Install Tyk Self-Managed on Docker

Install the full Tyk Self-Managed stack (Gateway, Dashboard, Portal, Pump, Redis, and PostgreSQL) using Docker Compose.

Edition	Deployment Type
Enterprise	Self-Managed, Hybrid

Running on Podman, containerd, or another container runtime? See Container Runtimes.

From v5.5.0 onwards, Docker images are based on distroless. You cannot obtain a shell with docker run --rm -it tykio/tyk-gateway:v5.5.0 sh. Use dive or Docker Desktop to inspect images.

Prerequisites

• Docker Engine 24.0 or later
• Docker Compose v2.20 or later
• Tyk license keys — Dashboard license and Portal license (optional). Get a free trial at tyk.io/self-managed-trial.
• 4GB RAM or more available

Instructions

Step 1: Clone and configure

1. Clone the tyk-install repository and navigate to the Docker self-managed directory:

   git clone https://github.com/TykTechnologies/tyk-install
   cd tyk-install/docker/self-managed
   

2. Copy the example environment file and add your license keys:

   cp .env.example .env
   

3. Open .env and set your license keys:

   TYK_LICENSE_KEY=<your-dashboard-license>
   TYK_PORTAL_LICENSE=<your-portal-license>
   
   Ensure there are no spaces around the = sign. Spaces will cause the configuration to fail silently.

   # Correct
   TYK_LICENSE_KEY=eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6...
   
   # Wrong — will fail
   TYK_LICENSE_KEY = eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6...
   

Step 2: Start services

docker compose up -d

Wait for all health checks to pass (approximately 30–60 seconds), then verify all containers are running:

docker compose ps

Expected containers:

Container	Port	Status
tyk-dashboard	3000	Running
tyk-gateway	8080	Running
tyk-pump	N/A	Running
tyk-portal	3001	Running
tyk-redis	6379	Running
tyk-postgres	5432	Running

If any container is not running, check the logs:

docker compose logs -f

Step 3: Bootstrap the stack

Choose one of the following options to complete the initial setup.

Option A: Automated bootstrap (recommended)

Use the Bootstrap Utility from the repository to automatically create an organization, admin user, test API, policy, API key, and Portal configuration.

1. Navigate to the bootstrap utility directory and create an .env file with your license key:

   cd tyk-install/utils/bootstrap
   echo "TYK_LICENSE_KEY=<your-dashboard-license>" > .env
   

2. Run the bootstrap:

   docker compose --profile tools run --rm tyk-bootstrap
   

Credentials are printed to the terminal on completion.

Option B: Manual bootstrap

1. Open http://localhost:3000 in your browser.

2. Fill in the bootstrap form:

   • Organization Name
   • Admin Email
   • Admin Password
   Use a combination of alphanumeric characters with both upper and lower case letters for your password.

3. Click Bootstrap to save.

4. Log in to the Tyk Dashboard at http://localhost:3000 with the credentials you just created.

5. Bootstrap the Developer Portal by calling its API:

   curl "http://localhost:3001/portal-api/bootstrap" \
     -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
     -d '{
       "username": "[e-mail]",
       "password": "portalpass123",
       "first_name": "Portal",
       "last_name": "Admin"
     }'
   

   Save the api_token from the response — you will need it to configure the Portal provider.

Step 4: Verify the installation

Test that all components are responding:

# Gateway
curl http://localhost:8080/hello

# Dashboard
curl http://localhost:3000/hello

# Portal
curl http://localhost:3001/ready

Access URLs

Service	URL	Description
Dashboard	http://localhost:3000	Admin UI
Gateway	http://localhost:8080	API Gateway
Developer Portal	http://localhost:3001	Developer Portal
Redis	localhost:6379	Cache and session storage
PostgreSQL	localhost:5432	Analytics and config database

Configuration

The following environment files control each component’s settings:

File	Purpose
.env	License keys and component versions
confs/tyk.env	Gateway configuration
confs/tyk_analytics.env	Dashboard configuration
confs/pump.env	Pump configuration
confs/portal.env	Developer Portal configuration

For production deployments, review the Planning for Production guide and apply the recommendations noted in the config file comments.

Cleanup

Stop all services and remove volumes:

docker compose down -v

To also remove orphaned networks:

docker compose down -v --remove-orphans
docker network prune -f