Docker Service Quickstart

CyborgDB can be deployed as a standalone microservice using Docker. This allows you to run a fully self-contained encrypted vector search service on your own infrastructure with minimal setup. The service exposes a REST API for integration with any stack.

Looking to use the Python service? Check out our Python Quickstart Guide.

Overview

The Docker service is ideal for teams looking to self-host CyborgDB in cloud, on-prem, or containerized environments.

Get an API Key

To use CyborgDB, you need an API key. You can get one from the CyborgDB Admin Dashboard.For quick evaluation, you can generate a temporary demo key using any of the SDKs:

import cyborgdb
print(cyborgdb.get_demo_api_key())

Then use the printed key as your CYBORGDB_API_KEY when starting the service, and as the api_key when connecting with an SDK client.Make sure to keep your API key secure and do not share it publicly.

Choose Your Storage Backend (Optional)

The container ships with three storage backends. Skip this step and you get disk (embedded RocksDB) by default — persisted in /app/cyborgdb_data inside the container, which you’ll typically bind to a host volume.

Disk (default) — embedded RocksDB. Persistent, no external dependencies.
S3 — AWS S3 or any S3-compatible store (MinIO, Cloudflare R2, …). Best for cloud-native and multi-replica deployments.
Memory — in-process only, nothing persists across restarts. For tests and ephemeral indexes.

For full details, see the Backing Stores guide.

v0.17 collapsed the storage surface. The previous standalone, postgres, and redis backends and the catch-all CYBORGDB_CONNECTION_STRING are gone — switch standalone → disk and use the new CYBORGDB_DISK_PATH / CYBORGDB_S3_* variables.

Pull the Docker Image

The CyborgDB service is available as a Docker image. You can pull it from Docker Hub:

docker pull cyborginc/cyborgdb-service:latest

This image contains everything you need to run the CyborgDB service, including all dependencies and configurations.

Run with Docker (Quick Start)

Disk (default)
Memory
S3 (AWS)
S3 (MinIO / R2)

# Minimal — disk is the default; bind the data dir to a host volume
sudo docker run -it --rm --network host \
  -e CYBORGDB_API_KEY=cyborg_your_api_key_here \
  -v cyborgdb_data:/app/cyborgdb_data \
  cyborginc/cyborgdb-service:latest

Inside the container the disk path defaults to /app/cyborgdb_data — the -v mount above is what makes the data survive container recreation.

sudo docker run -it --rm --network host \
  -e CYBORGDB_API_KEY=cyborg_your_api_key_here \
  -e CYBORGDB_DB_TYPE=memory \
  cyborginc/cyborgdb-service:latest

Memory storage does not persist across container restarts. Use for tests and ephemeral indexes only.

sudo docker run -it --network host \
  -e CYBORGDB_API_KEY=cyborg_your_api_key_here \
  -e CYBORGDB_DB_TYPE=s3 \
  -e CYBORGDB_S3_BUCKET=my-bucket \
  -e CYBORGDB_S3_REGION=us-east-1 \
  -e AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=AKID... \
  -e AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=... \
  cyborginc/cyborgdb-service:latest

On EC2/ECS/EKS the instance/task role is picked up automatically — drop the AWS_* vars.

sudo docker run -it --network host \
  -e CYBORGDB_API_KEY=cyborg_your_api_key_here \
  -e CYBORGDB_DB_TYPE=s3 \
  -e CYBORGDB_S3_BUCKET=my-bucket \
  -e CYBORGDB_S3_ENDPOINT=http://minio:9000 \
  -e CYBORGDB_S3_ACCESS_KEY=minioadmin \
  -e CYBORGDB_S3_SECRET_KEY=minioadmin \
  cyborginc/cyborgdb-service:latest

With a custom CYBORGDB_S3_ENDPOINT the AWS default credential chain is bypassed entirely — CYBORGDB_S3_ACCESS_KEY / CYBORGDB_S3_SECRET_KEY are required.

Platform Differences:

Linux uses --network host because Docker runs natively and can directly access the host network
macOS uses -p 8000:8000 and host.docker.internal because Docker runs in a VM and needs port mapping

Run with Docker Compose (Recommended)

For a reproducible setup, use Docker Compose:

Disk (default)
S3 (AWS)
S3 (MinIO)

Create a docker-compose.yml file:

services:
  cyborgdb:
    image: cyborginc/cyborgdb-service:latest
    ports:
      - "8000:8000"
    environment:
      - CYBORGDB_API_KEY=${CYBORGDB_API_KEY}
    volumes:
      - cyborgdb_data:/app/cyborgdb_data
      - ./logs:/app/logs

volumes:
  cyborgdb_data:

Then run:

docker-compose up -d

Create a docker-compose.yml file:

services:
  cyborgdb:
    image: cyborginc/cyborgdb-service:latest
    ports:
      - "8000:8000"
    environment:
      - CYBORGDB_API_KEY=${CYBORGDB_API_KEY}
      - CYBORGDB_DB_TYPE=s3
      - CYBORGDB_S3_BUCKET=${CYBORGDB_S3_BUCKET}
      - CYBORGDB_S3_REGION=${CYBORGDB_S3_REGION:-us-east-1}
      - AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=${AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID}
      - AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=${AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY}

Then run:

docker-compose up -d

Bring up MinIO + cyborgdb-service together:

services:
  minio:
    image: minio/minio:latest
    command: server /data --console-address ":9001"
    environment:
      - MINIO_ROOT_USER=minioadmin
      - MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD=minioadmin
    ports:
      - "9000:9000"
      - "9001:9001"
    volumes:
      - minio_data:/data

  cyborgdb:
    image: cyborginc/cyborgdb-service:latest
    ports:
      - "8000:8000"
    environment:
      - CYBORGDB_API_KEY=${CYBORGDB_API_KEY}
      - CYBORGDB_DB_TYPE=s3
      - CYBORGDB_S3_BUCKET=cyborgdb
      - CYBORGDB_S3_ENDPOINT=http://minio:9000
      - CYBORGDB_S3_ACCESS_KEY=minioadmin
      - CYBORGDB_S3_SECRET_KEY=minioadmin
    depends_on:
      - minio

volumes:
  minio_data:

Then run:

docker-compose up -d

Create the cyborgdb bucket once via the MinIO console (http://localhost:9001) before first use.

Verify Installation

Once the service is running, verify it’s working correctly:Health Check:

curl http://localhost:8000/v1/health

API Documentation: Navigate to http://localhost:8000/v1/docs to explore the interactive API documentation.You should see a response indicating the service is healthy and ready to accept requests.

Advanced Configuration

For production deployments, consider these additional configurations:

Environment Variables
HTTPS Configuration

Variable	Description	Required	Example
`CYBORGDB_API_KEY`	Your CyborgDB API key	✅	`cyborg_abc123...`
`CYBORGDB_DB_TYPE`	Storage backend (`memory`, `disk`, `s3`)	❌ (defaults to `disk`)	`s3`
`CYBORGDB_DISK_PATH`	Data directory for `disk` storage	❌	`/var/lib/cyborgdb`
`CYBORGDB_S3_BUCKET`	Bucket name for `s3` storage	Required for S3	`my-bucket`
`CYBORGDB_S3_REGION`	Region for `s3` storage	❌	`us-east-1`
`PORT`	Service port	❌	`8000`
`SSL_CERT_PATH`	Path to SSL certificate file	❌	`/etc/ssl/certs/server.crt`
`SSL_KEY_PATH`	Path to SSL private key file	❌	`/etc/ssl/private/server.key`

Without CYBORGDB_DB_TYPE, the service uses disk storage rooted at /app/cyborgdb_data inside the container. For the full list (including S3 credentials and KMS), see the Environment Variables guide.

For production deployments, configure HTTPS by providing SSL certificates:Environment Variables:

SSL_CERT_PATH=/path/to/certificate.crt
SSL_KEY_PATH=/path/to/private.key

Docker Run Example:

sudo docker run -it -p 8000:8000 \
  -e CYBORGDB_API_KEY=cyborg_your_api_key_here \
  -e CYBORGDB_DB_TYPE=s3 \
  -e CYBORGDB_S3_BUCKET=cyborgdb-prod \
  -e CYBORGDB_S3_REGION=us-east-1 \
  -e SSL_CERT_PATH=/certs/server.crt \
  -e SSL_KEY_PATH=/certs/server.key \
  -v /host/path/to/certs:/certs \
  cyborginc/cyborgdb-service:latest

Docker Compose with SSL:

services:
  cyborgdb:
    image: cyborginc/cyborgdb-service:latest
    ports:
      - "8000:8000"
    environment:
      - CYBORGDB_API_KEY=cyborg_your_api_key_here
      - CYBORGDB_DB_TYPE=s3
      - CYBORGDB_S3_BUCKET=cyborgdb-prod
      - CYBORGDB_S3_REGION=us-east-1
      - SSL_CERT_PATH=/certs/server.crt
      - SSL_KEY_PATH=/certs/server.key
    volumes:
      - ./certs:/certs

The server automatically switches to HTTPS when both certificate files are provided and exist. Without certificates, it starts in HTTP mode.

Next Steps

Now that your CyborgDB service is running, you can interact with it using client SDKs:Install Client SDKs:

pip install cyborgdb

REST API Reference

Learn how to use the REST API for direct integration

Python SDK Reference

Learn how to use the Python SDK for direct integration

JS/TS SDK Reference

Learn how to use the JavaScript/TypeScript SDK for direct integration

Go SDK Reference

Learn how to use the Go SDK for direct integration

Technical Specifications

Base Image: python:3.11-slim
Python Version: 3.11
PyTorch: CPU-optimized for maximum compatibility
Docker Image Size: ~1.8GB
Platform: linux/amd64, linux/arm64
Default Port: 8000

Comparison with Python Service

Aspect	Python Service	Docker Service
Installation	`pip install`	`docker run`
Dependencies	Managed by pip/conda	Bundled in container
Resource Usage	Lower overhead	Higher overhead
Environment Isolation	Python virtualenv	Container isolation
Deployment Complexity	Simple Python deployment	Container orchestration
Configuration	Environment variables/files	Environment variables
Best For	Development, Python-heavy workflows	Production, cloud deployment

Both approaches provide identical CyborgDB functionality. Choose based on your deployment preferences and infrastructure requirements.

​Overview

REST API Reference

Python SDK Reference

JS/TS SDK Reference

Go SDK Reference

Overview