# Quick start

> Run QueryProxy with Docker in about two minutes — one container starts the portal, the queue worker and the scheduler.

- Documentation: Getting started
- Updated: 2026-09-08
- Source: https://queryproxy.com/docs/quickstart/
- Language: en-US
- Author: Muhammet ŞAFAK

---
The fastest way to run QueryProxy is a single container. It needs no compose
file and no external services.

```bash
docker run -d --name queryproxy \
  -p 7432:7432 \
  -v queryproxy-data:/var/www/html/storage/app \
  -e QUERYPROXY_ADMIN_EMAIL=you@example.com \
  -e QUERYPROXY_ADMIN_PASSWORD='choose-a-strong-password' \
  queryproxy/queryproxy
```

Then open <http://localhost:7432> and log in with that address.

Three processes run inside that one container:

| Process | Role |
| :-- | :-- |
| Web portal | nginx + php-fpm, as a non-root user |
| Queue worker | Approved queries execute here |
| Scheduler | Housekeeping (result retention pruning, queue maintenance) |

The first boot generates an application key, runs the migrations and creates a
SQLite database. Everything that must survive a container replacement — that
database, the generated key and the result files — lives on the single
`/var/www/html/storage/app` volume.

Images are published for `linux/amd64` and `linux/arm64` on every release, to
both [Docker Hub](https://hub.docker.com/r/queryproxy/queryproxy)
(`queryproxy/queryproxy`) and the GitHub Container Registry
(`ghcr.io/queryproxy/queryproxy`), as `latest` and per-version tags.

> **For production, set `APP_KEY` explicitly and keep it stable.** It encrypts
> your stored connection credentials; if the volume is lost and the key
> regenerates, those credentials become unreadable. Generate one with
> `docker run --rm queryproxy/queryproxy php artisan key:generate --show`, pass
> it as `-e APP_KEY=...`, and rotate via `APP_PREVIOUS_KEYS`.

## Your first account

QueryProxy has no public registration, and a fresh instance has no accounts. The
`QUERYPROXY_ADMIN_EMAIL` / `QUERYPROXY_ADMIN_PASSWORD` variables above create the
first administrator on boot. They are ignored once the instance has any user, so
leaving them in place across restarts is harmless.

To create the account by hand instead — or to add another administrator later:

```bash
docker exec -it queryproxy php artisan queryproxy:create-admin
```

## Demo accounts

Demo seeding is **off by default**. To explore with sample data, set
`QUERYPROXY_SEED_DEMO=true`. That seeds a demo team with one account per role:

| Role | Email |
| :-- | :-- |
| Admin | `admin@example.com` |
| DBA | `dba@example.com` |
| Developer | `developer@example.com` |
| Auditor | `auditor@example.com` |

All four share **one randomly generated password, printed once** in the
container logs (`docker logs queryproxy`) — there is no fixed default password.
For safety the seeder **refuses to run while `APP_ENV=production`** unless you
also set `QUERYPROXY_SEED_DEMO_FORCE=true`.

Log in as each role to explore the product: the DBA creates connections and
approves requests, the developer submits queries, the auditor reads the trail.

## Prefer Compose?

The repository ships a `docker-compose.yml` with that same single service, plus
commented blocks for running the worker as its own container or pointing the
application database at MySQL/PostgreSQL:

```bash
git clone https://github.com/QueryProxy/QueryProxy.git
cd QueryProxy
docker compose up -d
```

## First real request, end to end

1. As **Admin**, create a team and add your users with roles
   (Admin → Teams).
2. As **DBA**, add a database connection (Connections → New Connection) and use
   **Test Connection** to verify it. Grant it to your developers.
3. As **Developer**, open **Query Studio**, pick the connection, write a query
   and submit it.
4. As **DBA**, approve it from **Approvals** — the worker executes it and the
   requester gets the masked result.

## Next steps

- Installing without Docker? See [Manual installation](/docs/manual-installation/).
- All environment variables: [Configuration](/docs/configuration/).
- Approvals in chat: [Slack integration](/docs/slack-integration/).