Docker Development

This guide focuses on setting up a development environment for OpenAlgo using Docker.

Prerequisites

• Docker Engine

• Docker Compose

• Git

Essential .env Changes for Docker Setup

1. Flask Host Configuration

# Change from 127.0.0.1 to 0.0.0.0 to allow external connections
FLASK_HOST_IP='0.0.0.0'  # Required for Docker
FLASK_PORT='5000'

2. WebSocket Configuration

# WebSocket server must bind to 0.0.0.0 inside Docker
WEBSOCKET_HOST='0.0.0.0'  # Required for Docker
WEBSOCKET_PORT='8765'
WEBSOCKET_URL='ws://localhost:8765'  # URL for clients connecting from host

3. ZeroMQ Configuration

# ZMQ must also bind to 0.0.0.0 for internal communication
ZMQ_HOST='0.0.0.0'  # Required for Docker
ZMQ_PORT='5555'

Summary of Changes

From (Local Development):

FLASK_HOST_IP='127.0.0.1'
WEBSOCKET_HOST='127.0.0.1'
ZMQ_HOST='127.0.0.1'

To (Docker):

FLASK_HOST_IP='0.0.0.0'
WEBSOCKET_HOST='0.0.0.0'
ZMQ_HOST='0.0.0.0'

Why These Changes?

1. 0.0.0.0 vs 127.0.0.1:

   • 127.0.0.1 only allows connections from within the container

   • 0.0.0.0 allows connections from outside the container (host machine)

2. WEBSOCKET_URL:

   • Remains as ws://localhost:8765 because this is the URL clients use from the host machine

   • Docker maps the container's port to the host's localhost

3. No other changes needed:

   • All other settings (API keys, database URLs, etc.) remain the same

   • The docker-compose.yaml already maps the ports correctly

Files Required

1. Dockerfile

FROM python:3.11-slim

WORKDIR /app

ENV PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE 1
ENV PYTHONUNBUFFERED 1

# Install system dependencies
RUN apt-get update \
    && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends gcc python3-dev libpq-dev \
    && apt-get clean \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# Install Python dependencies
COPY requirements-nginx.txt .
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements-nginx.txt
RUN pip install gunicorn eventlet>=0.24.1


# Copy project files
COPY . .

# Create directories and set permissions
RUN mkdir -p db logs && \
    chmod -R 777 db logs

# Command to run the application
CMD ["gunicorn", \
     "--bind", "0.0.0.0:5000", \
     "--worker-class", "eventlet", \
     "--workers", "1", \
     "--reload", \
     "--log-level", "debug", \
     "--access-logfile", "-", \
     "--error-logfile", "-", \
     "app:app"]

2. docker-compose.yml

version: '3.8'

services:
  web:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "5000:5000"
    volumes:
      - .:/app
      - ./db:/app/db
    env_file:
      - .env
    environment:
      - FLASK_DEBUG=True
      - FLASK_ENV=development
      - DATABASE_URL=sqlite:///db/openalgo.db
    restart: unless-stopped

3. .dockerignore

**/__pycache__
**/*.pyc
**/*.pyo
**/*.pyd
.Python
env/
venv/
.env*
!.env.example
*.sqlite
.git
.gitignore
.docker
Dockerfile
README.md
*.sock

Quick Start

1. Create Environment File:

   Copy .sample.env to .env:

   cp .sample.env .env

2. Build and Start:

   docker-compose up --build

3. View Logs:

   docker-compose logs -f

Development Features

• Hot reload enabled (code changes reflect immediately)

• Debug mode active

• Console logging

• Port 5000 exposed

• Volume mounting for live code updates

Common Commands

# Start development server
docker-compose up

# Start in detached mode
docker-compose up -d

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f

# Stop containers
docker-compose down

# Rebuild after dependency changes
docker-compose up --build

# Enter container shell
docker-compose exec web bash

# Check container status
docker-compose ps

Directory Structure

openalgo/
├── Dockerfile
├── docker-compose.yml
├── .dockerignore
├── .env
├── app.py
├── requirements-nginx.txt
└── db/
    └── openalgo.db

Development Tips

1. Live Reload:

   • Code changes will automatically reload

   • Check logs for errors after changes

2. Database Access:

   • SQLite database persists in ./db directory

   • Can be accessed from both host and container

3. Debugging:

   • Logs are printed to console

   • Debug mode enables detailed error pages

4. Dependencies:

   • Add new packages to requirements-nginx.txt

   • Rebuild container after adding dependencies:

     docker-compose up --build

Troubleshooting

1. Port Already In Use:

   # Check what's using port 5000
   sudo lsof -i :5000
   
   # Stop the container and restart
   docker-compose down
   docker-compose up

2. Database Issues:

   # Fix permissions if needed
   chmod -R 777 db/

3. Container Won't Start:

   # Check logs
   docker-compose logs
   
   # Remove container and try again
   docker-compose down
   docker-compose up --build

4. Package Installation Issues:

   # Rebuild without cache
   docker-compose build --no-cache
   docker-compose up

Note

This configuration is optimized for development. For production deployment, additional security measures and optimizations would be necessary.