Documenos
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Installation

Documenos ®

Documenos® is compatible with both x86 and ARM architectures.

The processor in your server may be x86-based or ARM-based. Documenos® is compatible with both. You can download the appropriate installation files for either server architecture from this page: Download

There are two installation options: with Docker, all components start up with a single command, and this is the recommended method. The Windows IIS installation is preferred when you want to run the application on your existing Windows server infrastructure.

ARM / x86

Installation with Docker

A single package installs the application, the PostgreSQL database, the Digital Signature Service, the Elasticsearch search engine and the LibreTranslate translation service together.

  1. Prepare the prerequisites. Docker Engine (20.10+) and the Docker Compose plugin (2.0+) must be installed on your server. At least 8 GB RAM must be available for the application container, and the server needs internet access to download the container images. It runs on Linux, Windows and macOS.
  2. Download the package. Download the Docker Compose package (ZIP) from the Download page. The package consists of docker-compose.yml containing the service definitions, .env containing the configuration values and readme.md containing the installation notes. Copy the folder to your server as is.
  3. Set the passwords. Open the .env file and, before starting the containers, make sure to replace these two values with your own strong, unique values: DB_PASSWORD (the password of the PostgreSQL database user) and DEFAULT_PWD (the initial password assigned to newly created users; users should change it after their first login). Never use sample or default passwords in a production environment.
  4. Review the network and port settings. Check the *_BIND_IP and *_PORT values. By default, the database, signature, search and translation services bind only to 127.0.0.1 and cannot be reached from outside; the only externally exposed port is the application port (APP_PORT, default 8080). If the application is behind a load balancer or reverse proxy, set the CLIENT_IP_HEADER value (for example X-Forwarded-For).
  5. Start the services. In the folder containing the docker-compose.yml file, run the following command: docker compose up -d
  6. Wait for the first startup to complete. On first startup, the translation service downloads the language models specified by TRANSLATE_LOAD_ONLY; this takes 5–10 minutes on a normal connection and happens only once. You can monitor progress with the docker compose ps and docker compose logs -f documenos_translate commands. The service shows starting while downloading and healthy when ready. If your connection is slow, increase the TRANSLATE_START_PERIOD value.
  7. Open the application. Open http://your-server-address:8080 (or the APP_PORT value you set) in your browser, follow the first-run instructions to create the administrator account and register your licence.

Updating: Download the latest package, transfer your existing configuration values to the new .env file, and run docker compose pull followed by docker compose up -d. Your data is kept in named Docker volumes and is not affected by updates or restarts.

Installation on Windows IIS

Documenos® is an ASP.NET Core application; it runs on IIS through the ASP.NET Core Module.

  1. Prepare the prerequisites. Enable the IIS role on Windows Server and install the ASP.NET Core Hosting Bundle. The Hosting Bundle must be installed after IIS; otherwise the ASP.NET Core Module is not registered with IIS. After installation, restart IIS with the iisreset command.
  2. Prepare the database server. Install PostgreSQL (v15 or later) or provide access to an existing PostgreSQL server. Documenos® uses separate databases for the core (DOCUMENOS_CORE), reporting (DOCUMENOS_REPORT) and face recognition (DOCUMENOS_FACE).
  3. Prepare the auxiliary services. Elasticsearch is required for full-text search, the Digital Signature Service for electronic signatures, and LibreTranslate for automatic translation on your own server. Run these services on a separate server using the definitions in the Docker package and note the addresses at which the application can reach them.
  4. Download the ZIP package. Download the package by entering your download key in the ZIP File for Windows IIS section of the Download page.
  5. Extract the files to the server. Extract the ZIP contents into the folder you have set aside for the website, for example C:\inetpub\documenos.
  6. Configure the connection settings. In the appsettings.json file in the application folder, enter your PostgreSQL connection details (CnStrServer, CnStr, CnStrBI, CnStrFA) in the ConnectionStrings section. Also define the addresses of the signature and translation services (SignatureServiceUrl, TranslateServiceUrl) in the same file. The connection to the Elasticsearch search server is configured from the administration panel after installation.
  7. Create an application pool. In IIS Manager, add a new application pool and set the .NET CLR version to No Managed Code.
  8. Add the website. In IIS Manager, create a new site via Sites → Add Website; select the folder where you extracted the files as the physical path and the pool you just created as the application pool. Define the bindings (port, host name) and, in production, assign an SSL certificate for HTTPS.
  9. Grant folder permissions. Grant read and write permission on the application folder to the IIS AppPool\<pool name> identity. The application writes logs, temporary files and data protection keys under this identity.
  10. Start and open the site. Start the site and open the address you configured in your browser. The database schema is applied automatically when the application starts. Follow the first-run instructions to create the administrator account and register your licence.

Updating: The version upgrade steps for an IIS installation are described on the Maintenance and Updates page. For information about licence registration and the free version, see the Licensing page.