Ente: Media Storage - Docker Compose | Web App Deployments

1. Overview

Ente is an end-to-end encrypted alternative to Google Photos. While YunoHost does not have a native Ente app, it can be hosted efficiently using Docker Compose.

Key Challenges Solved in this Guide:

Configuring SMTP for OTP-based login (Hostinger).
Resolving "Incorrect Code" errors due to server time drift.
Overcoming the default 10GB storage quota.
Managing MinIO (S3) bucket conflicts during reinstallations.

2. Preparation

Directory Setup

Create a dedicated directory for the project to ensure data persistence outside the containers.

mkdir -p /home/user/ente/data
cd /home/user/ente

Generating Security Keys

Ente requires three specific cryptographic keys. Run these commands using openssl and save the outputs. You will need them for the configuration file.

# 1. JWT Secret (for authentication)
openssl rand -base64 32

# 2. Key Encryption Key (for admin keys)
openssl rand -base64 32

# 3. Hash Key (for passwords)
openssl rand -base64 32

3. Configuration

A. The Server Config (`museum.yaml`)

Create museum.yaml. This file defines the database connection, storage backend, and email settings.

Critical Note: We use Port 465 (SSL) for Hostinger SMTP to ensure reliable email delivery.
Replace: The jwt and key sections with the strings you generated above.

http:
  port: 8080
  use_https: false # Nginx (YunoHost) handles SSL

db:
  host: postgres
  port: 5432
  name: ente_db
  user: pguser
  password: pgpass 
  sslmode: disable

# SMTP Settings (Hostinger Example)
smtp:
  host: "smtp.hostinger.com"
  port: 465
  username: "your@email.here"
  password: "YOUR_EMAIL_PASSWORD"
  encryption: "ssl"
  email: "your@email.here"
  sender_name: "Ente Photos"

# Internal MinIO (S3) configuration
s3:
  are_local_buckets: true
  b2-eu-cen:
    key: minioadmin
    secret: minioadmin
    endpoint: http://minio:9000
    region: eu-central-1
    bucket: ente-photos
  wasabi-eu-central-2-v3:
    key: minioadmin
    secret: minioadmin
    endpoint: http://minio:9000
    region: eu-central-1
    bucket: ente-videos

# Security Keys (Replace with your OpenSSL outputs)
jwt:
  secret: "REPLACE_WITH_YOUR_JWT_SECRET"
key:
  encryption: "REPLACE_WITH_YOUR_ENCRYPTION_KEY"
  hash: "REPLACE_WITH_YOUR_HASH_KEY"

internal:
  admins: []

B. The Docker Map (`compose.yaml`)

Create compose.yaml.

Critical Fix: We mount /etc/localtime and set TZ=Asia/Kuala_Lumpur. Without this, the server defaults to UTC or an incorrect timezone, causing OTP codes to fail immediately.

services:
  # The Ente Server (API)
  museum:
    image: ghcr.io/ente-io/server:latest
    container_name: ente_museum
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "54752:8080" # Mapped to specific host port
    volumes:
      - ./museum.yaml:/museum.yaml:ro
      - ./data/logs:/var/logs
      - ./data/museum-data:/var/lib/museum
      # SYNC HOST TIME TO CONTAINER
      - /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro
      - /etc/timezone:/etc/timezone:ro
    depends_on:
      postgres:
        condition: service_healthy
      minio:
        condition: service_started
    environment:
      - ENTE_DB_PASSWORD=pgpass
      - TZ=Asia/Kuala_Lumpur # Forces correct OTP generation time

  # Database
  postgres:
    image: postgres:16
    container_name: ente_postgres
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: pguser
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: pgpass
      POSTGRES_DB: ente_db
    volumes:
      - ./data/postgres:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U pguser -d ente_db"]
      interval: 5s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 5

  # Object Storage (MinIO)
  minio:
    image: minio/minio
    container_name: ente_minio
    restart: unless-stopped
    command: server /data --console-address ":9001"
    environment:
      MINIO_ROOT_USER: minioadmin
      MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD: minioadmin
    volumes:
      - ./data/minio:/data

  # Automatic Bucket Provisioner
  minio-provision:
    image: minio/mc
    depends_on:
      - minio
    entrypoint: >
      /bin/sh -c "
      until mc alias set local http://minio:9000 minioadmin minioadmin; do echo 'Waiting for MinIO...'; sleep 1; done;
      mc mb local/ente-photos;
      mc mb local/ente-videos;
      exit 0;
      "

4. Deployment & Network

Launch the stack:

bash docker compose up -d
YunoHost Configuration:
- Go to YunoHost Admin > Applications > Install Custom Webapp.
- Domain: ente.tcp-ip.my
- Path: /
- Destination: http://127.0.0.1:54752

5. The "Incorrect Code" Fix (Crucial)

If you receive an "Incorrect Code" error during signup, it is likely a time synchronisation issue.

Check Host Time: Ensure the physical server has NTP enabled and the correct timezone.
bash sudo timedatectl set-timezone Asia/Kuala_Lumpur sudo timedatectl set-ntp true
The "One Click" Rule: When signing up on the mobile app, tap "Send" once. Do not tap "Resend" immediately. Wait 2–3 minutes for the email. Clicking twice invalidates the first code.

6. Post-Install: Unlocking Storage Quota

By default, self-hosted users are limited to 10GB. To increase this (e.g., to 32GB + 10GB Base), you must modify the database.

Enter the Database Container:

bash docker exec -it ente_postgres psql -U pguser -d ente_db
Insert Storage Bonus:
Run this SQL command to add 32GB (in bytes) and set the expiration to the year 2100 (to fix the "1970" display bug).

sql INSERT INTO storage_bonus (bonus_id, user_id, storage, type, valid_till) VALUES ( 'manual-32gb', (SELECT user_id FROM users LIMIT 1), 34359738368, 'ADD_ON_SUPPORT', 4102444800000000 );

(Note: 34359738368 bytes = 32GB. 4102444800000000 microseconds = Year 2100).
Verify: Refresh the mobile app. You should see "42 GB Total".

7. Troubleshooting: The "Nuclear Wipe"

If you need to restart the installation (e.g., after changing keys or fixing a corrupted database), you must wipe both the database and the MinIO storage. If you only wipe the DB, the new installation will crash (Error 500) because the storage buckets already exist.

The Clean Reset Command:

docker compose down
sudo rm -rf ./data  # Deletes DB, MinIO, and Logs
docker compose up -d

Ente: Media Storage - Docker Compose