Deploy MinIO 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 practical to run MinIO as a high-performance, S3-compatible object storage server.

This guide walks you through deploying MinIO with persistent storage, the web console for management, and automatic HTTPS. MinIO provides an S3-compatible API that can serve as a storage backend for other self-hosted applications.

Prerequisites

• A VPS with at least 1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, and storage sized to your needs (minimum 10 GB)
• Dokploy installed and running on your server (installation docs)
• A domain name (e.g., s3.yourdomain.com) with DNS A record pointing to your server's IP
• Optionally, a second domain for the console (e.g., minio.yourdomain.com)

Docker Compose Configuration

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

version: "3.8"

services:
  minio:
    image: minio/minio:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    command: server /data --console-address ":9001"
    ports:
      - "9000:9000"
      - "9001:9001"
    environment:
      - MINIO_ROOT_USER=${MINIO_ROOT_USER}
      - MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD=${MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD}
      - MINIO_SERVER_URL=https://${MINIO_API_DOMAIN}
      - MINIO_BROWSER_REDIRECT_URL=https://${MINIO_CONSOLE_DOMAIN}
    volumes:
      - ../files/minio-data:/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "mc ready local || exit 1"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3

Note: MinIO exposes two ports: 9000 for the S3 API and 9001 for the web console. You can use a single domain and route both through Dokploy, or use separate domains for API and console access. The MINIO_SERVER_URL and MINIO_BROWSER_REDIRECT_URL ensure correct URL generation behind a reverse proxy.

Environment Variables

Set these in Dokploy's Environment tab for your compose project:

Variable	Purpose	Example
MINIO_ROOT_USER	Root access key (admin username)	minioadmin
MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD	Root secret key (min 8 chars)	a-strong-random-password
MINIO_API_DOMAIN	Domain for S3 API access	s3.yourdomain.com
MINIO_CONSOLE_DOMAIN	Domain for web console	minio.yourdomain.com

In Dokploy, environment variables are set via the Environment editor in the project settings. Do not create a .env file manually — Dokploy manages this for you. The root credentials are the admin access key pair — change the default minioadmin/minioadmin in production.

Volumes & Data Persistence

This setup uses Dokploy's ../files convention for bind-mounted volumes:

• ../files/minio-data — All object storage data (buckets, objects, metadata)

The ../files path is relative to the compose file inside Dokploy's project directory. This ensures your data persists across redeployments. Avoid using absolute paths (e.g., /opt/minio) because Dokploy may clean them during redeployment.

For production use with large data volumes, consider mounting a dedicated disk or partition to the ../files/minio-data path for better I/O performance and separate storage management.

Domain & SSL Setup

1. In your Dokploy project, navigate to the Domains tab
2. Add your API domain (e.g., s3.yourdomain.com) and set the container port to 9000
3. Add your console domain (e.g., minio.yourdomain.com) and set the container port to 9001
4. Enable HTTPS on both domains — Dokploy automatically provisions Let's Encrypt SSL certificates
5. Save and wait for the certificates to be issued

Dokploy's built-in Traefik reverse proxy handles TLS termination. If you prefer a single domain, you can use just port 9001 for the console and access the S3 API on port 9000 directly, or configure path-based routing.

Verifying the Deployment

1. In Dokploy, go to your project's Deployments tab and click Deploy
2. Watch the build logs — the MinIO container should start quickly
3. Check the Logs tab for the minio service. Look for: API: and Console: URLs
4. Open https://minio.yourdomain.com in your browser — you should see the MinIO console login
5. Log in with your root credentials and create a test bucket
6. Test S3 API access using the mc CLI or any S3-compatible client pointing to https://s3.yourdomain.com

Troubleshooting

MinIO console redirects incorrectly or shows blank page Ensure MINIO_BROWSER_REDIRECT_URL is set to your console domain with https://. Without this, MinIO generates incorrect redirect URLs behind a reverse proxy. Verify both domains are configured in Dokploy's Domains tab with the correct ports.

S3 API calls fail with "signature mismatch" Ensure MINIO_SERVER_URL matches the domain used for API access with https://. S3 signature calculation depends on the correct endpoint URL. Verify your S3 client is configured with the right endpoint, access key, and secret key.

Permission denied errors on data directory The MinIO container runs as UID/GID 1000 by default. Ensure the ../files/minio-data directory has appropriate ownership. Run chown -R 1000:1000 on the data directory if needed.

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 Minio in our complete overview.

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

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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.