CremindDocker Mode
The recommended install — a sandboxed XFCE desktop the agent runs inside, with VNC observability and on-demand sibling services.
Docker mode is the recommended way to run Cremind. The agent runs inside a sandboxed XFCE desktop container, isolated from your host. You can watch exactly what the agent is doing over VNC in your browser, and the Setup Wizard activates Postgres, Qdrant, or ChromaDB as sibling containers only when you ask for them.
Why Docker mode is recommended
The agent is isolated from your host machine, and per-service deployment choices (which database, which vector store) are made later in the wizard rather than baked in at install time. If Docker is available, this is the mode to pick.
Requirements
Docker mode needs Docker Engine with Compose v2 on any OS. See Requirements for details.
Install
Run the one-liner for your platform. When it detects Docker, choose Docker mode (or skip the prompt with the mode flag — see Installer flags).
curl -fsSL https://cremind.io/install.sh | bashiwr -useb https://cremind.io/install.ps1 | iexWhat the installer does
In Docker mode the script runs through these steps:
- Detect Docker, then ask the deployment type (local / server / custom) and the host or advanced fields.
- Generate a random VNC password.
- Render
docker-compose.ymland an.envfile (VNC password, ports, app URL, CORS) into~/.cremind/docker/. The bundle starts with only thecremindcontainer running; the Setup Wizard later appends toCOMPOSE_PROFILESas you activate Docker-mode services. - Pull or build images according to the release channel (see below).
- Wait for
http://<host>:1112/healthto return200. - Open
http://<host>:1515/#/setupin your browser.
Per-channel image strategy
The installer chooses how to get the images based on the release channel it's installing from:
| Channel | Image strategy |
|---|---|
production / test | Resolve the latest version from PyPI / Test PyPI, then docker compose pull followed by docker compose up -d. No local build — a missing tag fails hard. |
dev | docker compose pull --ignore-pull-failures for sidecars, then docker compose up -d --build against the local checkout via docker-compose.override.yml. |
The four services
The compose bundle defines four services. Only cremind is started at install time — the others are activated by the Setup Wizard when you pick the matching option.
| Service | Image | Role | Activated by |
|---|---|---|---|
| cremind | cremind/cremind-desktop:<version> (prod/test) or built from Dockerfile.desktop (dev) | XFCE + TigerVNC + noVNC + Python 3.13 + the Cremind agent + the SPA static server. Always started. | Always running. |
| postgres | postgres:16 | Application database. | Wizard's Database step → Postgres + Docker. |
| qdrant | qdrant/qdrant:latest | Vector store. | Wizard's Embedding step → Qdrant + Docker. |
| chroma | chromadb/chroma:latest | Vector store. | Wizard's Embedding step → ChromaDB + Docker. |
For each sidecar you can instead pick Native (a local binary or in-process library) or External (point at a host and port you already operate) from the wizard. SQLite is always local-only and shows no radio.
The agent can drive Docker
The cremind container mounts /var/run/docker.sock so the in-container wizard can run docker compose up -d to bring up sibling services on demand. This is how picking "Postgres + Docker" in the wizard spins up the postgres container without you touching the host.
Watching the agent over VNC
Because the agent runs inside a full XFCE desktop, you can observe its browser automation and tool use live. Open the noVNC client in your browser:
http://<host>:6080/vnc.htmlUse the VNC password the installer generated (it's written into ~/.cremind/docker/.env).
Managing the install
Everything lives under ~/.cremind/docker/. Manage it with standard Compose commands:
cd ~/.cremind/docker
docker compose ps # status
docker compose logs -f cremind # follow the agent's logs
docker compose restart cremind # restart just the agent
docker compose down # stop everything
docker compose down -v # stop and delete all datadocker compose down -v deletes the named volumes (cremind-data, pg-data, qdrant-data) and therefore all your data. Use plain docker compose down to stop without losing anything.
Docker mode is supervised by the Docker daemon, so it survives logout and reboots according to your container restart policy — no separate service unit needed.
Re-running and reinstalling
Docker mode is idempotent: re-running the installer regenerates the compose bundle and upgrades in place while keeping your existing config and data. On a re-run without --reinstall / -Reinstall, the installer reuses the existing ~/.cremind/docker/.env. Service-deployment choices are persisted by the wizard, not the installer, so they survive re-runs too.
To wipe and start fresh, pass --reinstall (sh) or -Reinstall (ps1), which regenerates the compose bundle and .env.