How do I install ProVide Server on Linux using Docker?

ProVide Server is available for Linux through Docker, making it possible to deploy a production-ready secure file transfer server in minutes — on any Linux host, from a Raspberry Pi to a cloud VM.

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Prerequisites #

Before you begin, make sure the following are in place:

• A Linux host (any distribution: Ubuntu, Debian, Rocky Linux, Alpine, etc.)
• Docker and Docker Compose installed on the host
• Root or sudo access on the host
• Network access to download.provideserver.com for the initial binary download

Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4): Docker Desktop handles x86 emulation automatically. The setup script detects ARM architecture and configures QEMU/binfmt if needed.

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Step 1: Extract the Archive #

Download the ProVide Docker archive (ProVide-Server-64bit-Docker.tar.gz) from provideserver.com and extract it into a dedicated folder:

bash

mkdir provide && cd provide
tar -xzf ../ProVide-Server-64bit-Docker.tar.gz

The archive contains three files:

File	Purpose
docker-compose.yml	Defines ports, volumes, health checks, and restart policy
Dockerfile	Builds the container image
provide-setup.sh	Interactive setup script that handles the full installation

Note: The ProVide Server binary is not included in the archive. It is downloaded automatically by the setup script, ensuring you always get the latest stable version.

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Step 2: Run the Setup Script #

Run the interactive setup script:

bash

./provide-setup.sh

The script automatically:

• Downloads the latest ProVide Server binary from download.provideserver.com
• Generates a self-signed TLS certificate (localhost.pfx) for HTTPS
• Prompts you to set an Admin password and creates the admin account
• Creates a locked-down internal service account for graceful shutdown
• Builds the Docker image and starts the container

The entire process takes just a few minutes.

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Step 3: Access the Web Administration Interface #

Once the container is running, open the ProVide web administration interface in your browser:

https://your-server-ip:8443

Log in with the Admin account and the password you set during setup. All configuration — users, groups, virtual folders, protocols, events — is done through this interface, exactly as on Windows.

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Step 4: Configure Ports and Storage #

The docker-compose.yml comes pre-configured with the most common ports:

Port	Protocol	Status
8443	HTTPS (web administration)	Enabled by default
22	SFTP / SSH	Enabled by default
443	HTTPS (file transfer)	Enabled by default
21	FTP (unencrypted)	Commented out — use FTPS
990	FTPS (implicit TLS)	Available
2222	SFTP (alternate, if port 22 is taken)	Available

To mount storage from the host into the container, add volume entries to docker-compose.yml:

yaml

volumes:
  - ./data/provide:/var/provide
  - /mnt/storage:/mnt/storage          # Host storage
  - /mnt/shared:/mnt/shared:ro         # Read-only mount

These paths can then be used as home directories or virtual folders in ProVide’s user configuration.

Important: If port 22 on the host is already in use by the host’s own SSH daemon, use port 2222 for ProVide’s SFTP service instead.