milkcrate

Deploy and manage containerized apps with Flask, Docker, and Traefik — from a simple web UI.

Full documentation

Features

• Upload to deploy: ZIP an app (with Dockerfile or docker-compose.yml) and deploy from the dashboard.
• Volume management: Create Docker volumes, upload files, mount to containers.
• Traefik routing: Automatic PathPrefix routing and prefix stripping.
• HTTPS support: Automatic Let's Encrypt SSL certificates for production deployments.
• Status & control: Real-time status, start/stop, and delete.

Quick start

Prereqs: Python 3.12+, Docker, Docker Compose, uv

uv run milkcrate setup
uv run milkcrate run

Access at http://localhost:5001 (development) or http://localhost/admin (Docker Compose)

Run with Docker Compose:

uv run milkcrate up

Access at http://localhost/admin or http://your-ip/admin (accepts any hostname by default)

Default credentials:

• Password: admin (change in production)

Note: Password-only authentication (no username required).

Deploy an app

1. Prepare a ZIP containing your app with a Dockerfile or docker-compose.yml.
2. Log in → Upload → choose name and public route (e.g., /sample).
3. Submit; access at http://localhost/<route> (dev) or your domain.

Sample app:

uv run milkcrate package-sample
# Upload the generated sample-app.zip via the UI

Configuration (env)

• SECRET_KEY — Flask secret key.
• MILKCRATE_ENV — development (default) or production.
• ENABLE_HTTPS — Enable HTTPS/Let's Encrypt mode (true/false, default: false).
• LETSENCRYPT_EMAIL — Email for Let's Encrypt certificate notifications.
• DATABASE — path to SQLite DB (defaults under instance/).
• UPLOAD_FOLDER, EXTRACTED_FOLDER — storage paths.
• TRAEFIK_NETWORK — Docker network for routing.
• MILKCRATE_ADMIN_PASSWORD — overrides stored admin password.
• DEFAULT_HOME_ROUTE — optional /path to redirect /.

For production HTTPS setup, see docs/production/https-setup.md.

Multi-Website Hosting (Optional)

Want to run other websites alongside milkcrate? Add nginx:

sudo ./install_nginx.sh

See docs/production/multi-website-setup.md for details.

uv run milkcrate docs-serve

License

MIT — see LICENSE file.