Run in a container#

Pre-built containers with smartem-decisions and its dependencies already installed are available on Github Container Registry.

Starting the container#

To pull the container from github container registry and run:

# Check version
$ docker run ghcr.io/DiamondLightSource/smartem-decisions:latest --version

To get a released version, use a numbered release instead of latest.

Running services#

The container can run in different modes controlled by the ROLE environment variable:

HTTP API Service#

# Run API with default ERROR logging
$ docker run -p 8000:8000 -e ROLE=api ghcr.io/DiamondLightSource/smartem-decisions:latest

# Run API with INFO logging (equivalent to -v flag)
$ docker run -p 8000:8000 -e ROLE=api -e SMARTEM_LOG_LEVEL=INFO ghcr.io/DiamondLightSource/smartem-decisions:latest

# Run API with DEBUG logging (equivalent to -vv flag)
$ docker run -p 8000:8000 -e ROLE=api -e SMARTEM_LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG ghcr.io/DiamondLightSource/smartem-decisions:latest

# Custom port
$ docker run -p 9000:9000 -e ROLE=api -e HTTP_API_PORT=9000 ghcr.io/DiamondLightSource/smartem-decisions:latest

Message Queue Worker#

# Run worker with default ERROR logging
$ docker run -e ROLE=worker ghcr.io/DiamondLightSource/smartem-decisions:latest

# Run worker with INFO logging
$ docker run -e ROLE=worker -e SMARTEM_LOG_LEVEL=INFO ghcr.io/DiamondLightSource/smartem-decisions:latest

# Run worker with DEBUG logging
$ docker run -e ROLE=worker -e SMARTEM_LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG ghcr.io/DiamondLightSource/smartem-decisions:latest

Environment Variables#

Variable

Default

Description

ROLE

api

Service role: api or worker

HTTP_API_PORT

8000

Port for HTTP API service

SMARTEM_LOG_LEVEL

ERROR

Log level: ERROR, INFO, or DEBUG

Complete Development Stack#

For a complete development environment with database and message queue, see the Kubernetes deployment guide which provides a docker-compose-like experience.

Advanced Configuration#

Custom User/Group for Production Deployments#

The pre-built containers run as root by default, which is suitable for development and CI/CD. For production deployments at Diamond Light Source that require access to the /dls filesystem, you’ll need to build custom images with specific UID/GID.

See Container User Configuration for:

  • Building containers with custom user/group settings

  • Mounting the /dls filesystem for image serving

  • Security considerations and best practices

  • Troubleshooting permission issues