Dozzle Log Viewer on Ubuntu 24.04 (Docker + Nginx + SSL)

Dozzle is a lightweight, real-time log viewer for Docker containers. Instead of attaching manually to each container with docker logs -f, Dozzle provides a modern web-based dashboard that streams logs from all your containers in one place. It requires no complex setup and runs as a single Docker container, making it ideal for developers and operators who want quick visibility into their running services.

Ubuntu 24.04 (Noble Numbat) offers a hardened, long-supported base with systemd 255, modern OpenSSL 3, and updated Docker packages, making it an excellent foundation for running Dozzle in production or on a developer workstation.

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Architecture Overview

Layer	Component	Role
OS	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS	Stable, secure base; systemd service management
Runtime	Docker Engine	Runs Dozzle container in isolation
Application	Dozzle	Web UI that streams logs in real-time from Docker API
Reverse Proxy	Nginx (optional)	TLS termination, HTTP/2, caching, routing, access control
TLS	Let’s Encrypt / PKI	Secure HTTPS access to the log viewer

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Why Dozzle?

• Zero configuration – Deployable as a single container with no database.
• Real-time streaming – View container logs as they happen, with filtering and search.
• Lightweight – Minimal resource usage compared to full observability stacks.
• Web-based UI – No need to SSH or run docker logs repeatedly.
• Secure deployment – Can run behind Nginx with SSL and authentication.

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Dozzle vs Other Log Solutions

Capability	Dozzle	Loki + Grafana	ELK/EFK Stack	Plain Docker CLI
Setup complexity	Very low (1 container)	Medium (multi-service)	High (Elasticsearch, Beats, Kibana, etc.)	None
Storage	No (stream only)	Yes (time-series DB)	Yes (Elasticsearch DB)	No
UI	Simple web UI	Grafana dashboards	Full-featured dashboards	Terminal only
Use case	Quick visibility	Centralized logging	Enterprise-scale logging	Debugging only

Dozzle is best suited when you just need real-time logs quickly, without deploying a full observability stack. For long-term log retention and analytics, it can complement solutions like Loki or ELK.

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Security & Best Practices

• Run Dozzle behind Nginx with HTTPS if exposed on the internet.
• Use basic authentication or an identity provider (e.g., Authelia, OAuth) for access control.
• Keep it internal when possible (VPN, intranet, or restricted firewall rules).
• Regularly update the Dozzle image (amir20/dozzle:latest).
• Combine with monitoring tools (Prometheus, Grafana) for a full observability layer.

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Typical Use Cases

• Local development environments to quickly inspect logs.
• Small production setups where a full logging stack is overkill.
• Lightweight log monitoring on staging/test servers.
• Complementing centralized logging with real-time container insights.

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A Dozzle + Docker + Nginx + SSL stack on Ubuntu 24.04 gives you a fast, secure, and user-friendly way to keep track of your container logs without the heavy overhead of full-scale logging systems.

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1. Create a Shape.Host VPS Instance

Go to https://shape.host and log in.

Click “Create” → “Instance”.

Select a server location close to your users.

Choose Ubuntu 24.04 (64-bit).

Pick a plan with at least 2 CPUs, 4 GB RAM, and 20 GB SSD.

Click “Create Instance”.

Copy the IP address from the Resources section.

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2. Connect to Your VPS

On Linux / macOS

ssh root@your-server-ip

On Windows

• If using Windows 10/11, open PowerShell: ssh root@your-server-ip
• If on older Windows, download PuTTY, enter your server’s IP, and log in as root.

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3. Update and Install Required Packages

apt update
apt upgrade

Updates package lists and upgrades system packages.

apt install apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl gnupg lsb-release software-properties-common

Installs required tools for adding Docker’s official repository.

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4. Install Docker and Docker Compose

Add Docker’s GPG key:

curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/docker.gpg

Add Docker repository:

echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture)] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list

Update and install Docker:

apt update
apt install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-compose-plugin

Enable and start Docker:

systemctl enable --now docker

Check versions:

docker --version
docker compose version

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5. Deploy Dozzle with Docker Compose

Create a directory:

mkdir -p /opt/dozzle
cd /opt/dozzle

Create the docker-compose.yml:

cat > /opt/dozzle/docker-compose.yml <<'YML'
services:
  dozzle:
    image: amir20/dozzle:latest
    container_name: dozzle
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"            # Host port → Dozzle web UI
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro  # read-only socket
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "wget", "-qO-", "http://localhost:8080/health"]
      interval: 15s
      timeout: 3s
      retries: 5
    restart: unless-stopped
YML

Remove any old container (if exists):

docker rm -f dozzle 2>/dev/null || true

Start Dozzle:

docker compose up -d

Check status:

docker compose ps

Verify health endpoint:

curl -s http://127.0.0.1:8080/health

Check logs:

docker logs dozzle --tail=50

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6. Configure Nginx Reverse Proxy

Install Nginx:

apt install nginx
systemctl enable --now nginx

Create site configuration:

cat > /etc/nginx/sites-available/dozzle.conf <<'NGINX'
server {
    listen 80;
    server_name your-domain.com;

    # Optional Basic Auth (see step 4.4)
    # auth_basic "Restricted";
    # auth_basic_user_file /etc/nginx/.htpasswd;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8080;
        proxy_http_version 1.1;
        proxy_set_header Connection "";
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}
NGINX

Enable and reload:

ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/dozzle.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/dozzle.conf
nginx -t && systemctl reload nginx

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7. Enable SSL with Let’s Encrypt

Install Certbot:

apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx

Obtain SSL certificate:

certbot --nginx -d your-domain.com

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8. Access Dozzle

Open your browser and go to:

https://your-domain.com

You should see the Dozzle log viewer dashboard, showing Docker logs in real time.

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This tutorial was built and tested on a Shape.Host Cloud VPS.

With Shape.Host, you can:

• Deploy high-performance VPS worldwide
• Run Ubuntu, Debian, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux
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Start today at https://shape.host and deploy your own Dozzle setup in minutes.