Compose Files¶

One base file plus one overlay per thing you actually run. Nothing starts that you didn't ask for, and a credential you don't use is not in the daemon's environment at all.

Pick your files¶

Take docker-compose.yml, then add one per box you tick:

Adapter overlays¶

File	When
`compose/docker-compose.telegram.yml`	`[telegram]` is in `adapters.toml`
`compose/docker-compose.matrix.yml`	`[matrix]` is in `adapters.toml`
`compose/docker-compose.irc.yml`	`[irc]` is in `adapters.toml`
`compose/docker-compose.xmpp.yml`	`[xmpp]` is in `adapters.toml`
`compose/docker-compose.mastodon.yml`	`[mastodon]` is in `adapters.toml`
`compose/docker-compose.email.yml`	`[email]` is in `adapters.toml`
`compose/docker-compose.signal.yml`	`[signal]` is in `adapters.toml`
`compose/docker-compose.mattermost.yml`	`[mattermost]` is in `adapters.toml`
`compose/docker-compose.discord.yml`	`[discord]` is in `adapters.toml`

Provider overlays¶

File	When
`compose/docker-compose.docker-socket.yml`	Any party line is in `policy.toml`. Grants the Docker socket, once.
`compose/docker-compose.tor.yml`	`[provider.tor]` is in `policy.toml`
`compose/docker-compose.i2p.yml`	`[provider.i2p]` is in `policy.toml`
`compose/docker-compose.rns.yml`	`[provider.rns]` is in `policy.toml`
`compose/docker-compose.apprise.yml`	You want `apprise:` endpoints to work

No overlay for [provider.web]: it needs no container and no privilege, so the base file already covers it.

compose/docker-compose.docker-socket.yml is loaded once no matter how many party lines are on. Each party line overlay sets the transport directory for its own provider hooks.

Why `transports/`, not `party-lines/`¶

The provider hooks run relay-mode containers by doing cd <dir> && docker compose up. The directory they cd into needs a compose file that works on a headless server with no git checkout.

The upstream compose files under party-lines/ cannot do this:

They use build: . (requires a full git checkout)
They mount /dev/snd and PulseAudio (fails on headless servers)
Their image: tags are local-only (can't pull from a registry)

transports/{tor,i2p,reticulum}-party-line/ each contain a single relay-only docker-compose.yml that pulls the published image from Docker Hub. No checkout, no audio, no build context. Each sets command: ["relay"] so the upstream entrypoint enters relay mode directly. Without this, docker compose up -d hangs: partyline.sh blocks on a confirmation prompt because stdin_open keeps stdin as an open pipe with no writer. Runtime state (data/, secrets/) lands in these directories too (gitignored), which is why they live outside compose/.

Using a git checkout instead¶

For upstream development or offline use, point at a checkout:

# In .env:
TOR_PARTYLINE_DIR=${PWD}/party-lines/tor-party-line
I2P_PARTYLINE_DIR=${PWD}/party-lines/i2p-party-line
RETICULUM_PARTYLINE_DIR=${PWD}/party-lines/reticulum-party-line

The hooks, override files, and plp-runtime all work identically in both modes. The only difference is which compose file Docker reads.

Recipes¶

Put the list in .env once. Every docker compose command then works with no -f flags:

Telegram only, web rooms:

echo 'COMPOSE_FILE=docker-compose.yml:compose/docker-compose.telegram.yml' >> .env
docker compose up -d

Telegram and Signal, web rooms:

echo 'COMPOSE_FILE=docker-compose.yml:compose/docker-compose.telegram.yml:compose/docker-compose.signal.yml' >> .env
docker compose up -d

IRC only, web rooms:

echo 'COMPOSE_FILE=docker-compose.yml:compose/docker-compose.irc.yml' >> .env
docker compose up -d

Telegram and Matrix, Tor party line:

echo 'COMPOSE_FILE=docker-compose.yml:compose/docker-compose.telegram.yml:compose/docker-compose.matrix.yml:compose/docker-compose.docker-socket.yml:compose/docker-compose.tor.yml' >> .env
docker compose up -d

Telegram, I2P party line only:

echo 'COMPOSE_FILE=docker-compose.yml:compose/docker-compose.telegram.yml:compose/docker-compose.docker-socket.yml:compose/docker-compose.i2p.yml' >> .env
docker compose up -d

Telegram, all three party lines:

echo 'COMPOSE_FILE=docker-compose.yml:compose/docker-compose.telegram.yml:compose/docker-compose.docker-socket.yml:compose/docker-compose.tor.yml:compose/docker-compose.i2p.yml:compose/docker-compose.rns.yml' >> .env
docker compose up -d

Everything:

echo 'COMPOSE_FILE=docker-compose.yml:compose/docker-compose.telegram.yml:compose/docker-compose.matrix.yml:compose/docker-compose.irc.yml:compose/docker-compose.xmpp.yml:compose/docker-compose.mastodon.yml:compose/docker-compose.email.yml:compose/docker-compose.signal.yml:compose/docker-compose.mattermost.yml:compose/docker-compose.discord.yml:compose/docker-compose.docker-socket.yml:compose/docker-compose.tor.yml:compose/docker-compose.i2p.yml:compose/docker-compose.rns.yml:compose/docker-compose.apprise.yml' >> .env
docker compose up -d

Naming files with -f overrides whatever COMPOSE_FILE says:

docker compose -f docker-compose.yml \
  -f compose/docker-compose.irc.yml up -d

./partylinepager.sh needs none of this. It derives the list from policy.toml and adapters.toml, passes it on every command, and rewrites COMPOSE_FILE whenever you switch an adapter on or off.

After you change the list¶

Restart to apply. Adding an overlay changes the daemon's environment, which only takes effect on a recreate:

docker compose up -d --remove-orphans

--remove-orphans is required when removing a file

Compose only manages what is in the files you gave it. Dropping compose/docker-compose.signal.yml does not stop signal-cli-rest-api. It keeps running until something tells it to stop.

Web rooms only, no Docker socket¶

[provider.web] on its own needs no party line checkout and no Docker socket. That is a meaningfully smaller attack surface.

If you're not using any party line, delete [provider.tor], [provider.i2p] and [provider.rns] from policy.toml and leave compose/docker-compose.docker-socket.yml and every compose/docker-compose.<provider>.yml out of your list.

Confirm:

docker compose config | grep -c docker.sock
# 0 is what you want

Apprise is optional¶

Without compose/docker-compose.apprise.yml, the daemon still starts and every native adapter works. Only apprise: endpoints (admin-added) fail their delivery and say so.

partylinepager.sh includes it unconditionally: an admin can add one at any moment, and a sidecar that is not running turns that into a failure nobody was expecting.