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Configure ZITADEL with Traefik

With these examples, you create and run a minimal Traefik configuration for ZITADEL with Docker Compose. Whereas the guide focuses on the configuration for Traefik, you can inspect the configurations for ZITADEL and the database in the base Docker Compose file.
base docker-compose.yaml
version: '3.8'

services:

  zitadel-disabled-tls:
    extends:
      service: zitadel-init
    command: 'start-from-setup --init-projections --masterkey "MasterkeyNeedsToHave32Characters" --config /zitadel.yaml --steps /zitadel.yaml'
    environment:
      - ZITADEL_EXTERNALPORT=80
      - ZITADEL_EXTERNALSECURE=false
      - ZITADEL_TLS_ENABLED=false
      # database configuration
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_HOST=db
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_PORT=5432
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_DATABASE=zitadel
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_USER_USERNAME=zitadel_user
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_USER_PASSWORD=zitadel_pw
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_USER_SSL_MODE=disable
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_ADMIN_USERNAME=root
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_ADMIN_PASSWORD=postgres
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_ADMIN_SSL_MODE=disable
    networks:
      - 'zitadel'
    depends_on:
      zitadel-init:
        condition: 'service_completed_successfully'
      db:
        condition: 'service_healthy'

  zitadel-external-tls:
    extends:
      service: zitadel-init
    command: 'start-from-setup --init-projections --masterkey "MasterkeyNeedsToHave32Characters" --config /zitadel.yaml --steps /zitadel.yaml'
    environment:
      - ZITADEL_EXTERNALPORT=443
      - ZITADEL_EXTERNALSECURE=true
      - ZITADEL_TLS_ENABLED=false
      # database configuration
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_HOST=db
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_PORT=5432
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_DATABASE=zitadel
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_USER_USERNAME=zitadel_user
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_USER_PASSWORD=zitadel_pw
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_USER_SSL_MODE=disable
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_ADMIN_USERNAME=root
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_ADMIN_PASSWORD=postgres
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_ADMIN_SSL_MODE=disable
    networks:
      - 'zitadel'
    depends_on:
      zitadel-init:
        condition: 'service_completed_successfully'
      db:
        condition: 'service_healthy'

  zitadel-enabled-tls:
    extends:
      service: zitadel-init
    command: 'start-from-setup --init-projections --masterkey "MasterkeyNeedsToHave32Characters" --config /zitadel.yaml --steps /zitadel.yaml'
    environment:
      - ZITADEL_EXTERNALPORT=443
      - ZITADEL_EXTERNALSECURE=true
      - ZITADEL_TLS_ENABLED=true
      - ZITADEL_TLS_CERTPATH=/etc/certs/selfsigned.crt
      - ZITADEL_TLS_KEYPATH=/etc/certs/selfsigned.key
      # database configuration
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_HOST=db
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_PORT=5432
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_DATABASE=zitadel
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_USER_USERNAME=zitadel_user
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_USER_PASSWORD=zitadel_pw
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_USER_SSL_MODE=disable
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_ADMIN_USERNAME=root
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_ADMIN_PASSWORD=postgres
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_ADMIN_SSL_MODE=disable
    volumes:
      - ./selfsigned.crt:/etc/certs/selfsigned.crt
      - ./selfsigned.key:/etc/certs/selfsigned.key
    networks:
      - 'zitadel'
    depends_on:
      zitadel-init:
        condition: 'service_completed_successfully'
      db:
        condition: 'service_healthy'

  zitadel-init:
    user: '$UID'
    image: '${ZITADEL_IMAGE:-ghcr.io/zitadel/zitadel:latest}'
    command: 'init --config /zitadel.yaml'
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: 'service_healthy'
    environment:
      # Using an external domain other than localhost proofs, that the proxy configuration works.
      # If ZITADEL can't resolve a requests original host to this domain,
      # it will return a 404 Instance not found error.
      - ZITADEL_EXTERNALDOMAIN=127.0.0.1.sslip.io
      # In case something doesn't work as expected,
      # it can be handy to be able to read the access logs.
      - ZITADEL_LOGSTORE_ACCESS_STDOUT_ENABLED=true
      # For convenience, ZITADEL should not ask to change the initial admin users password.
      - ZITADEL_FIRSTINSTANCE_ORG_HUMAN_PASSWORDCHANGEREQUIRED=false
      # database configuration
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_HOST=db
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_PORT=5432
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_DATABASE=zitadel
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_USER_USERNAME=zitadel_user
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_USER_PASSWORD=zitadel_pw
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_USER_SSL_MODE=disable
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_ADMIN_USERNAME=root
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_ADMIN_PASSWORD=postgres
      - ZITADEL_DATABASE_POSTGRES_ADMIN_SSL_MODE=disable
    networks:
      - 'zitadel'
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "/app/zitadel", "ready"]
      interval: '10s'
      timeout: '5s'
      retries: 5
      start_period: '10s'

  db:
    restart: 'always'
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=root
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready", "-d", "db_prod"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 60s
      retries: 10
      start_period: 5s
    ports:
      - '5432:5432'
    networks:
      - 'zitadel'
    volumes:
      - 'data:/var/lib/postgresql/data:rw'

networks:
  zitadel:

volumes:
  data:
For running Traefik, you will extend the base Docker Compose file with the Traefik specific Docker Compose file.
specific docker-compose.yaml
version: '3.8'

services:

  proxy-disabled-tls:
    image: "traefik:latest"
    volumes:
      - "./traefik-disabled-tls.yaml:/etc/traefik/traefik.yaml:ro"
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    networks:
      - 'zitadel'
    depends_on:
      zitadel-disabled-tls:
        condition: 'service_healthy'

  proxy-external-tls:
    image: "traefik:latest"
    volumes:
      - "./traefik-external-tls.yaml:/etc/traefik/traefik.yaml:ro"
      - "./selfsigned.crt:/etc/certs/selfsigned.crt:ro"
      - "./selfsigned.key:/etc/certs/selfsigned.key:ro"
    ports:
      - "443:443"
    networks:
      - 'zitadel'
    depends_on:
      zitadel-external-tls:
        condition: 'service_healthy'

  proxy-enabled-tls:
    image: "traefik:latest"
    volumes:
      - "./traefik-enabled-tls.yaml:/etc/traefik/traefik.yaml:ro"
      - "./selfsigned.crt:/etc/certs/selfsigned.crt:ro"
      - "./selfsigned.key:/etc/certs/selfsigned.key:ro"
    ports:
      - "443:443"
    networks:
      - 'zitadel'
    depends_on:
      zitadel-enabled-tls:
        condition: 'service_healthy'

networks:
  zitadel:

You can either setup your environment for TLS mode disabled, TLS mode external or TLS mode enabled.

TLS mode disabled​

Neither Traefik nor ZITADEL terminates TLS. Nevertheless, Traefik forwards unencrypted HTTP/2 traffic, aka h2c, to ZITADEL.By executing the commands below, you will download the files necessary to run ZITADEL behind Traefik with the following config:
traefik-disabled-tls.yaml
log:
  level: "DEBUG"
providers:
  file:
    filename: "/etc/traefik/traefik.yaml"
entrypoints:
  web:
    address: ":80"
http:
  routers:
    router:
      entryPoints:
        - "web"
      service: "zitadel"
      rule: 'PathPrefix(`/`)'
  services:
    zitadel:
      loadBalancer:
        servers:
          - url: "h2c://zitadel-disabled-tls:8080"
# Download the configuration files.
export ZITADEL_CONFIG_FILES=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zitadel/zitadel/main/docs/docs/self-hosting/manage/reverseproxy
wget ${ZITADEL_CONFIG_FILES}/docker-compose.yaml -O docker-compose-base.yaml
wget ${ZITADEL_CONFIG_FILES}/traefik/docker-compose.yaml -O docker-compose-traefik.yaml
wget ${ZITADEL_CONFIG_FILES}/traefik/traefik-disabled-tls.yaml -O traefik-disabled-tls.yaml

# Run the database, ZITADEL and Traefik.
docker compose --file docker-compose-base.yaml --file docker-compose-traefik.yaml up --detach proxy-disabled-tls

# Test that gRPC and HTTP APIs work. Empty brackets like {} means success.
sleep 3
grpcurl --plaintext 127.0.0.1.sslip.io:80 zitadel.admin.v1.AdminService/Healthz
curl http://127.0.0.1.sslip.io:80/admin/v1/healthz
When the docker compose command exits successfully, go to http://127.0.0.1.sslip.io/ui/console/?login_hint=zitadel-admin@zitadel.127.0.0.1.sslip.io and log in:
  • username: zitadel-admin@zitadel.127.0.0.1.sslip.io
  • password: Password1!

If the console loads normally, you know that the HTTP and gRPC-Web and gRPC APIs are working correctly.

# You can now stop the database, ZITADEL and Traefik.
docker compose --file docker-compose-base.yaml --file docker-compose-traefik.yaml down

TLS mode external​

Traefik terminates TLS and forwards the requests to ZITADEL via unencrypted h2c. This example uses an unsafe self-signed certificate for TraefikBy executing the commands below, you will download the files necessary to run ZITADEL behind Traefik with the following config:
traefik-external-tls.yaml
log:
  level: "DEBUG"
providers:
  file:
    filename: "/etc/traefik/traefik.yaml"
entrypoints:
  web:
    address: ":443"
http:
  routers:
    router:
      entryPoints:
        - "web"
      service: "zitadel"
      rule: 'PathPrefix(`/`)'
      tls: {}
  services:
    zitadel:
      loadBalancer:
        servers:
          - url: "h2c://zitadel-external-tls:8080"
tls:
  stores:
    default:
      defaultCertificate:
        certFile: /etc/certs/selfsigned.crt
        keyFile: /etc/certs/selfsigned.key
# Download the configuration files.
export ZITADEL_CONFIG_FILES=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zitadel/zitadel/main/docs/docs/self-hosting/manage/reverseproxy
wget ${ZITADEL_CONFIG_FILES}/docker-compose.yaml -O docker-compose-base.yaml
wget ${ZITADEL_CONFIG_FILES}/traefik/docker-compose.yaml -O docker-compose-traefik.yaml
wget ${ZITADEL_CONFIG_FILES}/traefik/traefik-external-tls.yaml -O traefik-external-tls.yaml

# Generate a self signed certificate and key.
openssl req -x509 -batch -subj "/CN=127.0.0.1.sslip.io/O=ZITADEL Demo" -nodes -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout ./selfsigned.key -out ./selfsigned.crt

# Run the database, ZITADEL and Traefik.
docker compose --file docker-compose-base.yaml --file docker-compose-traefik.yaml up --detach proxy-external-tls

# Test that gRPC and HTTP APIs work. Empty brackets like {} means success.
sleep 3
grpcurl --insecure 127.0.0.1.sslip.io:443 zitadel.admin.v1.AdminService/Healthz
curl --insecure https://127.0.0.1.sslip.io:443/admin/v1/healthz
When the docker compose command exits successfully, go to https://127.0.0.1.sslip.io/ui/console/?login_hint=zitadel-admin@zitadel.127.0.0.1.sslip.io and log in:
  • username: zitadel-admin@zitadel.127.0.0.1.sslip.io
  • password: Password1!

If the console loads normally, you know that the HTTP and gRPC-Web and gRPC APIs are working correctly.

# You can now stop the database, ZITADEL and Traefik.
docker compose --file docker-compose-base.yaml --file docker-compose-traefik.yaml down

TLS mode enabled​

Traefik terminates TLS and forwards the requests to ZITADEL via encrypted HTTP/2. This example uses an unsafe self-signed certificate for Traefik and the same for ZITADEL.By executing the commands below, you will download the files necessary to run ZITADEL behind Traefik with the following config:
traefik-enabled-tls.yaml
log:
  level: "DEBUG"
providers:
  file:
    filename: "/etc/traefik/traefik.yaml"
entrypoints:
  web:
    address: ":443"
http:
  routers:
    router:
      entryPoints:
        - "web"
      service: "zitadel"
      rule: 'PathPrefix(`/`)'
      tls: {}
  services:
    zitadel:
      loadBalancer:
        serversTransport: "zitadel"
        servers:
          - url: "https://zitadel-enabled-tls:8080"
  serversTransports:
    zitadel:
      insecureSkipVerify: true
tls:
  stores:
    default:
      defaultCertificate:
        certFile: /etc/certs/selfsigned.crt
        keyFile: /etc/certs/selfsigned.key
# Download the configuration files.
export ZITADEL_CONFIG_FILES=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zitadel/zitadel/main/docs/docs/self-hosting/manage/reverseproxy
wget ${ZITADEL_CONFIG_FILES}/docker-compose.yaml -O docker-compose-base.yaml
wget ${ZITADEL_CONFIG_FILES}/traefik/docker-compose.yaml -O docker-compose-traefik.yaml
wget ${ZITADEL_CONFIG_FILES}/traefik/traefik-enabled-tls.yaml -O traefik-enabled-tls.yaml

# Generate a self signed certificate and key.
openssl req -x509 -batch -subj "/CN=127.0.0.1.sslip.io/O=ZITADEL Demo" -nodes -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout ./selfsigned.key -out ./selfsigned.crt

# Run the database, ZITADEL and Traefik.
docker compose --file docker-compose-base.yaml --file docker-compose-traefik.yaml up --detach proxy-enabled-tls

# Test that gRPC and HTTP APIs work. Empty brackets like {} means success.
sleep 3
grpcurl --insecure 127.0.0.1.sslip.io:443 zitadel.admin.v1.AdminService/Healthz
curl --insecure https://127.0.0.1.sslip.io:443/admin/v1/healthz
When the docker compose command exits successfully, go to https://127.0.0.1.sslip.io/ui/console/?login_hint=zitadel-admin@zitadel.127.0.0.1.sslip.io and log in:
  • username: zitadel-admin@zitadel.127.0.0.1.sslip.io
  • password: Password1!

If the console loads normally, you know that the HTTP and gRPC-Web and gRPC APIs are working correctly.

# You can now stop the database, ZITADEL and Traefik.
docker compose --file docker-compose-base.yaml --file docker-compose-traefik.yaml down

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