpine
    volumes:
      - redis_data:/data

volumes:
  moltbot_data:
  redis_data:

With PostgreSQL for Memory

version: '3.8'

services:
  moltbot:
    image: moltbot/moltbot:latest
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:pass@postgres:5432/moltbot
    depends_on:
      - postgres
    # ... other config

  postgres:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=user
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=pass
      - POSTGRES_DB=moltbot
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

volumes:
  moltbot_data:
  postgres_data:

Multi-Platform Messaging

Enable multiple messaging platforms:

services:
  moltbot:
    image: moltbot/moltbot:latest
    environment:
      # AI Provider
      - ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}

      # Messaging Platforms
      - TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}
      - DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=${DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN}
      - SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=${SLACK_BOT_TOKEN}
      - WHATSAPP_SESSION_PATH=/app/data/whatsapp
    volumes:
      - moltbot_data:/app/data

Health Checks

Add health check configuration:

services:
  moltbot:
    image: moltbot/moltbot:latest
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:3000/health"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 40s

Resource Limits

Set resource constraints:

services:
  moltbot:
    image: moltbot/moltbot:latest
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          cpus: '2'
          memory: 2G
        reservations:
          cpus: '0.5'
          memory: 512M

Updating

Update to the latest version:

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Logs and Debugging

View logs:

# Follow logs
docker compose logs -f moltbot

# Last 100 lines
docker compose logs --tail=100 moltbot

Backup and Restore

Backup Data

docker run --rm \
  -v moltbot_data:/data \
  -v $(pwd):/backup \
  alpine tar czf /backup/moltbot-backup.tar.gz -C /data .

Restore Data

docker run --rm \
  -v moltbot_data:/data \
  -v $(pwd):/backup \
  alpine tar xzf /backup/moltbot-backup.tar.gz -C /data

Troubleshooting

Container Won't Start

Check logs for errors:

docker compose logs moltbot

Permission Errors

Ensure proper ownership:

docker compose exec moltbot chown -R node:node /app/data

Network Issues

Verify network connectivity:

docker compose exec moltbot ping api.anthropic.com

Need more help? Join our Discord community or check the GitHub repository.