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After Docker is running, configure your environment variables, set up HTTPS, and complete the initial application setup.

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Environment variables

Your configuration lives in docker-data/config/.env. Open it in any text editor: 
nano docker-data/config/.env

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Required variables

At a minimum, review and update these values: 
# ─── Application ─────────────────────────────────────────────
APP_URL=https://propops.yourcompany.com  # Your public URL — no trailing slash
APP_ENV=production                       # production | development
APP_DEBUG=false                          # Always false in production

# ─── Database ────────────────────────────────────────────────
# These must match the values in docker-compose.yml
DB_HOST=db
DB_NAME=dynamo_system
DB_USER=dynamo_user
DB_PASS=dynamo_password

# ─── Licence ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
LICENSE_KEY=your_license_key_here        # Issued by PropOps Technologies Ltd

# ─── Mail (SMTP) ─────────────────────────────────────────────
MAIL_HOST=smtp.mailgun.org
MAIL_PORT=587
MAIL_USERNAME=postmaster@mg.yourcompany.com
MAIL_PASSWORD=your_smtp_password
MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS=noreply@yourcompany.com
MAIL_FROM_NAME="PropOps"
MAIL_ENCRYPTION=tls

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Optional variables

These enable additional features. Refer to the .env.example file for the full list of available variables: 
# ─── Push Notifications ──────────────────────────────────────
WEB_PUSH_ENABLED=true
VAPID_PUBLIC_KEY=                        # Generate with web-push tools
VAPID_PRIVATE_KEY=
VAPID_SUBJECT=mailto:admin@yourcompany.com

# ─── WhatsApp Messaging ──────────────────────────────────────
WHATSAPP_API_URL=
WHATSAPP_API_TOKEN=
WHATSAPP_PHONE_ID=

# ─── AI Analysis ─────────────────────────────────────────────
GEMINI_API_KEY=                          # Google Gemini API key
After changing .env, restart the web container for changes to take effect:
docker compose restart web

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Auto-generated keys

The following keys are generated automatically on first boot. Do not change them after data has been written:
VariablePurposeGenerated
PII_ENCRYPTION_KEYEncrypts personally identifiable information at restFirst boot
PII_HMAC_KEYCreates searchable hashes of encrypted fieldsFirst boot

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HTTPS with a reverse proxy

PropOps must be served over HTTPS in production. The recommended approach is Nginx with Certbot (Let’s Encrypt) running directly on the host, proxying requests to the Docker container.

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Install Nginx and Certbot

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx

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Create the Nginx site configuration

server {
    server_name propops.yourcompany.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass         http://127.0.0.1:8080;
        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;
        proxy_read_timeout 120s;
        client_max_body_size 50M;
    }
}
Save to /etc/nginx/sites-available/propops and enable it: 
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/propops /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx

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Issue an SSL certificate

sudo certbot --nginx -d propops.yourcompany.com
Certbot automatically configures HTTPS, redirects HTTP traffic, and sets up auto-renewal every 90 days.

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Firewall

At a minimum, expose only the ports your reverse proxy needs: 
sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'   # Ports 80 and 443
sudo ufw enable
Do not expose port 3306 (MariaDB) or 8081 (phpMyAdmin) to the internet. Access phpMyAdmin through an SSH tunnel if needed:
ssh -L 8081:localhost:8081 user@your-server-ip
# Then open http://localhost:8081 in your browser

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First-time setup

Once PropOps is running and you have logged in with the default admin credentials:
1

Change the default password

Go to your profile and set a strong, unique password immediately.
2

Configure your organisation

Go to Admin → Settings → General to set your organisation name, logo, and default VAT rate.
3

Create your first branch

Go to Admin → Branches and create a branch. Every job in PropOps is assigned to a branch.
4

Invite users

Go to Admin → Users to create staff accounts and configure their roles and permissions.
5

Verify email delivery

Go to Admin → Settings → Email and send a test email to confirm your SMTP configuration is working.
PropOps includes a built-in maintenance mode you can enable from Admin → Settings → Maintenance Mode or via the API (POST /api/system/maintenance-mode). Staff still have access while all other users see a maintenance screen.