Open Notebook Configuration Guide

Docker Deployment

Open Notebook is deployed as a Docker Compose stack with two main services: the application server and SurrealDB.

Minimal docker-compose.yml

version: "3.8"

services:
  surrealdb:
    image: surrealdb/surrealdb:latest
    command: start --user root --pass root rocksdb://data/database.db
    volumes:
      - surrealdb_data:/data
    ports:
      - "8000:8000"

  open-notebook:
    image: ghcr.io/lfnovo/open-notebook:latest
    depends_on:
      - surrealdb
    environment:
      - OPEN_NOTEBOOK_ENCRYPTION_KEY=${OPEN_NOTEBOOK_ENCRYPTION_KEY}
      - SURREAL_URL=ws://surrealdb:8000/rpc
      - SURREAL_NAMESPACE=open_notebook
      - SURREAL_DATABASE=open_notebook
    ports:
      - "8502:8502"   # Frontend UI
      - "5055:5055"   # REST API
    volumes:
      - on_uploads:/app/uploads

volumes:
  surrealdb_data:
  on_uploads:

Starting the Stack

# Set the encryption key (required)

# Start services
docker-compose up -d

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f open-notebook

# Stop services
docker-compose down

# Stop and remove data
docker-compose down -v

Environment Variables

Required

Database

Application

AI Provider Keys (Legacy)

API keys can also be set via environment variables for legacy compatibility. The preferred method is using the credentials API or UI.

AI Provider Configuration

Via UI

1. Go to Settings > API Keys
2. Click Add Credential
3. Select provider, enter API key and optional base URL
4. Click Test Connection to verify
5. Click Discover Models to find available models
6. Select models to register

Via API

BASE_URL = "http://localhost:5055/api"

# 1. Create credential
cred = requests.post(f"{BASE_URL}/credentials", json={
    "provider": "anthropic",
    "name": "Anthropic Production",
    "api_key": "sk-ant-..."
}).json()

# 2. Test connection
test = requests.post(f"{BASE_URL}/credentials/{cred['id']}/test").json()
assert test["success"]

# 3. Discover and register models
discovered = requests.post(
    f"{BASE_URL}/credentials/{cred['id']}/discover"
).json()

requests.post(
    f"{BASE_URL}/credentials/{cred['id']}/register-models",
    json={"model_ids": [m["id"] for m in discovered["models"]]}
)

# 4. Auto-assign defaults
requests.post(f"{BASE_URL}/models/auto-assign")

Using Ollama (Free Local Inference)

For free AI inference without API costs, use Ollama:

# docker-compose-ollama.yml addition
services:
  ollama:
    image: ollama/ollama:latest
    volumes:
      - ollama_data:/root/.ollama
    ports:
      - "11434:11434"

Then configure Ollama as a provider with base URL http://ollama:11434.

Security Configuration

Password Protection

Set OPEN_NOTEBOOK_PASSWORD to require authentication:

Reverse Proxy (Nginx Example)

server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name notebook.example.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/ssl/certs/cert.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/ssl/private/key.pem;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:8502;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
        proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
    }

    location /api/ {
        proxy_pass http://localhost:5055/api/;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
    }
}

Backup and Restore

Backup SurrealDB Data

# Export database
docker exec surrealdb surreal export \\
  --conn ws://localhost:8000 \\
  --user root --pass root \\
  --ns open_notebook --db open_notebook \\
  /tmp/backup.surql

# Copy backup from container
docker cp surrealdb:/tmp/backup.surql ./backup.surql

Backup Uploaded Files

# Copy upload volume contents
docker cp open-notebook:/app/uploads ./uploads_backup/

Restore

# Import database backup
docker cp ./backup.surql surrealdb:/tmp/backup.surql
docker exec surrealdb surreal import \\
  --conn ws://localhost:8000 \\
  --user root --pass root \\
  --ns open_notebook --db open_notebook \\
  /tmp/backup.surql