Docker Deployment Troubleshooting

This page covers common Docker / Docker Compose deployment issues.

Cannot Open the Page

First check whether the container is running:

docker ps

If the leelaa-reader container is not listed, check logs:

docker logs leelaa-reader

If the container is running, verify the port mapping. For example:

ports:
  - "18868:8686"

The access URL should be:

http://SERVER_IP:18868

The left side is the host port users access. The right side is the container port and usually stays 8686.

If your server has a firewall, security group, or NAS reverse proxy, allow the corresponding host port as well.

Data Is Lost After Removing the Container

This usually means /data was not mounted, or it was mounted to a temporary directory.

Make sure docker-compose.yml contains:

volumes:
  - ./data:/data

The container path /data stores critical data:

• SQLite database leelaa.db
• initial admin password file password.txt
• cover cache
• runtime files

Before removing or upgrading the container, make sure the host-side data directory still exists and is backed up.

Where Is the Initial Admin Password?

If DEFAULT_ADMIN_PASSWORD is not set, the system generates a random password on first boot with an empty database and writes it to /data/password.txt.

Check it with:

docker exec leelaa-reader cat /data/password.txt

You can also check logs:

docker logs leelaa-reader

If your container name is not leelaa-reader, replace it with the actual name.

Why Did Changing DEFAULT_ADMIN_PASSWORD Not Work?

DEFAULT_ADMIN_PASSWORD only takes effect when the database is empty and the initial admin user is created.

If users already exist, changing the environment variable does not reset the password. Sign in and change the password from user settings instead.

What Path Should I Use for a Local Library?

In Docker deployments, Leelaa Reader sees container paths, not host paths.

For example:

volumes:
  - ./data:/data
  - /volume1/audiobooks:/books:ro

In Leelaa Reader, the local library path should be:

/books

Do not enter the host path /volume1/audiobooks.

:ro means read-only mount and is recommended for audiobook folders.

What Does exec format error Mean?

exec format error usually means the image architecture does not match the device architecture.

Check Docker server architecture:

docker version --format '{{.Server.Arch}}'

For x86_64 / amd64 devices:

platform: linux/amd64

For ARM64 / aarch64 devices:

platform: linux/arm64

Normally Docker selects the correct image automatically. Only set platform when Docker pulls the wrong architecture or logs show architecture errors.