Step 1 — Install OrcheStack

OrcheStack ships as Docker images on Docker Hub plus a compose file on GitHub. Most people install via a single installer script; power users clone the repo instead.

Prerequisites

• Docker 24+ and Docker Compose v2.20+
• Host machine with at least 4 GB RAM and 20 GB disk free (the base install uses ~2 GB)
• Linux, macOS, or Windows with WSL2. Any POSIX-style host works.
• Ports 80 and 443 available on the host (OrcheStack's reverse proxy binds here)

Where OrcheStack lives

OrcheStack is three artifacts in three places — understanding the split makes the install paths below obvious:

• Docker Hub (hub.docker.com/r/tripleaceme/orchestack-*) — our prebuilt images: tripleaceme/orchestack-auth (signup, login and setup wizard), tripleaceme/orchestack-orchestrator (hot/cold service lifecycle daemon), tripleaceme/orchestack-dashboard (administrator dashboard), and tripleaceme/orchestack-airflow (Apache Airflow with dbt + Cosmos preinstalled). These are what docker compose pulls.
• GitHub (github.com/tripleaceme/orchestack-public) — source of truth for the compose file, the service generator, docs, and the setup skeleton. This is what you clone if you want to read, fork, or contribute.
• orchestack.africa — marketing + docs + the installer script you're about to run. The installer is a thin shell script that pulls from the other two places.

Pick an install option below based on how much you want to see under the hood.

Option 1 — Installer script (recommended)

Single command. Good for production hosts, demo laptops, and CI runners that just need OrcheStack running.

curl -fsSL https://orchestack.africa/install | sh

The installer creates an orchestack/ directory in your current path, downloads the latest pinned docker-compose.yml, runs docker compose up -d, and prints the URL to visit when the control plane is up. It prompts before overwriting an existing install.

Option 2 — Clone the GitHub repo

For operators who want to read every file before running it, or who plan to fork and customise.

git clone https://github.com/tripleaceme/orchestack-public
cd orchestack
docker compose up -d

Same result as option 1, but the compose file and all supporting scripts live in a git-tracked folder you own. Updates happen via git pull + docker compose pull.

Option 3 — Manual compose

If you want to inspect or edit the compose file before starting anything — CI pipelines, Kubernetes migrations, airgapped hosts.

mkdir orchestack && cd orchestack
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tripleaceme/orchestack-public/main/docker-compose.yml -o docker-compose.yml
# inspect / edit as needed
docker compose up -d

This is what options 1 and 2 do under the hood. Use it when you need to change the compose file (e.g. change exposed ports, add a volume mount) before the first boot.

Verify the install

All three options end at the same place. You should see:

[+] Running 4/4
 ✔ Container orchestack-proxy        Started
 ✔ Container orchestack-auth         Started
 ✔ Container orchestack-postgres     Started
 ✔ Container orchestack-dashboard     Started

Only four containers at this stage. No Airbyte, dbt, Metabase, or any other service is pulled yet — those come after you configure the platform.

Open a browser and go to http://localhost. You should land on the OrcheStack signup page (because no users exist yet).