Basic Usage (Single Domain)

This guide demonstrates the most common use case for DockFlare: exposing a single Docker container to the internet on a public hostname.

Prerequisites

Before you start, make sure you have:

Completed the Quick Start guide.
DockFlare is running and connected to your Cloudflare account.
You have a service you want to expose (we will use nginx in this example).

Example: Exposing an NGINX Container

Let's say you want to expose a standard NGINX web server at the hostname nginx.example.com.

1. Add the Service to your `docker-compose.yml`

Modify your docker-compose.yml file to include the nginx service. The key is to add the dockflare.* labels to its configuration.

version: '3.8'

services:
  dockflare:
    image: alplat/dockflare:stable
    container_name: dockflare
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "5000:5000"
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro
      - ./dockflare_data:/app/data
    networks:
      - cloudflare-net

  # Add your new service here
  nginx-webserver:
    image: nginx:latest
    container_name: my-nginx
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - cloudflare-net # Must be on the same network as DockFlare
    labels:
      # --- DockFlare Configuration ---
      - "dockflare.enable=true"
      - "dockflare.hostname=nginx.example.com"
      - "dockflare.service=http://nginx-webserver:80"

volumes:
  dockflare_data:

networks:
  cloudflare-net:
    name: cloudflare-net
    external: true

2. Understanding the Labels

dockflare.enable=true: This tells DockFlare to manage this container.
dockflare.hostname=nginx.example.com: This is the public URL where your service will be available. DockFlare will create a DNS record for this hostname in your Cloudflare account.
dockflare.service=http://nginx-webserver:80: This tells Cloudflare Tunnel where to send the traffic. It's the internal address of the NGINX container. Note that we are using the service name (nginx-webserver) as the hostname, which is possible because both containers are on the same Docker network.

3. Deploy the Service

Save your docker-compose.yml file and run the following command to start the new service:

docker compose up -d

4. Verification

DockFlare will detect the new container and automatically perform the following actions:

Add an ingress rule to your Cloudflare Tunnel for nginx.example.com.
Create a CNAME record for nginx.example.com in your Cloudflare DNS, pointing to the tunnel.

You can verify this in a few ways:

DockFlare Web UI: The nginx.example.com service will appear on the dashboard.
Cloudflare Dashboard: You will see the new CNAME record in your DNS settings and the new ingress rule in your tunnel configuration.

After a few moments for DNS to propagate, you should be able to navigate to https://nginx.example.com in your browser and see the default NGINX welcome page.

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