Docker setup

This page describes how to run Stardog via Docker.

The Stardog Docker image requires x86-64 (AMD64) architecture. ARM-based processors (including Apple Silicon and AWS Graviton) are not supported.

To run Stardog via Docker please use the following steps:

Install Docker.
Confirm that the docker daemon is running in the background.
```
 docker version
```
If you do not see the server listed, start the Docker daemon.
Pull the Stardog image from Docker Hub.
```
 docker pull stardog/stardog:latest
```
To verify the signature of the Stardog image, see Verifying the Image Signature.
Create a Stardog home directory and add your license.
```
 mkdir -p ~/stardog-home
 cp /path/to/stardog-license-key.bin ~/stardog-home/
```
The Stardog home directory (STARDOG_HOME) is where Stardog stores all databases, configuration, and files. You must provide a valid license file in this directory for the server to start.

If you don’t have a license, contact a Stardog sales representative. If you do not want to manage your own Stardog license, you can simply sign up for a free account with Stardog Cloud.

On Windows, use a Windows-style path (e.g., C:\stardog-home).

Start the Stardog server.

 docker run -v ~/stardog-home/:/var/opt/stardog -p 5820:5820 stardog/stardog

This command mounts your home directory to /var/opt/stardog in the container and maps port 5820 for access to the server.

If using SELinux, see the Docker docs for additional mount configuration.

Some Docker volume drivers do not respect Stardog’s lock file, which may cause data loss if two containers use the same home directory. See Administering Stardog 101 for details.

For more on data persistence, see Persisting Data. To load external JARs (e.g., JDBC drivers), see Loading External JARs.

If the server starts up successfully, you should see something like the following in your terminal:

 ************************************************************
 This copy of Stardog is licensed to Somebody Awesome (somebody.awesome@stardog.com), Stardog
 This is a Enterprise license
 This license will expire in 237 days on Thu Sep 17 14:05:09 GMT 2026
 ************************************************************

                                                             :;
                                     ;;                   `;`:
 `'+',    ::                        `++                    `;:`
 +###++,  ,#+                        `++                    .
 ##+.,',  '#+                         ++                     +
 ,##      ####++  ####+:   ##,++` .###+++   .####+    ####++++#
 `##+     ####+'  ##+#++   ###++``###'+++  `###'+++  ###`,++,:
 ####+    ##+        ++.  ##:   ###  `++  ###  `++` ##`  ++:
 ###++,  ##+        ++,  ##`   ##;  `++  ##:   ++; ##,  ++:
     ;+++  ##+    ####++,  ##`   ##:  `++  ##:   ++' ;##'#++
     ;++  ##+   ###  ++,  ##`   ##'  `++  ##;   ++:  ####+
 ,.   +++  ##+   ##:  ++,  ##`   ###  `++  ###  .++  '#;
 ,####++'  +##++ ###+#+++` ##`   :####+++  `####++'  ;####++`
 `####+;    ##++  ###+,++` ##`    ;###:++   `###+;   `###++++
                                                     ##   `++
                                                 .##   ;++
                                                     #####++`
                                                     `;;;.
 ************************************************************

 Stardog server 12.0.0 started on Fri Jan 23 02:01:32 GMT 2026.
   
 Stardog server is listening on all network interfaces.
 HTTP server available at http://localhost:5820.
 Default query executor is AUTO.
   
 STARDOG=/opt/stardog/bin/..
   
 STARDOG_EXT=/var/opt/stardog-ext
   
 STARDOG_HOME=/var/opt/stardog/

Additional Configuration

For details on configuring your Docker deployment, see the Docker chapter:

For general server administration, see Server Administration chapter.

What’s Next?

Get Started with Stardog Cloud, our complete Enterprise Knowledge Graph Platform, and connect to your running Stardog server.

Check out our additional Getting Started Resources for some introductory blog posts, tutorials, video trainings and more.

Additional Configuration
What’s Next?