WGDashboard/docker

WGDashboard Docker Explanation:

Author: @DaanSelen

This document delves into how the WGDashboard Docker container has been built.
Of course there are two stages (simply said), one before run-time and one at/after run-time.
The Dockerfile describes how the container image is made, and the entrypoint.sh is executed after the container is started.
In this example, WireGuard is integrated into the container itself, so it should be a run-and-go(/out-of-the-box) experience.
For more details on the source-code specific to this Docker image, refer to the source files, they have lots of comments.

To get the container running you either pull the pre-made image from a remote repository, there are 2 official options.

• ghcr.io/wgdashboard/wgdashboard:
• docker.io/donaldzou/wgdashboard:

tags should be either: latest, main, , (if built) or .

From there either use the environment variables described below as parameters or use the Docker Compose file: compose.yaml.
Be careful, the default generated WireGuard configuration file uses port 51820/udp. So make sure to use this port if you want to use it out of the box.
Otherwise edit the configuration file in WGDashboard under Configuration Settings -> Edit Raw Configuration File.

Otherwise you need to enter the container and edit: /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf.

WGDashboard: 🐳 Docker Deployment Guide

To run the container, you can either pull the image from the Github Container Registry (ghcr.io), Docker Hub (docker.io) or build it yourself. The image is available at:

docker.io is in most cases automatically resolved by the Docker application. Therefor you can ofter specify: donaldzou/wgdashboard:latest

🔧 Quick Docker Run Command

Here's an example to get it up and running quickly:

docker run -d \
  --name wgdashboard \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -p 10086:10086/tcp \
  -p 51820:51820/udp \
  --cap-add NET_ADMIN \
  ghcr.io/wgdashboard/wgdashboard:latest

⚠️ The default WireGuard port is 51820/udp. If you change this, update the /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf accordingly.

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📦 Docker Compose Alternative (see the compose file)

You can also use Docker Compose for easier configuration:

services:
  wgdashboard:
    image: ghcr.io/wgdashboard/wgdashboard:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    container_name: wgdashboard
    ports:
      - 10086:10086/tcp
      - 51820:51820/udp

    volumes:
      - aconf:/etc/amnezia/amneziawg
      - conf:/etc/wireguard
      - data:/data

    cap_add:
      - NET_ADMIN

volumes:
  aconf:
  conf:
  data:

📁 You can customize the volume paths on the host to fit your needs. The example above uses Docker volumes.

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🔄 Updating the Container

Updating the WGDashboard container should be through 'The Docker Way' - by pulling the newest/newer image and replacing this old one.

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⚙️ Environment Variables

Variable	Accepted Values	Default	Example	Description
dynamic_config	true, yes, false, no	true	true or no	Turns on or off the dynamic configuration feature, on by default for Docker
tz	Timezone	Europe/Amsterdam	America/New_York	Sets the container's timezone. Useful for accurate logs and scheduling.
global_dns	IPv4 and IPv6 addresses	9.9.9.9	8.8.8.8, 1.1.1.1	Default DNS for WireGuard clients.
public_ip	Public IP address	Retrieved automatically	253.162.134.73	Used to generate accurate client configs. Needed if container is NAT’d.
wgd_port	Any port that is allowed for the process	10086	443	This port is used to set the WGDashboard web port.
username	Any non‐empty string	-	admin	Username for the WGDashboard web interface account.
password	Any non‐empty string	-	s3cr3tP@ss	Password for the WGDashboard web interface account (stored hashed).
enable_totp	true, false	true	false	Enable TOTP‐based two‐factor authentication for the account.
wg_autostart	Wireguard interface name	-	wg0	Automatically start the specified WireGuard interface when the container starts
email_server	SMTP server address	-	smtp.gmail.com	SMTP server for sending email notifications.
email_port	SMTP port number	-	587	Port for connecting to the SMTP server.
email_encryption	TLS, SSL, etc.	-	TLS	Encryption method for email communication.
email_username	Any non-empty string	-	user@example.com	Username for SMTP authentication.
email_password	Any non-empty string	-	app_password	Password for SMTP authentication.
email_from	Valid email address	-	noreply@example.com	Email address used as the sender for notifications.
email_template	Path to template file	-	your-template	Custom template for email notifications.
database_type	sqlite, postgresql, mariadb+mariadbconnector, etc.	-	postgresql	Type of sqlalchemy database engine.
database_host	Any non-empty string	-	localhost	IP-Address or hostname of the SQL-database server.
database_port	Any non-empty string (or int for port)	-	5432	Port for the database communication.
database_username	Valid database username	-	database_user	Database user username.
database_password	Valid database password	-	database_password	Database user password.

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🔐 Port Forwarding Note

When using multiple WireGuard interfaces, remember to open their respective ports on the host.

Examples:

# Individual mapping
- 51821:51821/udp

# Or port range
- 51820-51830:51820-51830/udp

🚨 Security Tip: Only expose ports you actually use.

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🛠️ Building the Image Yourself

To build from source:

git clone https://github.com/WGDashboard/WGDashboard.git
cd WGDashboard
docker build . -f docker/Dockerfile -t yourname/wgdashboard:latest

Example output:

docker images

REPOSITORY           TAG       IMAGE ID       CREATED             SIZE
yourname/wgdashboard latest    c96fd96ee3b3   42 minutes ago      314MB

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🧱 Dockerfile Overview

Here's a brief overview of the Dockerfile stages used in the image build:

1. Build Tools & Go Compilation

FROM golang:1.24 AS compiler
WORKDIR /go

RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y ...
RUN git clone ... && make
...

2. Binary Copy to Scratch

FROM scratch AS bins
COPY --from=compiler /go/amneziawg-go/amneziawg-go /amneziawg-go
...

3. Final Alpine Container Setup

FROM alpine:latest
COPY --from=bins ...
RUN apk update && apk add --no-cache ...
COPY ./src ${WGDASH}/src
COPY ./docker/entrypoint.sh /entrypoint.sh
...
EXPOSE 10086
ENTRYPOINT ["/bin/bash", "/entrypoint.sh"]

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🚀 Entrypoint Overview

Major Functions:

• ensure_installation: Sets up the app, database, and Python environment.
• set_envvars: Writes wg-dashboard.ini and applies environment variables.
• start_core: Starts the main WGDashboard service.
• ensure_blocking: Tails the error log to keep the container process alive.

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✅ Final Notes

• Use docker logs wgdashboard for troubleshooting.
• Access the web interface via http://your-ip:10086 (or whichever port you specified in the compose).
• The first time run will auto-generate WireGuard keys and configs (configs are generated from the template).

🧑‍💻 Local Development with Docker

You can develop against WGDashboard locally by mounting the src/ directory into the container. This lets you edit Python and frontend code on your host and see changes reflected immediately (with a service restart for Python).

Create a docker/compose-local.yaml alongside the existing compose.yaml:

services:
  wgdashboard:
    image: ghcr.io/wgdashboard/wgdashboard:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    container_name: wgdashboard

    ports:
      - 10086:10086/tcp
      - 51820:51820/udp

    volumes:
      - aconf:/etc/amnezia/amneziawg
      - conf:/etc/wireguard
      - data:/data
      # Mount local src for live editing
      - ../src:/opt/wgdashboard/src
      # Keep venv in a named volume so it isn't overwritten by the mount
      - venv:/opt/wgdashboard/src/venv

    cap_add:
      - NET_ADMIN

volumes:
  aconf:
  conf:
  data:
  venv:

The key additions compared to the production compose file:

• ../src:/opt/wgdashboard/src — mounts your local src/ directory into the container so code changes are reflected without rebuilding the image.
• venv:/opt/wgdashboard/src/venv — keeps the Python virtual environment in a named Docker volume. Without this, the host mount would overwrite the venv created during image build.

To start the development container:

cd docker
docker compose -f compose-local.yaml up -d

After editing Python files (e.g. src/dashboard.py), restart the container to pick up changes:

docker restart wgdashboard

For frontend changes, install dependencies and rebuild the Vue app on your host:

cd src/static/app
npm install
npm run build

Then restart the container so it serves the updated dist files:

docker restart wgdashboard

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Closing remarks:

For feedback please submit an issue to the repository. Or message dselen@nerthus.nl.