# Cannot start docker instance of writefreely **URL:** \ **Category:** Installation\ **Tags:** troubleshooting, writefreely\ **Created:** [October 22, 2023, 12:08pm UTC](https://discuss.write.as/t/cannot-start-docker-instance-of-writefreely/10372 "2023-10-22T12:08:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![meyou69](https://discuss.write.as/user_avatar/discuss.write.as/meyou69/32/2834_2.png) [@meyou69](https://discuss.write.as/u/meyou69)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2023, 12:08pm UTC](https://discuss.write.as/t/cannot-start-docker-instance-of-writefreely/10372/1 "2023-10-22T12:08:35Z")
Hello, I know that writefreely does not have an official docker instance, but I chose to still try to run it from docker, because it simplifies my setup significantly. I chose to use the algernon-writefreely:latest docker image for this particular purpose. The contents of my docker compose configuration file which I’m using are the following: ```auto version: '2' networks: writefreely: external: false services: writefreely: image: algernon/writefreely:latest volumes: - "./data:/data" ports: - "8083:8080" restart: always networks: - writefreely db: image: mysql restart: always environment: - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD= - MYSQL_DATABASE=writefreely - MYSQL_USER=writeas - MYSQL_PASSWORD= volumes: - ./db/:/var/lib/mysql networks: - writefreely ``` What I’m getting is the following error from the logs: ```auto writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Created. writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Creating table appmigrations... writefreely_1 | ERROR: 2023/10/22 12:06:08 app.go:961: Error 1050 (42S01): Table 'appmigrations' already exists writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Creating table collectionattributes... writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Created. writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Creating table collectionkeys... writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Created. writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Creating table collectionpasswords... writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Created. writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Creating table collectionredirects... writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Created. writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Creating table collections... writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Created. writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Creating table posts... writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Created. writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Creating table remotefollows... writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Created. writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Creating table remoteuserkeys... writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Created. writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Creating table remoteusers... writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Created. writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Creating table userattributes... writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Created. writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Creating table userinvites... writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Creating table users... writefreely_1 | ERROR: 2023/10/22 12:06:08 app.go:961: Error 1050 (42S01): Table 'userinvites' already exists writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Created. writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Creating table usersinvited... writefreely_1 | ERROR: 2023/10/22 12:06:08 app.go:961: Error 1050 (42S01): Table 'usersinvited' already exists writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Initializing appmigrations table... writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Running migrations... writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Database up-to-date. No migrations to run. writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Done. writefreely_1 | 2023/10/22 12:06:08 Closing database connection... writefreely_1 | cp: can't stat 'writefreely.db': No such file or directory ``` These last messages just get looped over and over again. The contents of my config.ini file are the following: ```auto [server] hidden_host = port = 8080 bind = 0.0.0.0 tls_cert_path = tls_key_path = autocert = false templates_parent_dir = static_parent_dir = pages_parent_dir = keys_parent_dir = hash_seed = gopher_port = 0 [database] type = mysql filename = username = writeas password = database = writefreely host = writeas_db_1 port = 3306 tls = false [app] site_name = Alex's Blog! site_description = A blog where I talk about anime, tech and other geeky things host = https://blog.transistor.one theme = write editor = disable_js = false webfonts = true landing = /read simple_nav = false wf_modesty = false chorus = false forest = false disable_drafts = false single_user = false open_registration = false open_deletion = true min_username_len = 3 max_blogs = 5 federation = true public_stats = true monetization = true notes_only = false private = false local_timeline = true user_invites = default_visibility = unlisted update_checks = false disable_password_auth = false ``` Does anyone have any idea what I should do? ---
**Author:** ![PWD](https://discuss.write.as/user_avatar/discuss.write.as/pwd/32/3808_2.png) [@PWD](https://discuss.write.as/u/PWD)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2024, 5:15pm UTC](https://discuss.write.as/t/cannot-start-docker-instance-of-writefreely/10372/2 "2024-06-04T17:15:34Z")
Did you ever manage to get this started? ---
**Author:** ![meyou69](https://discuss.write.as/user_avatar/discuss.write.as/meyou69/32/2834_2.png) [@meyou69](https://discuss.write.as/u/meyou69)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2024, 2:46pm UTC](https://discuss.write.as/t/cannot-start-docker-instance-of-writefreely/10372/3 "2024-06-05T14:46:16Z")
I did not. I gave up on that docker image. Either that image was somehow flawed, or my setup was just incompatible with it. I eventually went on and used the guide for developers at [Docker — WriteFreely Documentation](https://writefreely.org/docs/latest/admin/docker). It’s not ideal, since it’s not for production, but it’s the only thing I’ve got ---
**Author:** ![PWD](https://discuss.write.as/user_avatar/discuss.write.as/pwd/32/3808_2.png) [@PWD](https://discuss.write.as/u/PWD)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2024, 5:00am UTC](https://discuss.write.as/t/cannot-start-docker-instance-of-writefreely/10372/4 "2024-06-06T05:00:19Z")
Thanks for letting me know. It’s super disappointing that the developers couldn’t be more involved in trying to get this working ---
**Author:** ![matt](https://discuss.write.as/user_avatar/discuss.write.as/matt/32/2760_2.png) [@matt](https://discuss.write.as/u/matt)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2024, 4:10pm UTC](https://discuss.write.as/t/cannot-start-docker-instance-of-writefreely/10372/5 "2024-06-11T16:10:02Z")
Sadly my knowledge of Docker is very limited 😕 That side of the project has been entirely developed and supported by the community. Did the Docker guide linked in @meyou69’s comment work for you, @PWD? ---
**Author:** ![PWD](https://discuss.write.as/user_avatar/discuss.write.as/pwd/32/3808_2.png) [@PWD](https://discuss.write.as/u/PWD)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2024, 11:00am UTC](https://discuss.write.as/t/cannot-start-docker-instance-of-writefreely/10372/6 "2024-08-18T11:00:09Z")
Sadly not. Though I saw something got merged recently, hopefully that will solve the problem. I’ll give it another go.