Deploy Excalidraw with Dokploy

Dokploy is an open-source server management platform that simplifies deploying Docker Compose applications on your VPS. It handles reverse proxy configuration, SSL certificates, and deployment management — making it easy to self-host Excalidraw for your team.

This guide walks you through deploying Excalidraw as a static whiteboard application with automatic HTTPS. Excalidraw is a pure client-side app — all drawing data stays in the browser, so no database or persistent storage is required.

Prerequisites

• A VPS with at least 1 vCPU, 512 MB RAM, and 5 GB storage
• Dokploy installed and running on your server (installation docs)
• A domain name (e.g., draw.yourdomain.com) with DNS A record pointing to your server's IP

Docker Compose Configuration

Create a new Compose project in Dokploy and paste the following configuration:

version: "3.8"

services:
  excalidraw:
    image: excalidraw/excalidraw:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "3030:80"
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "wget -qO- http://localhost:80/ || exit 1"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3

Note: Excalidraw is a client-side React application served by nginx. All drawing data is stored in the user's browser — there are no server-side databases or file storage to configure.

Environment Variables

The official Excalidraw Docker image does not require any runtime environment variables. All configuration is baked into the image at build time.

Variable	Purpose	Example
(none required)	Excalidraw works out of the box	—

In Dokploy, environment variables are set via the Environment editor in the project settings. For Excalidraw, you can leave this section empty.

Volumes & Data Persistence

Excalidraw does not require any persistent volumes. It is a static frontend application — all drawing data is stored in the user's browser using localStorage and IndexedDB.

Users can export their drawings as .excalidraw files, PNG, or SVG for backup. There is no server-side storage to persist.

Domain & SSL Setup

1. In your Dokploy project, navigate to the Domains tab
2. Click Add Domain and enter your domain (e.g., draw.yourdomain.com)
3. Set the container port to 3030
4. Enable HTTPS — Dokploy automatically provisions a Let's Encrypt SSL certificate
5. Save and wait for the certificate to be issued (usually under a minute)

Dokploy's built-in Traefik reverse proxy handles TLS termination and routes traffic to your Excalidraw container.

Verifying the Deployment

1. In Dokploy, go to your project's Deployments tab and click Deploy
2. Watch the build logs — you should see the excalidraw container pull and start
3. Check the Logs tab for the excalidraw service. Look for nginx startup messages
4. Open https://draw.yourdomain.com in your browser — you should see the Excalidraw whiteboard canvas
5. Try creating a drawing and verify that export (to PNG, SVG, or .excalidraw file) works correctly

Troubleshooting

Blank white page after deployment Clear your browser cache and reload. If the issue persists, check the container logs for nginx errors. Ensure the container port mapping (3030:80) matches what you configured in Dokploy's Domains tab.

Collaboration features not available The default Excalidraw image provides a single-user whiteboard. Real-time collaboration requires additional services (excalidraw-room for WebSocket signaling and a Redis or Firebase backend). For collaboration needs, consider using the hosted version at excalidraw.com or deploying the community fork with collaboration support.

Large drawings cause browser slowdown Excalidraw runs entirely in the browser. Performance depends on the client device, not your server. For very large diagrams, recommend users split their work across multiple files.

SSL certificate not issuing Ensure your domain's DNS A record points to your server's IP and has propagated. Dokploy uses Let's Encrypt HTTP-01 challenges, so port 80 must be accessible. Check Traefik logs in Dokploy for certificate-related errors.

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Learn more about Excalidraw in our complete overview.

Need a VPS? Hostinger VPS starts at $4.99/mo — perfect for running Excalidraw.

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For more on Docker Compose deployments in Dokploy, see the Dokploy Docker Compose documentation.

App data sourced from selfh.st open-source directory.