Install with Docker Compose

This path is for a machine that already runs Docker, such as a NAS or home server. It starts the Élise core from the bundle published with each release.

What this path does not install

A plain docker compose up cannot install components on the host. The TV screen (Chromium, HDMI-CEC), the update agent with rollback, the Tailscale integration and the elise.local announcement are specific to the Raspberry Pi image and the Ubuntu script.

Requirements

• Docker Engine 23 or later, and Docker Compose v2.24.4 or later.
• Linux AMD64 or ARM64, 8 GB of memory recommended (4 GB minimum).
• Ports 8080 and 8555 free. Home Assistant uses the host network on port 8124.

No account is needed: the images are public on GitHub Container Registry.

Install

# Fetch the latest release
VERSION=$(basename "$(curl -fsSLI -o /dev/null -w '%{url_effective}' https://github.com/Elise-OS/EliseOS/releases/latest)")
mkdir -p ~/elise && cd ~/elise
curl -fsSLO https://github.com/Elise-OS/EliseOS/releases/download/$VERSION/elise-runtime-$VERSION.tar.gz
curl -fsSLO https://github.com/Elise-OS/EliseOS/releases/download/$VERSION/elise-runtime-$VERSION.tar.gz.sha256

# Verify, then extract the archive
sha256sum -c elise-runtime-$VERSION.tar.gz.sha256
tar -xzf elise-runtime-$VERSION.tar.gz

# Configure
cp .env.example .env
sed -i "s/^MICHEL_VERSION=.*/MICHEL_VERSION=$VERSION/" .env

# Optional: detect the Zigbee adapter
bash scripts/detect-zigbee-adapter.sh --write-env .env

# Start
docker compose -p elise -f compose.yaml -f compose.release.yaml up -d

Then open http://<server-address>:8080. On first start, the local assistant creates the administrator account.

Secrets (PostgreSQL, MQTT, sessions, camera encryption) are generated on first start in a private Docker volume. No secret is written to .env.

Check

docker compose -p elise -f compose.yaml -f compose.release.yaml ps
curl -fsS http://127.0.0.1:8080/api/v1/system/health

The health endpoint returns "status":"ok" and the installed version.

Update

Repeat the installation in the same folder with the new release: Docker volumes (database, secrets, models) are kept. Take a backup first.

Useful settings

In .env:

Variable	Role
MICHEL_HTTP_PORT	Caregiver space port (8080 by default)
MICHEL_LOCAL_URL	Local address announced to the mobile app
TZ	Time zone
ZIGBEE_ADAPTER_MODE	auto, or manual for a remote or unusual coordinator
MICHEL_BACKUP_RECIPIENT	Public age key for encrypted backups