Docker · Isha Labs Support

Quizora ships with a ready-to-use Docker setup for local development, staging, or self-hosted production. Docker runs PHP 8.3, Nginx, MySQL 8, Redis, and a queue worker — no manual PHP or Node.js installation required on your machine.

Prefer the web installer?: If you are deploying to shared hosting (cPanel) or a traditional VPS, use the Installation Guide instead. Docker is optional.

Prerequisites

Requirement	Version
Docker	24+
Docker Compose	v2+ (`docker compose` command)
RAM	1 GB+ recommended
Disk	2 GB+ free

What's included

Service	Role
`app`	PHP-FPM 8.3 — runs Laravel
`web`	Nginx — serves `public/` on port 8080
`mysql`	MySQL 8.0 database
`redis`	Cache, sessions, and queue driver
`queue`	Background jobs (payments, emails, certificates)

Frontend assets (Vite) are built automatically inside the Docker image — you do not need Node.js on your host.

Step 1 — Extract the files

Download Quizora from your CodeCanyon account.
Extract the zip and cd into the project root (the folder containing docker-compose.yml).

Step 2 — Review environment config

Quizora includes a Docker-specific environment file: .env.docker.

It is pre-configured with Docker service hostnames:

Variable	Value	Why
`APP_URL`	`http://localhost:8080`	Matches the Nginx port mapping
`DB_HOST`	`mysql`	Docker service name (not `127.0.0.1`)
`REDIS_HOST`	`redis`	Docker service name
`CACHE_STORE`	`redis`	Recommended for Docker
`SESSION_DRIVER`	`redis`	Recommended for Docker
`QUEUE_CONNECTION`	`redis`	Required for the queue worker

docker-compose.yml mounts .env.docker into the container as .env (Laravel and Artisan require a file on disk).

.env.docker must exist: Create it from the template if missing: cp .env.example .env.docker then adjust Docker values (DB_HOST=mysql, REDIS_HOST=redis, etc.).

Customising credentials: Database credentials in .env.docker must match docker-compose.yml:

Database: quizora

Username: quizora

Password: secret

Change both files together if you want different passwords.

Platform settings (OpenAI, payments, storage, Google login, and license) are configured in Admin → Settings after install — not in .env.docker.

Step 3 — Build and start

docker compose build
docker compose up -d

Wait until all services are running:

docker compose ps

You should see 5 containers. Example output:

NAME           IMAGE               STATUS          PORTS
quizora-web    nginx:1.27-alpine   Up              0.0.0.0:8080->80/tcp
quizora-app    quizora-app         Up              9000/tcp
quizora-mysql  mysql:8.0           Up (healthy)    0.0.0.0:3306->3306/tcp
quizora-redis  redis:7-alpine      Up              6379/tcp
quizora-queue  quizora-queue       Up              9000/tcp

Container	Exposes host port?	Notes
`quizora-web`	Yes — `8080`	Open the app at `http://localhost:8080`
`quizora-mysql`	Yes — `3306`	Optional; for local DB tools only
`quizora-app`	No	PHP-FPM (internal, used by Nginx)
`quizora-redis`	No	Internal cache/queue
`quizora-queue`	No	Background worker

Docker Desktop shows one row with no ports?: Docker Desktop groups Compose projects into a single stack row named quizora. Ports and image names appear as - on that parent row — this is normal.

Click the arrow (›) on the left of the quizora row to expand the stack.

You should see all five containers listed individually.

quizora-web shows port 8080:80; quizora-mysql shows 3306:3306.

app, redis, and queue intentionally have no host ports (they only talk inside the Docker network).

Use Containers → search quizora or run docker compose ps in the terminal for the clearest view.

After changing docker-compose.yml, apply updates with:

docker compose up -d

Step 4 — First-time setup

Generate an application encryption key (writes APP_KEY into .env.docker on your host):

docker compose exec app php artisan key:generate

file_get_contents(.env): No such file: This means the .env mount is missing or .env.docker does not exist on your host. Ensure .env.docker is present, then run docker compose up -d again so the volume mount is applied.

If you get a permission denied error writing .env, run once as root:

docker compose exec -u root app php artisan key:generate

Then choose one of the following:

Option A — Web installer (recommended)

Open http://localhost:8080/install
Follow the wizard (same as a normal install)
Use these database settings when prompted:

Field	Value
Host	`mysql`
Port	`3306`
Database	`quizora`
Username	`quizora`
Password	`secret`

Option B — Command line

docker compose exec app php artisan migrate --force
docker compose exec app php artisan db:seed --class=DemoSeeder   # optional demo data

Step 5 — Log in

Open http://localhost:8080 and sign in:

Panel	URL
Customer portal	`http://localhost:8080`
Creator panel	`http://localhost:8080/creator`
Admin panel	`http://localhost:8080/admin`

If you used the installer, log in with the admin email and password you set in Step 4.

First login checklist: Go to Admin → Settings and configure your logo, OpenAI key, payment gateways, and email (or keep MAIL_MAILER=log in .env.docker for local testing).

Useful commands

# List containers, ports, and status (best way to verify the stack)
docker compose ps

# View logs
docker compose logs -f app
docker compose logs -f web
docker compose logs -f queue

# Run artisan commands
docker compose exec app php artisan migrate
docker compose exec app php artisan cache:clear

# Stop all containers
docker compose down

# Stop and remove database volumes (fresh start)
docker compose down -v

Updating Quizora

Back up your database and storage/app/ folder.
Pull or replace the application files (keep .env.docker).
Rebuild and restart:

docker compose build
docker compose up -d
docker compose exec app php artisan migrate --force

Rebuilding frontend assets: If you change CSS or JavaScript, rebuild the image. If the browser still shows old styles, remove the public volume and start fresh:
docker compose down
docker volume rm quizora_public_assets   # prefix may vary; run `docker volume ls` to check
docker compose up -d --build

Production notes

The included docker-compose.yml is optimised for local development. For production:

Set APP_ENV=production and APP_DEBUG=false in .env.docker
Put a reverse proxy (Traefik, Caddy, or cloud load balancer) in front of Nginx with HTTPS
Remove the MySQL 3306 port mapping (keep it internal only)
Use strong database passwords
Add a scheduler container if you use scheduled tasks: php artisan schedule:work
Persist storage/app/ (uploads, certificates) via a volume or configure S3 in Admin → Settings → Storage

Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
Docker Desktop shows one `quizora` row, ports are `-`	Expand the stack row (›) — see Step 3. Only `quizora-web` and `quizora-mysql` expose host ports.
`file_get_contents(.env): No such file`	Create `.env.docker`, then `docker compose up -d` (mounts it as `.env` inside containers).
`Connection refused` to database	Wait for MySQL healthcheck; confirm `DB_HOST=mysql` in `.env.docker`
Blank page or 500 error	Run `docker compose exec app php artisan key:generate`
Queue jobs not processing	Check `docker compose logs queue`; confirm Redis is running
CSS/JS missing	Rebuild: `docker compose build --no-cache`
Port 8080 already in use	Change `"8080:80"` in `docker-compose.yml` and update `APP_URL`
Installer Redis warning	Safe to ignore — Redis is included in the Docker stack
Changes to `docker-compose.yml` not applied	Run `docker compose up -d` (not just restart from Docker Desktop)

File reference

File	Purpose
`Dockerfile`	Multi-stage image (PHP extensions + Composer + Vite build + PHP-FPM)
`docker-compose.yml`	Five services: `quizora-app`, `quizora-web`, `quizora-mysql`, `quizora-redis`, `quizora-queue`
`docker/nginx/default.conf`	Nginx config (includes SSE support for AI streaming)
`.env.docker`	Docker environment file — mounted as `/var/www/html/.env` in `app` and `queue`
`.dockerignore`	Excludes `vendor/`, `node_modules/`, etc. from the build

For server requirements without Docker, see Requirements.