Docker

Every release publishes the image, so there is nothing to build. The package is public, so the pull needs no login.

Tip

The named volume below survives updates. Docker creates reaper-data for you and keeps it when the container is recreated or pulled fresh, so your policies, decisions and encryption key carry over with no setup.

Installation

Docker Compose

services:
  reaper:
    image: ghcr.io/scythe-labs/reaper:latest
    container_name: reaper
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8420:8420"
    volumes:
      - reaper-data:/data
    environment:
      REAPER_DESTRUCTIVE_ACTIONS_ENABLED: "false"
      REAPER_LOG_LEVEL: INFO
      # PUID: "1000"
      # PGID: "1000"
      # REAPER_TIMEZONE: "America/New_York"

volumes:
  reaper-data:

Then:

docker compose up -d          # serves on http://localhost:8420

Docker CLI

docker run -d \
  --name reaper \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  -p 8420:8420 \
  -v reaper-data:/data \
  -e REAPER_DESTRUCTIVE_ACTIONS_ENABLED=false \
  -e REAPER_LOG_LEVEL=INFO \
  ghcr.io/scythe-labs/reaper:latest

Reaper then serves on http://localhost:8420.

Tip

No healthcheck to write. The image declares its own against /api/health, so docker ps reports real health with no extra configuration. That endpoint is open to unauthenticated callers, so a checker needs no credentials.

The volume

One path, /data, holding Reaper's own database. Your media stays where it is.

A named volume works with no setup and persists across updates and recreation, which is why the examples above use one.

Bind-mount a host directory instead, with ./data:/data, when you want the files somewhere you can see and copy. That is what you want on a NAS, and it makes backing up the three files a plain file copy rather than a trip through docker volume. Reaper's own Settings, Backup works either way.

No chown needed either way: the container starts as root, takes ownership of the folder, then drops to an unprivileged user before it opens the database. Set PUID and PGID to choose that user. To skip the root phase entirely, pin user: "1000:1000" and create the folder owned by 1000 yourself.

Windows

Docker on Windows runs Linux containers inside a small VM, through Docker Desktop on the WSL 2 backend. Microsoft's WSL install guide covers turning WSL on.

Caution

Keep the named volume on Windows. The VM reaches Windows folders over a file share, and that share cannot lock files. A media mount can live with that; a database cannot, so a /data bind mount on a Windows folder will eventually corrupt Reaper's database, which shows up as slow behavior and then crashes. The same goes for any container holding a SQLite database, Sonarr and Radarr included. A named volume, like reaper-data in the examples above, lives inside the VM, where locking works. If you want the files visible in a normal folder, skip Docker and use the Windows app instead.

Common settings

Variable	Default	What it does
REAPER_DESTRUCTIVE_ACTIONS_ENABLED	false	Whether a brand new install comes up able to delete. Seeds the first run only.
REAPER_LOG_LEVEL	INFO	Set DEBUG when you are chasing something.
REAPER_LOG_JSON	false	One JSON object per line, for a log collector.
PUID / PGID	1000	Which user the app runs as. Unraid wants 99 / 100.
REAPER_TIMEZONE	host's zone	First-run default only. Settings, General owns it afterwards.
REAPER_PORT	8420	The port inside the container. Moving it moves the healthcheck too.
REAPER_SECRET_KEY	generated	See the encryption key.

Publishing Reaper on a different host port needs no variable. Change the left side of 8420:8420 and leave the right alone.

The full list is in Configuration.

Which tag

Tag	Follows
:latest	the newest release. Use this.
:dev	the dev branch, refreshed on every change, for testing what is coming.

These two are the only tags to put in a compose file.

To run the dev channel, put ghcr.io/scythe-labs/reaper:dev in the compose file instead. Dev builds change often. Releases are the steadier channel.

Updating

Docker Compose

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Docker CLI

docker stop reaper
docker rm reaper
docker pull ghcr.io/scythe-labs/reaper:latest
# then run the same command you installed with

Migrations run on every start, before the app accepts a connection. A half-migrated schema must never serve traffic for a tool that deletes media.

Building from source

Uncomment build: in docker-compose.yml and run:

docker compose up -d --build

Next

First run, in order. The first account to sign in claims the install, so it matters who does it.