Deploy OpenCut 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 host OpenCut for browser-based video editing.

This guide walks you through deploying OpenCut with PostgreSQL for project data, Redis for job queues, persistent media storage, and automatic HTTPS.

Prerequisites

• A VPS with at least 4 vCPUs, 4 GB RAM, and 50 GB storage (video editing is resource-intensive)
• Dokploy installed and running on your server (installation docs)
• A domain name (e.g., editor.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:
  opencut:
    image: ghcr.io/opencut-org/opencut:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://opencut:${DB_PASSWORD}@opencut-db:5432/opencut
      - REDIS_URL=redis://opencut-redis:6379
      - NEXTAUTH_URL=https://${OPENCUT_DOMAIN}
      - NEXTAUTH_SECRET=${NEXTAUTH_SECRET}
      - STORAGE_PATH=/app/storage
    volumes:
      - ../files/opencut-storage:/app/storage
    depends_on:
      opencut-db:
        condition: service_healthy
      opencut-redis:
        condition: service_healthy
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "curl -f http://localhost:3000/ || exit 1"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3

  opencut-db:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_DB=opencut
      - POSTGRES_USER=opencut
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=${DB_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - ../files/opencut-db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U opencut"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

  opencut-redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    restart: unless-stopped
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "redis-cli", "ping"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

Note: OpenCut is a newer project and its Docker image may change. Check the OpenCut GitHub repository for the latest deployment instructions if the image above is unavailable. You may need to build the image from source.

Environment Variables

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

Variable	Purpose	Example
OPENCUT_DOMAIN	Your OpenCut domain name	editor.yourdomain.com
DB_PASSWORD	PostgreSQL database password	a-strong-random-password
NEXTAUTH_SECRET	NextAuth.js session encryption key	openssl rand -base64 32 output

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. Generate the NEXTAUTH_SECRET by running openssl rand -base64 32 on your server.

Volumes & Data Persistence

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

• ../files/opencut-storage — Uploaded video files, project assets, and rendered output
• ../files/opencut-db-data — PostgreSQL database files (project metadata, user accounts)

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 because Dokploy may clean them during redeployment.

If you need S3 backup support, consider using named Docker volumes instead. Named volumes can be backed up with Dokploy's built-in backup features.

Domain & SSL Setup

1. In your Dokploy project, navigate to the Domains tab
2. Click Add Domain and enter your domain (e.g., editor.yourdomain.com)
3. Set the container port to 3000
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 OpenCut container. HTTPS is required for NextAuth.js session security.

Verifying the Deployment

1. In Dokploy, go to your project's Deployments tab and click Deploy
2. Watch the build logs — all three containers (opencut, opencut-db, opencut-redis) should start
3. Check the Logs tab for the opencut service. Look for the application ready message
4. Open https://editor.yourdomain.com in your browser — you should see the OpenCut interface
5. Create an account and start a new video editing project

Troubleshooting

Container fails to start or image not found OpenCut is an actively developing project. If the Docker image is not available on GHCR, you may need to build it from source. Clone the repository and use docker build to create a local image, then reference it in your compose file.

Database connection errors Ensure DB_PASSWORD matches between the OpenCut service and PostgreSQL. The application depends on the database health check — if PostgreSQL hasn't finished initializing, OpenCut will wait and retry.

Large video uploads failing Video files can be very large. If uploads time out, you may need to increase Dokploy's Traefik proxy timeout and max body size settings. Check Dokploy's advanced proxy configuration for client_max_body_size adjustments.

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 OpenCut in our complete overview.

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

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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.