Overview
How IntelliAsk is deployed — a single self-contained Docker Compose stack provisioned onto a Linux VM with the intelliask binary.
IntelliAsk is deployed as one self-contained Docker Compose stack onto a Linux
VM. You don't install services by hand — the deployment package
ships every service as a compose file, driven by a single self-contained
binary, intelliask, that provisions the host and runs the stack for you.
The same binary handles both the first-time provision (install Docker, generate secrets, bootstrap storage, start everything, install the boot service) and all day-2 operations (start, stop, restart, logs, status, health, updates, backup, reverse proxy).
Recommended deployment approach
The recommended way to deploy is using the intelliask binary with
intelliask provision. It automates everything: Docker install, secrets
generation, storage setup, service orchestration, and systemd integration.
Advanced users with Docker Compose expertise can deploy manually using the
compose files and .env directly, giving full control to substitute services (your
own S3, Redis, PostgreSQL, reverse proxy, etc.). See
Configuration > Alternative Deployment
for details.
The deployment package
Everything you deploy is the intelliask binary and its config/ folder:
| Path | What it is |
|---|---|
intelliask | The single control-plane binary — provision plus all day-2 commands. Ships an iask alias. |
config/ | The *.compose.yml service files, .env (every setting), garage.toml, intelliask.yaml, and the proxy/ config. |
config/.env | Single source of truth for all configuration and secrets. |
config/intelliask.yaml | IntelliAsk runtime config (endpoints, agents, MCP servers, UI). |
Each service is its own *.compose.yml file; the COMPOSE_FILE variable in
config/.env lists them all, so one docker compose up -d merges them into a
single project on a shared network reading a single .env. The binary finds
config/ next to itself automatically (override with --config-dir).
Provision in one command
On a fresh Linux VM, download and unpack the bundle, then run the provisioner from
the folder that holds the intelliask binary:
Prefer a button? Visit the Downloads page or see Installation.
It is idempotent — safe to re-run. When it finishes, IntelliAsk is serving on
the VM (port 3080 by default, or behind the reverse proxy on 443 if enabled).
What provision does
In one pass it takes your license key + DNS, installs Docker + Compose, generates
secrets into config/.env, pulls the images from the public IntelliAsk registry,
prepares writable storage, bootstraps the bundled Garage S3 store, starts the
whole stack, and installs a systemd service so it survives reboots. See
Installation for the step-by-step
breakdown and all flags.
Where to next
Installation
VM prerequisites, getting the bundle, registry access, and every provision flag.
Configuration & Secrets
config/.env, secrets, images, storage, resource limits, and the services map.
Daily Operations
Start, stop, restart, health, logs, updates, backup, and single services.
Reverse Proxy
Put Caddy in front of IntelliAsk and turn on HTTPS.
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