PrestaShop in Docker. A store engine, pinned.

Architecture at a glance

• PrestaShop (Apache and PHP) serves plain HTTP on port 80. TLS is terminated upstream by a reverse proxy (Traefik on the RemarkableCloud App Platform). Set PS_DOMAIN to the public hostname so shop URLs match the request.
• MariaDB is a separate database container and holds products, orders, customers, and configuration.
• A data volume at /var/www/html holds the PrestaShop application, uploaded product images, and installed modules and themes.

Docker Compose walkthrough

The standalone stack (PrestaShop and MariaDB) is defined in the image’s docker-compose.yml:

name: prestashop
services:
  db:
    image: mariadb:11
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      MARIADB_DATABASE: prestashop
      MARIADB_USER: prestashop
      MARIADB_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD:-change-me-db}
      MARIADB_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${DB_ROOT_PASSWORD:-change-me-root}
    volumes: [db-data:/var/lib/mysql]
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "healthcheck.sh", "--connect", "--innodb_initialized"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 12
  prestashop:
    image: ${PRESTASHOP_IMAGE:-ghcr.io/remarkablecloud/prestashop:8.2.8-r1}
    restart: unless-stopped
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy
    ports: ["${HTTP_PORT:-8094}:80"]
    environment:
      DB_SERVER: db
      DB_PORT: "3306"
      DB_NAME: prestashop
      DB_USER: prestashop
      DB_PASSWD: ${DB_PASSWORD:-change-me-db}
      PS_DOMAIN: ${PS_DOMAIN:-localhost:8094}
      ADMIN_MAIL: ${ADMIN_MAIL:-admin@example.com}
    volumes:
      - ps-data:/var/www/html
volumes:
  db-data:
  ps-data:

Step by step:

1. The app waits for the database. depends_on with condition: service_healthy avoids a first-boot race against MariaDB.
2. Install is headless. DB_* and PS_DOMAIN let PrestaShop install on first start without the web wizard.
3. The admin password and folder are generated. Leave ADMIN_PASSWD empty and the image creates a strong password and a randomized admin folder on first run and logs both once.
4. Only the web port is exposed. ${HTTP_PORT:-8094}:80 is for local use; in production the proxy connects to port 80 on the internal network.
5. State lives in volumes. ps-data (/var/www/html) and db-data persist across restarts and upgrades.

To start it locally:

DB_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -hex 16) docker compose up -d

Then browse to http://localhost:8094 and read the admin login and admin URL path from docker compose logs prestashop. For production, set PS_DOMAIN to your public hostname and put the container behind a TLS-terminating reverse proxy.

Environment variable reference

These are wired automatically by the App Platform backend from the managed MariaDB; they are listed here for standalone and self-hosted runs.

Variable	Required	Value / default	Purpose
DB_SERVER	yes	<db_host>	MariaDB host.
DB_PORT	no	3306	MariaDB port.
DB_NAME	yes	<db_name>	Database name.
DB_USER	yes	<db_user>	Database user.
DB_PASSWD	yes	<db_password>	Database password.
PS_DOMAIN	yes	<hostname>	Public shop domain, used for URL generation.
ADMIN_MAIL	no	admin@example.com	Admin email created at install.
ADMIN_PASSWD	no	(generated)	Admin password. Leave empty to auto-generate on first run (printed once); set it to pin your own.

PS_INSTALL_AUTO=1 and PS_ENABLE_SSL=1 are baked into the image. Only the first run reads the install variables; afterwards changes happen inside PrestaShop.

Hardening notes

• No default credentials. Both the admin password and the admin-folder name are generated on first run, never left at the upstream defaults.
• Digest-pinned base. Each build is auditable and reproducible.
• Healthcheck gates traffic. /rc-health.txt must return success before the platform routes requests.
• Keep MariaDB private. Do not publish its port to the host or the internet.
• After first login, note the admin URL path from the log, set up payments and shipping, keep PrestaShop and its modules updated, and remove the demo products if not needed.

Backups

Capture the database and the data volume together:

1. The MariaDB database:

   docker compose exec db mariadb-dump -u root -p"$DB_ROOT_PASSWORD" prestashop > prestashop-db.sql

2. The data volume at /var/www/html (application, product images, modules, themes):

   docker run --rm -v prestashop_ps-data:/data -v "$PWD":/backup alpine \
     tar czf /backup/prestashop-data.tgz -C /data .

On the RemarkableCloud App Platform, database and volume backups follow the platform’s backup schedule.

Upgrades

• PrestaShop upgrades in-app. PrestaShop populates its whole application into the data volume on first run and manages core upgrades through its own 1-click upgrade module. Use that to move between PrestaShop versions.
• Image -r tags bump the base. A new image tag updates the base OS and PHP; it does not replace the PrestaShop application already in your volume. Back up first, then apply base updates by pulling the new tag and recreating the container.
• Read the changelog. Every build is listed in CHANGELOG.md with the base image digest and any behavior changes.