MyBB Docker Image

A flexible Docker image for MyBB forum software that supports any version of MyBB.

Features

🐳 Easy deployment with Docker or Docker Compose
🔄 Support for any MyBB version (configurable)
💾 Persistent data storage with Docker volumes
🔒 Secure default configuration
🚀 Optimized PHP configuration for MyBB
⬆️ Safe upgrade mode preserving configs, uploads, themes, and plugins
❤️ Health checks for container orchestration
📂 Optional SFTP server for file management (themes, plugins, updates)
📦 Optional phpMyAdmin for database management

Quick Start

Using Docker Compose (Recommended)

There's an example Docker compose file in this repo, which pulls this image.

Using Docker CLI

Build the image:
```
docker build -t mybb .
```
Create a network:
```
docker network create mybb-network
```

Start MariaDB:

docker run -d \
  --name mybb-db \
  --network mybb-network \
  -e MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=root_password \
  -e MYSQL_DATABASE=mybb \
  -e MYSQL_USER=mybb \
  -e MYSQL_PASSWORD=mybb_password \
  -v mybb_db_data:/var/lib/mysql \
  mariadb:10.11

Start MyBB:

docker run -d \
  --name mybb-forum \
  --network mybb-network \
  -p 8080:80 \
  -e MYBB_VERSION=1839 \
  -e DB_HOST=mybb-db \
  -e DB_USER=mybb \
  -e DB_PASSWORD=mybb_password \
  -e DB_NAME=mybb \
  -v mybb_data:/var/www/html \
  mybb

Access MyBB at http://localhost:8080

(Optional) Start SFTP server:

docker run -d \
  --name mybb-sftp \
  --network mybb-network \
  -p 2222:22 \
  -v mybb_data:/home/mybb/mybb \
  atmoz/sftp \
  mybb:your_password:33:33:mybb

Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
`MYBB_VERSION`	MyBB version number (e.g., 1839)	`1839`
`MYBB_PORT`	Web server port	`8080`
`DB_HOST`	Database hostname	-
`DB_PORT`	Database port	`3306`
`DB_USER`	Database username	`root`
`DB_PASSWORD`	Database password	-
`DB_NAME`	Database name	`mybb`
`FORCE_REINSTALL`	Force reinstall MyBB	`false`
`SFTP_PORT`	SFTP server port	`2222`
`SFTP_USER`	SFTP username	`mybb`
`SFTP_PASSWORD`	SFTP password	`mybb_sftp_pass`
`PMA_PORT`	phpMyAdmin port	`8081`
`TZ`	Timezone	`UTC`
`UPGRADE_MODE`	Enable safe upgrade mode	`false`
`PRESERVE_PLUGINS`	Keep plugins during upgrade	`true`
`PRESERVE_THEMES`	Keep themes during upgrade	`true`

MyBB Versions

You can use any MyBB version by setting MYBB_VERSION in your .env file. The version is downloaded at container startup.

Find all available versions at: https://github.com/mybb/mybb/releases

Volumes

The following volumes are created for data persistence:

Volume	Path	Description
`mybb_data`	`/var/www/html`	Complete MyBB installation (shared with SFTP)
`mybb_db_data`	`/var/lib/mysql`	Database files
`mybb_sftp_keys`	`/etc/ssh/keys`	SFTP server host keys (persistent identity)

Using SFTP

SFTP allows you to manage MyBB files directly - upload themes, install plugins, edit templates, or perform manual updates.

Enable SFTP

# Start with SFTP only
docker compose --profile sftp up -d

# Or start with all tools (SFTP + phpMyAdmin)
docker compose --profile tools up -d

Connect via SFTP

Use any SFTP client (FileZilla, WinSCP, Cyberduck, or command line):

# Command line
sftp -P 2222 mybb@localhost

# Connection details
Host: localhost (or your server IP)
Port: 2222 (or your SFTP_PORT)
Username: mybb (or your SFTP_USER)
Password: (your SFTP_PASSWORD from .env)

SFTP Directory Structure

After connecting, your files are located at:

/home/mybb/mybb/
├── admin/          # Admin control panel
├── cache/          # Cache files
├── images/         # Forum images
├── inc/            # Core includes & config
├── install/        # Installation files (delete after setup!)
├── jscripts/       # JavaScript files
├── uploads/        # User uploads (avatars, attachments)
└── index.php       # Main entry point

Common SFTP Tasks

Upload a theme:

put -r mytheme/* /home/mybb/mybb/images/mytheme/

Install a plugin:

put myplugin.php /home/mybb/mybb/inc/plugins/

Backup configuration:

get /home/mybb/mybb/inc/config.php ./config.php.backup

SFTP Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
`SFTP_PORT`	SFTP server port	`2222`
`SFTP_USER`	SFTP username	`mybb`
`SFTP_PASSWORD`	SFTP password	`mybb_sftp_pass`

Using phpMyAdmin

To enable phpMyAdmin for database management:

docker compose --profile tools up -d

Access phpMyAdmin at http://localhost:8081

MyBB Installation Wizard

After starting the containers, complete the MyBB setup:

Navigate to http://localhost:8080/install/
Follow the installation wizard
Database settings for Docker Compose:
- Database Engine: MySQL Improved
- Database Server Hostname: mybb-db
- Database Username: mybb (or your MYSQL_USER)
- Database Password: Your MYSQL_PASSWORD
- Database Name: mybb (or your MYSQL_DATABASE)
- Table Prefix: mybb_ (default)

After installation, delete the install folder:

docker exec mybb-forum rm -rf /var/www/html/install

Upgrading MyBB (Safe Upgrade Mode)

This image includes a safe upgrade mode that preserves your configuration, uploads, themes, and plugins while updating MyBB core files.

Quick Upgrade Steps

Edit .env - Set the new version and enable upgrade mode:
```
MYBB_VERSION=1839
UPGRADE_MODE=true
```

Rebuild and restart:

docker compose down
docker compose build --no-cache
docker compose up -d

Complete the upgrade:
- Visit http://localhost:8080/install/upgrade.php
- Follow the upgrade wizard (this migrates your database)

Cleanup:

# Remove the install folder
docker exec mybb-forum rm -rf /var/www/html/install

# Remove the upgrade reminder file
docker exec mybb-forum rm -f /var/www/html/UPGRADE_IN_PROGRESS.txt

# Disable upgrade mode in .env
# UPGRADE_MODE=false (or remove the line)

What Gets Preserved

Item	Preserved	Notes
`inc/config.php`	✅ Always	Database configuration
`inc/settings.php`	✅ Always	Forum settings
`uploads/`	✅ Always	User avatars, attachments
`inc/plugins/`	✅ Default	Set `PRESERVE_PLUGINS=false` to reset
`images/`	✅ Default	Set `PRESERVE_THEMES=false` to reset
`inc/languages/`	✅ Always	Language customizations

What Gets Updated

All core PHP files
JavaScript files
Default images/icons
Install/upgrade scripts

Upgrade Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
`UPGRADE_MODE`	Enable safe upgrade mode	`false`
`PRESERVE_PLUGINS`	Keep existing plugins	`true`
`PRESERVE_THEMES`	Keep existing themes	`true`

Automatic Backups

Before upgrading, the script automatically backs up critical files to /var/www/html/admin/backups/:

pre_upgrade_TIMESTAMP_config.php
pre_upgrade_TIMESTAMP_settings.php
pre_upgrade_TIMESTAMP_plugins_list.txt
pre_upgrade_TIMESTAMP_themes_list.txt

Manual Backup (Recommended)

For extra safety, create a full backup before upgrading:

# Backup files
docker exec mybb-forum tar -czvf /tmp/mybb-backup.tar.gz /var/www/html
docker cp mybb-forum:/tmp/mybb-backup.tar.gz ./mybb-backup.tar.gz

# Backup database
docker exec mybb-database mysqldump -u mybb -p mybb > mybb-database-backup.sql

Alternative: Manual Upgrade via SFTP

If you prefer manual control, use SFTP:

Download new MyBB from mybb.com
Connect via SFTP (see SFTP section above)
Upload new files, but skip inc/config.php
Visit /install/upgrade.php
Delete the install folder

Troubleshooting

Container won't start

# Check logs
docker logs mybb-forum

# Check database logs
docker logs mybb-db

Permission issues

# Fix permissions manually
docker exec mybb-forum chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html
docker exec mybb-forum chmod -R 755 /var/www/html
docker exec mybb-forum chmod -R 777 /var/www/html/uploads /var/www/html/cache

Database connection issues

Ensure the database container is healthy: docker ps
Verify credentials in .env match the installation wizard inputs
Check if the network is properly configured

Force reinstall MyBB

docker run -d \
  --name mybb-forum \
  -e FORCE_REINSTALL=true \
  ...

Security Recommendations

Change default passwords in .env (database, SFTP)
Use HTTPS with a reverse proxy (nginx, Traefik, Caddy)
Remove install folder after setup
Regular backups of volumes
Keep MyBB updated with security patches
Restrict SFTP access - only expose port 2222 when needed, or use firewall rules
Use SSH keys for SFTP instead of passwords (mount keys to /home/user/.ssh/keys/)

License

This Docker configuration is provided as-is. MyBB itself is licensed under the LGPL v3.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please submit issues and pull requests.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 11 Commits
.github/workflows		.github/workflows
.dockerignore		.dockerignore
.gitignore		.gitignore
Dockerfile		Dockerfile
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
docker-compose.ghcr.yml		docker-compose.ghcr.yml
docker-compose.yml		docker-compose.yml
docker-entrypoint.sh		docker-entrypoint.sh
env.example		env.example

License

visualcookie/mybb

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MyBB Docker Image

Features

Quick Start

Using Docker Compose (Recommended)

Using Docker CLI

Configuration

Environment Variables

MyBB Versions

Volumes

Using SFTP

Enable SFTP

Connect via SFTP

SFTP Directory Structure

Common SFTP Tasks

SFTP Environment Variables

Using phpMyAdmin

MyBB Installation Wizard

Upgrading MyBB (Safe Upgrade Mode)

Quick Upgrade Steps

What Gets Preserved

What Gets Updated

Upgrade Environment Variables

Automatic Backups

Manual Backup (Recommended)

Alternative: Manual Upgrade via SFTP

Troubleshooting

Container won't start

Permission issues

Database connection issues

Force reinstall MyBB

Security Recommendations

License

Contributing

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