Agents > Xedant MultiAgent > Docker Setup

Docker Setup

Don’t want to read all this?

Just drop a link to https://xedant.com/agents/multiagent/docker.md or to https://xedant.com/llms.txt into any AI chat (Claude, ChatGPT, etc.) and ask it to generate the config files and commands. It will read the docs, ask you a few questions about your setup, and hand you a ready-to-use configuration. Save time — let the model do the reading for you.

You can also reach me on Telegram — I’m always glad to help. And that’s not just politeness — I genuinely enjoy talking to like-minded people, especially if you love coding as much as I do.

Xedant MultiAgent is the central control panel for a fleet of AI workers. It runs as a single Docker container, and the servers it manages connect over SSH: MultiAgent installs Docker and everything else on them by itself. Nothing needs to be configured on those servers by hand. Each server’s apps are served from subfolders of one domain — for example, https://your-domain/agent1/, https://your-domain/research/ — thanks to an Nginx container (agents-nginx) on the server itself: no separate domains, certificates or web servers per app (see Nginx Routing).

Minimum Requirements

The MultiAgent container itself is light: by default it uses the built-in SQLite, and PostgreSQL can be attached optionally through an environment variable. Any Docker host with 1 GB of RAM is enough.

Each managed server needs:

  • Linux (Ubuntu/Debian) with SSH access;
  • root or sudo access — MultiAgent installs Docker and the dependencies itself;
  • password or private PEM key authentication.

Docker Compose

Create a compose.yml file and run docker compose up -d:

services:
  multiagent:
    image: xedant/multiagent:min-latest
    container_name: agents-multiagent
    ports:
      - "3990:80"
    volumes:
      - multiagent-data:/data
    environment:
      - ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Production
      - ASPNETCORE_URLS=http://+:80
      - MULTIAGENT_DATA=/data
      # optional: own agent (Own Agent) and the machine API
      # - AGENT_API_URL=https://agents.example.com/my-agent
      # - AGENT_API_KEY=your-agent-key
      # - MULTIAGENT_API_KEY=<sha256 hex of the same key>
      # optional: analytics archive in ClickHouse
      # - MULTIAGENT_CLICKHOUSE_URL=http://clickhouse:8123
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  multiagent-data:

After the start, the interface is available on port 3990: http://localhost:3990.

Environment Variables

  • MULTIAGENT_DATABASE — path to the SQLite file, or a PostgreSQL connection string. Default /data/data.db. If the string starts with Host= or Server=, PostgreSQL is used.
  • MULTIAGENT_DATA — root of the persistent data (default /data): the database, encryption keys, license, tool templates.
  • MULTIAGENT_BRAND — interface branding: xedant for the English version (the default in the image).
  • MULTIAGENT_BASE_PATH — the subfolder MultiAgent lives in (for example, /multiagent) when the proxy above passes the path through unchanged. Only needed for subfolder hosting; leave empty to serve from the domain root. The second way is the X-Forwarded-Prefix header from the proxy, when the proxy manages the subfolder itself (see Nginx Routing).
  • AGENT_LICENSE — license key, read by the same mechanism the agents use. A 30-day trial is already built into the image.
  • AGENT_API_URL / AGENT_API_KEY — wiring up the own assistant (Own Agent): the base address of an external Xedant Agent and the key the agent accepts as X-API-Key.
  • MULTIAGENT_API_KEY — key for the machine API /api/agent/* (Agent API): the lowercase SHA-256 fingerprint of the key.
  • AGENT_TOOLS — folder of the tool template library. Default /project/tools; use /data/tools so the library survives container recreation.
  • AGENT_PRODUCTS — folder of the product catalog (default /project/products): ready-made templates for Research, Analytics, Data, Proxy and MultiAgent itself, plus chatbots, Telegram, UI and CRM.
  • MULTIAGENT_ERROR_REPORTING — sending errors to Sentry. Set 0 to disable.
  • ASPNETCORE_URLS — the port inside the container (default http://+:80).
  • MULTIAGENT_CLICKHOUSE_URL — optional ClickHouse address for the analytics archive (see Analytics). When set, chat stats are appended to the archive once a minute, and a “Backfill ClickHouse Stats” button appears at the bottom of the report.

Own Agent

MultiAgent can keep its own assistant — an external Xedant Agent attached with a pair of environment variables. Its interface is built into every page: a block in the sidebar, a global chat panel, a prompt queue and voice input. The setup is only the variables — no settings screen in the interface and nothing in the database:

  • AGENT_API_URL / AGENT_API_KEY — the outbound direction (MultiAgent → agent): the built-in chat works through them (MultiAgent forwards requests to the agent and relays chat events). The key is attached only on the server and never reaches the browser;
  • MULTIAGENT_API_KEY — the inbound direction (agent → MultiAgent): the key for the machine API /api/agent/*, through which the assistant manages servers, agents and tools.

The two directions work independently. When MultiAgent itself is deployed as a product, both variable pairs are filled in automatically (see Products). Details are on the Own Agent page.

Data Storage

All persistent data lives in the /data volume and survives container recreation. The volume is mandatory — without it you lose the database, the encryption keys and the activated license on the first docker compose down.

  • /data/data.db — the SQLite database (when PostgreSQL is not used);
  • /data/keys/ — the JWT encryption and signing key;
  • /data/auth/ — ASP.NET Data Protection keys;
  • /data/tools/ — tool templates (with AGENT_TOOLS=/data/tools);
  • /data/<brand>/license.txt — the activated license.

First Login

Unlike Xedant Agent, the login and password are not something you must set in environment variables upfront. The first user registers right in the web interface: open http://localhost:3990 and click “Register” on the login page. Further accounts are created the same way — in the interface. (For automation, MULTIAGENT_LOGIN / MULTIAGENT_PASSWORD can provision the account at boot — that is what the Windows installer uses.) Authentication works through JWT tokens that last 90 days, so you will rarely need to sign in again.

Adding the First Server

After logging in, add the first server: name, host, SSH port, user, and a password or private key. MultiAgent will check the connection, offer to install Docker and walk the server through the onboarding checks. Details are in the Servers section.

Windows Installation

MultiAgent installs on Windows with the XedantMultiAgent-Setup-<version>.exe setup wizard: the app runs locally at http://localhost:3990 and connects to your remote Linux servers over SSH — no Docker, WSL or SSH tools needed on that computer. The data is stored in the %LOCALAPPDATA%\Xedant\MultiAgent\data folder (the SQLite database, keys, certificates, license); the .NET runtime is not required. Details are on the Windows Installation page.

Docker CLI with a .env File

You can also run MultiAgent without compose — with a docker run command, keeping the environment variables in a .env file:

# .env
ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Production
ASPNETCORE_URLS=http://+:80
MULTIAGENT_DATA=/data
# optional: own agent (Own Agent) and the machine API
# AGENT_API_URL=https://agents.example.com/my-agent
# AGENT_API_KEY=your-agent-key
# MULTIAGENT_API_KEY=<sha256 hex of the same key>
# optional: product catalog
# AGENT_PRODUCTS=/data/products
# optional: subfolder hosting (when the proxy passes the path through unchanged)
# MULTIAGENT_BASE_PATH=/multiagent
# optional: PostgreSQL instead of the built-in SQLite
# MULTIAGENT_DATABASE=Host=postgres;Port=5432;User Id=multiagent;Password=secret;Database=multiagent;
# optional: analytics archive in ClickHouse
# MULTIAGENT_CLICKHOUSE_URL=http://clickhouse:8123
# optional: license key, if you have one
# AGENT_LICENSE=
docker run -d \
  --name agents-multiagent \
  --env-file .env \
  -p 3990:80 \
  -v multiagent-data:/data \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  xedant/multiagent:min-latest

The --env-file flag reads all the variables from the file. Individual values can be overridden with extra -e flags after it, for example -e AGENT_LICENSE=your-key.

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