Docker Installation

This directory contains the Dockerfiles used to build and release the official images, as well as a docker-compose.yml to configure environment variables and other settings.

If you are looking to use these Docker images to deploy your own instance of Mempool, note that they only containerize Mempool's frontend and backend. You will still need to deploy and configure Bitcoin Core and an Electrum Server separately, along with any other utilities specific to your use case (e.g., a reverse proxy, etc). Such configuration is mostly beyond the scope of the Mempool project, so please only proceed if you know what you're doing.

See a video guide of this installation method by k3tan on BitcoinTV.com.

Jump to a section in this doc:

Configure with Bitcoin Core Only
Configure with Bitcoin Core + Electrum Server
Further Configuration

Configure with Bitcoin Core Only

Note: address lookups require an Electrum Server and will not work with this configuration. Add an Electrum Server to your backend for full functionality.

The default Docker configuration assumes you have the following configuration in your bitcoin.conf file:

txindex=1
server=1
rpcuser=mempool
rpcpassword=mempool

If you want to use different credentials, specify them in the docker-compose.yml file:

  api:
    environment:
      MEMPOOL_BACKEND: "none"
      CORE_RPC_HOST: "172.27.0.1"
      CORE_RPC_PORT: "8332"
      CORE_RPC_USERNAME: "customuser"
      CORE_RPC_PASSWORD: "custompassword"

The IP address in the example above refers to Docker's default gateway IP address so that the container can hit the bitcoind instance running on the host machine. If your setup is different, update it accordingly.

Make sure bitcoind is running and synced.

Now, run:

docker-compose up

Your Mempool instance should be running at http://localhost. The graphs will be populated as new transactions are detected.

Configure with Bitcoin Core + Electrum Server

First, configure bitcoind as specified above, and make sure your Electrum Server is running and synced. See this FAQ if you need help picking an Electrum Server implementation.

Then, set the following variables in docker-compose.yml so Mempool can connect to your Electrum Server:

  api:
    environment:
      MEMPOOL_BACKEND: "electrum"
      ELECTRUM_HOST: "172.27.0.1"
      ELECTRUM_PORT: "50002"
      ELECTRUM_TLS_ENABLED: "false"

Eligible values for MEMPOOL_BACKEND:

"electrum" if you're using romanz/electrs or cculianu/Fulcrum
"esplora" if you're using Blockstream/electrs
"none" if you're not using any Electrum Server

Of course, if your Docker host IP address is different, update accordingly.

With bitcoind and Electrum Server set up, run Mempool with:

docker-compose up

Further Configuration

Optionally, you can override any other backend settings from mempool-config.json.

Below we list all settings from mempool-config.json and the corresponding overrides you can make in the api > environment section of docker-compose.yml.

mempool-config.json:

  "MEMPOOL": {
    "NETWORK": "mainnet",
    "BACKEND": "electrum",
    "HTTP_PORT": 8999,
    "SPAWN_CLUSTER_PROCS": 0,
    "API_URL_PREFIX": "/api/v1/",
    "POLL_RATE_MS": 2000,
    "CACHE_DIR": "./cache",
    "CLEAR_PROTECTION_MINUTES": 20,
    "RECOMMENDED_FEE_PERCENTILE": 50,
    "BLOCK_WEIGHT_UNITS": 4000000,
    "INITIAL_BLOCKS_AMOUNT": 8,
    "MEMPOOL_BLOCKS_AMOUNT": 8,
    "PRICE_FEED_UPDATE_INTERVAL": 600,
    "USE_SECOND_NODE_FOR_MINFEE": false,
    "EXTERNAL_ASSETS": ["https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mempool/mining-pools/master/pools.json"],
    "STDOUT_LOG_MIN_PRIORITY": "info"
  },