docs-v2/content/influxdb3/explorer/install.md

title	description	menu	weight
Install and run InfluxDB 3 Explorer	Use [Docker](https://docker.com) to install and run **InfluxDB 3 Explorer**.	influxdb3_explorer name Install Explorer	2

Use Docker to install and run InfluxDB 3 Explorer.

• Run the InfluxDB 3 Explorer Docker container
• Enable TLS/SSL (HTTPS)
• Pre-configure InfluxDB connection settings
• Run in query or admin mode
  • Run in query mode
  • Run in admin mode
• Environment Variables
• Volume Reference
• Exposed Ports
  • Custom port mapping

Run the InfluxDB 3 Explorer Docker container

1. Install Docker

   If you haven't already, install Docker or Docker Desktop.

2. Pull the {{% product-name %}} Docker image

   docker pull quay.io/influxdb/influxdb3-explorer:latest
   

3. Create local directories (optional)

   {{% product-name %}} can mount the following directories on your local machine:

   Directory	Description	Permissions
   ./db	Stores {{% product-name %}} application data	700
   ./config	Stores pre-configured InfluxDB connection settings	755
   ./ssl	Stores TLS/SSL certificates (Required when using TLS/SSL)	755

   [!Important] If you don't create and mount a local ./db directory, {{% product-name %}} stores application data in the container's file system. This data will be lost when the container is deleted.

   To create these directories with the appropriate permissions, run the following commands from your current working directory:

   mkdir -m 700 ./db
   mkdir -m 755 ./config
   mkdir -m 755 ./ssl
   

4. Run the {{% product-name %}} container

   Use the docker run command to start the {{% product-name %}} container. Include the following:

   • Port mappings:
     • 8888 to 80 (or 443 if using TLS/SSL)
     • 8889 to 8888
   • Mounted volumes:
     • $(pwd)/db:/db:rw
     • $(pwd)/config:/app-root/config:ro
     • $(pwd)/ssl:/etc/nginx/ssl:ro
   • Any of the available environment variables

   docker run --detach \
     --name influxdb3-explorer \
     --publish 8888:80 \
     --publish 8889:8888 \
     --volume $(pwd)/config:/app-root/config:ro \
     --volume $(pwd)/db:/db:rw \
     --volume $(pwd)/ssl:/etc/nginx/ssl:ro \
     quay.io/influxdb/influxdb3-explorer:latest \
     --mode=admin
   

5. Access the {{% product-name %}} user interface (UI) at http://localhost:8888.

---

Enable TLS/SSL (HTTPS)

To enable TLS/SSL, mount valid certificate and key files into the container:

1. Place your TLS/SSL certificate files your local ./ssl directory

   Required files:

   • Certificate: server.crt or fullchain.pem
   • Private key: server.key

2. When running your container, mount the SSL directory and map port 443 to port 8888

   Include the following options when running your Docker container:

   --volume $(pwd)/ssl:/etc/nginx/ssl:ro \
   --publish 8888:443
   

The nginx web server automatically uses certificate files when they are present in the mounted path.

---

Pre-configure InfluxDB connection settings

You can predefine InfluxDB connection settings using a config.json file.

{{% code-placeholders "INFLUXDB3_HOST|INFLUXDB_DATABASE_NAME|INFLUXDB3_AUTH_TOKEN|INFLUXDB3_SERVER_NAME" %}}

1. Create a config.json file in your local ./config directory

   {
     "DEFAULT_INFLUX_SERVER": "INFLUXDB3_HOST",
     "DEFAULT_INFLUX_DATABASE": "INFLUXDB_DATABASE_NAME",
     "DEFAULT_API_TOKEN": "INFLUXDB3_AUTH_TOKEN",
     "DEFAULT_SERVER_NAME": "INFLUXDB3_SERVER_NAME"
   }
   

   [!Important] If connecting to an InfluxDB 3 Core or Enterprise instance running on localhost (outside of the container), use the internal Docker network to in your InfluxDB 3 host value--for example:

   http://host.docker.internal:8181
   

2. Mount the configuration directory

   Include the following option when running your Docker container:

   --volume $(pwd)/config:/app-root/config:ro
   

{{% /code-placeholders %}}

These settings will be used as defaults when the container starts.

---

Run in query or admin mode

{{% product-name %}} has the following operational modes:

• Query mode (default): Read-only UI and query interface
• Admin mode: Full UI and API access for administrators

You can control the operational mode using the --mode= option in your docker run command (after the image name).

Run in query mode

docker run \
  ...
  --mode=query

Run in admin mode

docker run \
  ...
  --mode=admin

If --mode is not set, the container defaults to query mode.

---

Environment Variables

Use the following environment variables to customize {{% product-name %}} settings in your container.

Variable	Description	Default
DATABASE_URL	Path to SQLite DB inside container	/db/sqlite.db

---

Volume Reference

Container Path	Purpose	Host Example
/db	SQLite DB storage	./db
/app-root/config	JSON config for defaults	./config
/etc/nginx/ssl	SSL certs for HTTPS	./ssl

---

Exposed Ports

Port	Protocol	Purpose
80	HTTP	Web access (unencrypted)
443	HTTPS	Web access (encrypted)

Custom port mapping

# Map ports to custom host values
--publish 8888:80 --publish 8443:443