> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://praison.ai/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Docker Deployment

> Deploy agents with Docker

Deploy your agents using Docker containers.

```python theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
from praisonaiagents import Agent

agent = Agent(
    name="API Worker",
    instructions="Answer HTTP requests in a containerised deployment.",
)

agent.start("Health check: confirm the service is ready.")
```

The user builds a Docker image, runs the container, and reaches the agent through the exposed port.

```mermaid theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
graph LR
    subgraph "Docker Deployment"
        U[📋 Build] --> A[🐳 Container]
        A --> O[✅ Serving]
    end

    classDef input fill:#6366F1,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff
    classDef process fill:#189AB4,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff
    classDef output fill:#10B981,stroke:#7C90A0,color:#fff

    class U input
    class A process
    class O output
```

## Quick Start

<Steps>
  <Step title="Simple Usage">
    Define an agent that answers requests inside the container.

    ```python theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
    from praisonaiagents import Agent

    agent = Agent(name="Worker", instructions="Answer HTTP requests.")
    agent.start("Health check.")
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="With Configuration">
    Add a Dockerfile that installs the SDK and exposes the serving port.

    ```dockerfile theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
    FROM python:3.11-slim
    WORKDIR /app
    COPY . .
    RUN pip install "praisonaiagents>=0.1.0"
    EXPOSE 8000
    CMD ["python", "main.py"]
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

***

## How It Works

```mermaid theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
sequenceDiagram
    participant User
    participant Docker
    participant Agent

    User->>Docker: docker run -p 8000:8000 my-agent
    Docker->>Agent: agent.launch() on port 8000
    Agent-->>Docker: Ready to accept requests
    Docker-->>User: Container serving on :8000
```

***

## Dockerfile

```dockerfile theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
FROM python:3.11-slim

WORKDIR /app

COPY requirements.txt .
RUN pip install --no-cache-dir -r requirements.txt

COPY . .

EXPOSE 8000

CMD ["python", "main.py"]
```

## requirements.txt

```
praisonaiagents>=0.1.0
```

## main.py

```python theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
from praisonaiagents import Agent

agent = Agent(
    name="Production Agent",
    instructions="You are a helpful assistant."
)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    agent.launch(host="0.0.0.0", port=8000, path="/agent")
```

## Build and Run

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
# Build
docker build -t my-agent .

# Run
docker run -p 8000:8000 \
  -e OPENAI_API_KEY=$OPENAI_API_KEY \
  my-agent
```

## Docker Compose

```yaml theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
version: '3.8'

services:
  agent:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "8000:8000"
    environment:
      - OPENAI_API_KEY=${OPENAI_API_KEY}
      - DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres:postgres@db:5432/praisonai
    depends_on:
      - db

  db:
    image: postgres:15
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres
      - POSTGRES_DB=praisonai
    volumes:
      - postgres_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

volumes:
  postgres_data:
```

## Run with Compose

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"vitesse-light","dark":"vitesse-dark"}}
docker-compose up -d
```

## Best Practices

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Pass secrets as environment variables">
    Never bake API keys into the image. Set `OPENAI_API_KEY` at run time with `-e OPENAI_API_KEY=$OPENAI_API_KEY` so the same image runs across environments.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Pin the base image and SDK version">
    Use `python:3.11-slim` and a pinned `praisonaiagents>=0.1.0` in `requirements.txt` for reproducible builds that survive upstream releases.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Expose one port and bind to 0.0.0.0">
    `agent.launch(host="0.0.0.0", port=8000, path="/agent")` makes the agent reachable from outside the container. Map it with `-p 8000:8000`.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Use Compose for stateful stacks">
    When the agent needs a database, define both services in `docker-compose.yml` and connect via `DATABASE_URL` so persistence survives container restarts.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Deployment Overview" icon="book" href="/docs/guides/deployment/overview">
    All deployment options
  </Card>

  <Card title="Deploy Module" icon="rocket" href="/docs/sdk/praisonai/deploy">
    Deploy API reference
  </Card>
</CardGroup>