Firefly III

Personal finance manager for tracking income, expenses and budgets.

Replaces

Paid budgeting services, such as Mint.

All open-source alternatives to Mint

Difficulty

Difficulty: Medium

3 services (1 database or broker: mariadb), 2 volume mounts, 1 env value to set, no elevated host access. Heuristic score 4 of 11: medium.

Stack

PHP (language), MariaDB (database)

Deployment

docker_compose

Requirements

Not stated.

License

AGPL-3.0 (OSI-approved open source)

Read from github.com/firefly-iii/firefly-iii/blob/b9c3100/LICENSE

Business model

Unknown

The README at the pinned commit does not state a business model, so it stays unknown.

Source: github.com/firefly-iii/firefly-iii/blob/b9c3100/readme.md, read on 2026-10-22.

Repository

firefly-iii/firefly-iii

GitHub stats

Stars: 24,968
Forks: 2,347
Open issues and pull requests: 166
Last push: 2026-10-21
Latest release: v6.7.9
Released: 2026-10-11

From the GitHub API on 2026-10-22. These numbers are a snapshot, not live. GitHub detected the license as AGPL-3.0.

Compose file

Config check passed docker compose config exited 0 on this exact file on 2026-10-22.

docker-compose.yml Version 1

services:
  app:
    image: fireflyiii/core:latest
    hostname: app
    container_name: firefly_iii_core
    restart: always
    volumes:
      - firefly_iii_upload:/var/www/html/storage/upload
    env_file: .env
    networks:
      - firefly_iii
    ports:
      - 80:8080
    depends_on:
      - db
  db:
    image: mariadb:lts
    hostname: db
    container_name: firefly_iii_db
    restart: always
    env_file: .db.env
    networks:
      - firefly_iii
    volumes:
      - firefly_iii_db:/var/lib/mysql
  cron:
    #
    # To make this work, set STATIC_CRON_TOKEN in your .env file or as an environment variable
    # The STATIC_CRON_TOKEN must be *exactly* 32 characters long
    # Use this URL for inspiration: https://www.random.org/strings/?num=1&len=32&digits=on&upperalpha=on&loweralpha=on&unique=on&format=html&rnd=new
    #
    image: alpine
    restart: always
    container_name: firefly_iii_cron
    env_file: .env
    command: ["sh", "-c", "apk add tzdata && \
      (ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/$$TZ /etc/localtime || true) && \
      echo \"0 3 * * * wget -qO- http://app:8080/api/v1/cron/$$STATIC_CRON_TOKEN;echo\" \
      | crontab - && \
      crond -f -L /dev/stdout"]
    networks:
      - firefly_iii
    depends_on:
      - app

volumes:
   firefly_iii_upload:
   firefly_iii_db:

networks:
  firefly_iii:
    driver: bridge

From a separate packaging repository: github.com/firefly-iii/docker/blob/841e328/docker-compose.yml.

Compose file from firefly-iii/docker, the project's own packaging repository.

Install

Docker with the Compose plugin (github.com/firefly-iii/docs/blob/7c54c4b/docs/docs/how-to/firefly-iii/installation/docker.md)
A host with Docker and the Docker Compose plugin. This entry runs from a compose file.
Save the compose file as docker-compose.yml (github.com/firefly-iii/docker/blob/841e328/docker-compose.yml)
Use the compose file shown above.

Save as .env next to the compose file (github.com/firefly-iii/firefly-iii/blob/b9c3100/.env.example)

# You can leave this on "local". If you change it to production most console commands will ask for extra confirmation.
# Never set it to "testing".
APP_ENV=production

# Set to true if you want to see debug information in error screens.
APP_DEBUG=false

# This should be your email address.
# If you use Docker or similar, you can set this variable from a file by using SITE_OWNER_FILE
# The variable is used in some errors shown to users who aren't admin.
[email protected]

# The encryption key for your sessions. Keep this very secure.
# Change it to a string of exactly 32 chars or use something like `php artisan key:generate` to generate it.
# If you use Docker or similar, you can set this variable from a file by using APP_KEY_FILE
#
# Try to avoid special characters like #, < and > in your app key. This string does not need full entropy
# When in doubt, follow the link below and pick one.
#
# https://www.random.org/strings/?num=5&len=32&digits=on&upperalpha=on&loweralpha=on&unique=on&format=html&rnd=new
#
# If you are a fancy linux nerd like me, use this command:
#
# head /dev/urandom | LC_ALL=C tr -dc 'A-Za-z0-9' | head -c 32 && echo
#
#
APP_KEY=SomeRandomStringOf32CharsExactly

# Firefly III will launch using this language (for new users and unauthenticated visitors)
# For a list of available languages: https://github.com/firefly-iii/firefly-iii/blob/main/config/firefly.php#L123
#
# If text is still in English, remember that not everything may have been translated.
DEFAULT_LANGUAGE=en_US

# The locale defines how numbers are formatted.
# by default this value is the same as whatever the language is.
DEFAULT_LOCALE=equal

# Change this value to your preferred time zone.
# Example: Europe/Amsterdam
# For a list of supported time zones, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones
TZ=Europe/Amsterdam

# TRUSTED_PROXIES is a useful variable when using Docker and/or a reverse proxy.
# Set it to ** and reverse proxies work just fine.
TRUSTED_PROXIES=

# The log channel defines where your log entries go to.
# Several other options exist. You can use 'single' for one big fat error log (not recommended).
# Also available are 'syslog', 'errorlog' and 'stdout' which will log to the system itself.
# A rotating log option is 'daily', creates 5 files that (surprise) rotate.
# A cool option is 'papertrail' for cloud logging
# Default setting 'stack' will log to 'daily' and to 'stdout' at the same time.
LOG_CHANNEL=stack

# Log level. You can set this from least severe to most severe:
# debug, info, notice, warning, error, critical, alert, emergency
# If you set it to debug your logs will grow large, and fast. If you set it to emergency probably
# nothing will get logged, ever.
APP_LOG_LEVEL=notice

# Audit log level.
# The audit log is used to log notable Firefly III events on a separate channel.
# These log entries may contain sensitive financial information.
# The audit log is disabled by default.
#
# To enable it, set AUDIT_LOG_LEVEL to "info"
# To disable it, set AUDIT_LOG_LEVEL to "emergency"
AUDIT_LOG_LEVEL=emergency

#
# If you want, you can redirect the audit logs to another channel.
# Set 'audit_stdout', 'audit_syslog', 'audit_errorlog' to log to the system itself.
# Use audit_daily to log to a rotating file.
# Use audit_papertrail to log to papertrail.
#
# If you do this, the audit logs may be mixed with normal logs because the settings for these channels
# are often the same as the settings for the normal logs.
AUDIT_LOG_CHANNEL=

#
# Used when logging to papertrail:
# Also used when audit logs log to papertrail:
#
PAPERTRAIL_HOST=
PAPERTRAIL_PORT=

# Database credentials. Make sure the database exists. I recommend a dedicated user for Firefly III
# For other database types, please see the FAQ: https://docs.firefly-iii.org/references/faq/install/#i-want-to-use-sqlite
# If you use Docker or similar, you can set these variables from a file by appending them with _FILE
# Use "pgsql" for PostgreSQL
# Use "mysql" for MySQL and MariaDB.
# Use "sqlite" for SQLite.
DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=db
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=firefly
DB_USERNAME=firefly
DB_PASSWORD=secret_firefly_password
# leave empty or omit when not using a socket connection
DB_SOCKET=

# MySQL supports SSL. You can configure it here.
# If you use Docker or similar, you can set these variables from a file by appending them with _FILE
MYSQL_USE_SSL=false
MYSQL_SSL_VERIFY_SERVER_CERT=true
# You need to set at least of these options
MYSQL_SSL_CAPATH=/etc/ssl/certs/
MYSQL_SSL_CA=
MYSQL_SSL_CERT=
MYSQL_SSL_KEY=
MYSQL_SSL_CIPHER=

# PostgreSQL supports SSL. You can configure it here.
# If you use Docker or similar, you can set these variables from a file by appending them with _FILE
PGSQL_SSL_MODE=prefer
PGSQL_SSL_ROOT_CERT=null
PGSQL_SSL_CERT=null
PGSQL_SSL_KEY=null
PGSQL_SSL_CRL_FILE=null

# For postgresql 15 and up, setting this to public will no longer work as expected, becasuse the
# 'public' schema is without grants. This can be worked around by having a super user grant those
# necessary privileges, but in security conscious setups that's not viable.
# You will need to set this to the schema you want to use.
PGSQL_SCHEMA=public

# If you're looking for performance improvements, you could install memcached or redis
CACHE_STORE=file
SESSION_DRIVER=file

# If you set either of the options above to 'redis', you might want to update these settings too
# If you use Docker or similar, you can set REDIS_HOST_FILE, REDIS_PASSWORD_FILE or
# REDIS_PORT_FILE to set the value from a file instead of from an environment variable

# can be tcp or unix. http is not supported
REDIS_SCHEME=tcp

# use only when using 'unix' for REDIS_SCHEME. Leave empty otherwise.
REDIS_PATH=

# use only when using 'tcp' or 'http' for REDIS_SCHEME. Leave empty otherwise.
REDIS_HOST=127.0.0.1
REDIS_PORT=6379

# Use only with Redis 6+ with proper ACL set. Leave empty otherwise.
REDIS_USERNAME=
REDIS_PASSWORD=

# always use quotes and make sure redis db "0" and "1" exists. Otherwise change accordingly.
REDIS_DB="0"
REDIS_CACHE_DB="1"

# Cookie settings. Should not be necessary to change these.
# If you use Docker or similar, you can set COOKIE_DOMAIN_FILE to set
# the value from a file instead of from an environment variable
# Setting samesite to "strict" may give you trouble logging in.
COOKIE_PATH="/"
COOKIE_DOMAIN=
COOKIE_SECURE=false
COOKIE_SAMESITE=lax

# If you want Firefly III to email you, update these settings
# For instructions, see: https://docs.firefly-iii.org/how-to/firefly-iii/advanced/notifications/#email
# If you use Docker or similar, you can set these variables from a file by appending them with _FILE
MAIL_MAILER=log
MAIL_HOST=null
MAIL_PORT=2525
[email protected]
MAIL_USERNAME=null
MAIL_PASSWORD=null
MAIL_ENCRYPTION=null
MAIL_SENDMAIL_COMMAND=

#
# If you use self-signed certificates for your SMTP server, you can use the following settings.
#
MAIL_ALLOW_SELF_SIGNED=false
MAIL_VERIFY_PEER=true
MAIL_VERIFY_PEER_NAME=true

# Other mail drivers:
# If you use Docker or similar, you can set these variables from a file by appending them with _FILE
MAILGUN_DOMAIN=
MAILGUN_SECRET=

# If you are on EU region in mailgun, use api.eu.mailgun.net, otherwise use api.mailgun.net
# If you use Docker or similar, you can set this variable from a file by appending it with _FILE
MAILGUN_ENDPOINT=api.mailgun.net

# If you use Docker or similar, you can set these variables from a file by appending them with _FILE
MANDRILL_SECRET=
SPARKPOST_SECRET=
MAILERSEND_API_KEY=

# Firefly III can send you the following messages.
SEND_ERROR_MESSAGE=true

# The map will default to this location:
MAP_DEFAULT_LAT=51.983333
MAP_DEFAULT_LONG=5.916667
MAP_DEFAULT_ZOOM=6

#
# Firefly III authentication settings
#

#
# Firefly III supports a few authentication methods:
# - 'web' (default, uses built in DB)
# - 'remote_user_guard' for Authelia etc
# Read more about these settings in the documentation.
# https://docs.firefly-iii.org/how-to/firefly-iii/advanced/authentication/
#
# LDAP is no longer supported :(
#
AUTHENTICATION_GUARD=web

#
# Remote user guard settings
#
AUTHENTICATION_GUARD_HEADER=REMOTE_USER
AUTHENTICATION_GUARD_EMAIL=

#
# Firefly III generates a basic keypair for your OAuth tokens.
# If you want, you can overrule the key with your own (secure) value.
# It's also possible to set PASSPORT_PUBLIC_KEY_FILE or PASSPORT_PRIVATE_KEY_FILE
# if you're using Docker secrets or similar solutions for secret management
#
PASSPORT_PRIVATE_KEY=
PASSPORT_PUBLIC_KEY=

#
# Extra authentication settings
#
CUSTOM_LOGOUT_URL=

# You can disable the X-Frame-Options header if it interferes with tools like
# Organizr. This is at your own risk. Applications running in frames run the risk
# of leaking information to their parent frame.
DISABLE_FRAME_HEADER=false

# You can disable the Content Security Policy header when you're using an ancient browser
# or any version of Microsoft Edge / Internet Explorer (which amounts to the same thing really)
# This leaves you with the risk of not being able to stop XSS bugs should they ever surface.
# This is at your own risk.
DISABLE_CSP_HEADER=false

# If you wish to track your own behavior over Firefly III, set valid analytics tracker information here.
# Nobody uses this except for me on the demo site. But hey, feel free to use this if you want to.
# Do not prepend the TRACKER_URL with http:// or https://
# The only tracker supported is Matomo.
# You can set the following variables from a file by appending them with _FILE:
TRACKER_SITE_ID=
TRACKER_URL=

#
# The static cron job token can be useful when you use Docker and wish to manage cron jobs.
# 1. Set this token to any 32-character value (this is important!).
# 2. Use this token in the cron URL instead of a user's command line token that you can find in /profile
#
# For more info: https://docs.firefly-iii.org/how-to/firefly-iii/advanced/cron/
#
# You can set this variable from a file by appending it with _FILE
#
STATIC_CRON_TOKEN=PLEASE_REPLACE_WITH_32_CHAR_CODE

# You can fine tune the start-up of a Docker container by editing these environment variables.
# Use this at your own risk. Disabling certain checks and features may result in lots of inconsistent data.
# However if you know what you're doing you can significantly speed up container start times.
# Set each value to true to enable, or false to disable.

# Check if the SQLite database exists. Can be skipped if you're not using SQLite.
# Won't significantly speed up things.
DKR_CHECK_SQLITE=true

# Leave the following configuration vars as is.
# Unless you like to tinker and know what you're doing.
APP_NAME=FireflyIII
BROADCAST_DRIVER=log
QUEUE_DRIVER=sync
CACHE_PREFIX=firefly
PUSHER_KEY=
PUSHER_SECRET=
PUSHER_ID=
DEMO_USERNAME=
DEMO_PASSWORD=

#
# Please make sure this URL matches the external URL of your Firefly III installation.
# It is used to validate specific requests and to generate URLs in emails.
#
APP_URL=http://localhost

Save as .db.env next to the compose file (github.com/firefly-iii/docker/blob/841e328/database.env)

MYSQL_RANDOM_ROOT_PASSWORD=yes
MYSQL_USER=firefly
MYSQL_PASSWORD=secret_firefly_password
MYSQL_DATABASE=firefly

#
# Remove the environment variables above, and replace them with the following if your using PostgreSQL
#
# 
# POSTGRES_USER=firefly
# POSTGRES_DB=firefly
# POSTGRES_PASSWORD=secret_firefly_password
# POSTGRES_PASSWORD=secret_firefly_password

What the compose file check ran with (github.com/firefly-iii/docs/blob/7c54c4b/docs/docs/how-to/firefly-iii/installation/docker.md)
The compose file check ran together with database.env (saved as .db.env) from the same commit and .env.example from firefly-iii/firefly-iii at commit b9c3100 (saved as .env). The folder held only these files. The installation guide tells the reader to download docker-compose.yml, the Firefly III variables file as .env and database.env as .db.env into one folder, set the passwords and run docker compose up -d.
Start it (github.com/firefly-iii/docs/blob/7c54c4b/docs/docs/how-to/firefly-iii/installation/docker.md)
```
docker compose up -d
```
Open the app (github.com/firefly-iii/docker/blob/841e328/docker-compose.yml)
Open http://localhost:80. The compose file publishes host port 80 for the app service.

Compose file check: config_ok on 2026-10-22.

Gotchas and maintenance

Gotchas

Some images use the latest tag or no tag. Images without a pinned version: app: fireflyiii/core:latest, cron: alpine (no tag). A later pull can get a different version. (github.com/firefly-iii/docker/blob/841e328/docker-compose.yml, checked 2026-10-22)
The compose file publishes host ports. Host ports: 80 (app). A port without a host address listens on all host network interfaces. (github.com/firefly-iii/docker/blob/841e328/docker-compose.yml, checked 2026-10-22)
The example env file .env.example has placeholder values. The example env file sets placeholder text for: MAIL_FROM. Replace them before you rely on the install. (github.com/firefly-iii/firefly-iii/blob/b9c3100/.env.example, checked 2026-10-22)

Signals

Open issues and pull requests: 166
Last push: 2026-10-21 (1 days before this page was built)
Latest release: v6.7.9 on 2026-10-11 (11 days before this page was built)