---
title: "Manually Starting Koios"
description: "Start Koios manually via Docker commands"
source_url: https://ai-ops.com/docs/installation/manually-starting-koios
---

# Manually Starting Koios

Use manual Docker commands for development, testing, or one-off runs. For production deployments, see [Running Koios as a Service](https://ai-ops.com/docs/installation/running-as-a-service.md).

## Start the Container

Run Koios with host networking and all volume mounts. Docker automatically creates any named volumes that don't already exist.

```bash
docker run -d --name koios --network host \
  --mount source=koios_data_postgres,target=/var/lib/postgresql/16/main \
  --mount source=koios_data_influxdb,target=/root/.influxdbv2 \
  --mount source=koios_media,target=/var/www/koios/media \
  --mount source=koios_logs,target=/var/www/koios/logs \
  --mount source=koios_certs,target=/var/www/koios/certs \
  --mount source=koios_license,target=/var/www/koios/license \
  --mount source=koios_secrets,target=/var/www/koios/secrets \
  aiopinc/koios:latest
```

Optional flags (off by default — add to the command to enable):

- Stream logs to stdout: `-e LOG_STDOUT_ENABLED=true`
- OpenTelemetry collector: `-e OTEL_COLLECTOR_ENABLED=true`
- Disable TLS: `-e ENABLE_TLS=false`

## Alternative: Explicit Port Mapping

If you prefer not to use host networking, replace `--network host` with explicit port mappings (`-p 443:443 -p 80:80`).

> [!WARNING] Device Communication
> If Koios needs to connect to industrial devices (OPC-UA, Modbus), `--network host` is recommended so the container can reach devices directly on the host network.

## First Access

Open a browser and navigate to:

```text
https://<server-ip>
```

Your browser may show a certificate warning for the self-signed SSL certificate — this is expected. Accept the warning to proceed.

Log in with the default credentials:

- **Username:** `admin`
- **Password:** `koios`

> [!CAUTION] Change Default Password
> Change the default admin password immediately after your first login.

## Stop and Remove the Container

To stop Koios:

```bash
docker stop koios
```

To remove the stopped container:

```bash
docker rm koios
```

Stopping or removing the container does not affect your data — all databases, media, logs, certificates, and credentials are stored in Docker volumes and will be available when you start a new container.

## View Container Logs

If you started the container with **Stream logs to stdout** enabled, follow the output with:

```bash
docker logs -f koios
```

Press `Ctrl+C` to stop following the log output.

> [!TIP] Log files are always available
> Even without stdout streaming, logs are written to files inside the container. You can access them directly with `docker exec -it koios ls /var/www/koios/logs/`.

## What's Next

- [Licensing Koios](https://ai-ops.com/docs/installation/licensing.md) — activate your Koios license
- [Environment Variables](https://ai-ops.com/docs/installation/environment-variables.md) — customize network ports, TLS, performance, logging, and more