Docker compose file is broken

[JL710]

I noticed that the docker compose file is broken.

There are two things broken. One is that it uses bsddb as database by default which is not supported. That can be fixed by setting GRAMPSWEB_DB_BACKEND: sqlite.

Secondly when grampsweb_celery and grampsweb are starting at the same time, the database migration might fail (because both migrating the DB at the same time). That can be fixed by making grampsweb_celery depending on grampsweb.

[DavidMStraub]

Hi, I agree widht the second point but the first point doesn't make sense to me.

One is that it uses bsddb as database by default which is not supported.

That's not true. What makes you think that?

That can be fixed by setting GRAMPSWEB_DB_BACKEND: sqlite.

That's wrong - this config option doesn't even exist as you can check by searching the code, so this has no effect. Did an LLM suggest this?

Secondly when grampsweb_celery and grampsweb are starting at the same time, the database migration might fail (because both migrating the DB at the same time). That can be fixed by making grampsweb_celery depending on grampsweb.

Sounds like a good idea. If you have tested this and it works, a PR to change the compose files in the docs accordingly is very welcome!

[JL710]

Yup. The first thing was a suggestion from an LLM. Should have credited that. The second thing partly too.

For the first thing with GRAMPSWEB_DB_BACKEND: sqlite, here is my testing.

When I started with this compose file I get the following output/error:

services:
  grampsweb: &grampsweb
    image: ghcr.io/gramps-project/grampsweb:latest
    restart: always
    ports:
      - "8081:5000"  # host:docker
    environment:
      GRAMPSWEB_TREE: "Gramps Web"  # will create a new tree if not exists
      GRAMPSWEB_CELERY_CONFIG__broker_url: "redis://grampsweb_redis:6379/0"
      GRAMPSWEB_CELERY_CONFIG__result_backend: "redis://grampsweb_redis:6379/0"
      GRAMPSWEB_RATELIMIT_STORAGE_URI: redis://grampsweb_redis:6379/1
      GRAMPSWEB_DB_BACKEND: sqlite
    depends_on:
      - grampsweb_redis
    volumes:
      - gramps_users:/app/users  # persist user database
      - gramps_index:/app/indexdir  # persist search index
      - gramps_thumb_cache:/app/thumbnail_cache  # persist thumbnails
      - gramps_cache:/app/cache  # persist export and report caches
      - gramps_secret:/app/secret  # persist flask secret
      - gramps_db:/root/.gramps/grampsdb  # persist Gramps database
      - gramps_media:/app/media  # persist media files
      - gramps_tmp:/tmp

  grampsweb_celery:
    <<: *grampsweb  # YAML merge key copying the entire grampsweb service config
    ports: []
    container_name: grampsweb_celery
    depends_on:
      - grampsweb_redis
    command: celery -A gramps_webapi.celery worker --loglevel=INFO --concurrency=2

  grampsweb_redis:
    image: docker.io/library/redis:7.2.4-alpine
    container_name: grampsweb_redis
    restart: always

volumes:
  gramps_users:
  gramps_index:
  gramps_thumb_cache:
  gramps_cache:
  gramps_secret:
  gramps_db:
  gramps_media:
  gramps_tmp:

Attaching to grampsweb-1, grampsweb_celery, grampsweb_redis
grampsweb_redis  | 1:C 21 Sep 2025 10:53:53.173 # WARNING Memory overcommit must be enabled! Without it, a background save or replication may fail under low memory condition. Being disabled, it can also cause failures without low memory condition, see https://github.com/jemalloc/jemalloc/issues/1328. To fix this issue add 'vm.overcommit_memory = 1' to /etc/sysctl.conf and then reboot or run the command 'sysctl vm.overcommit_memory=1' for this to take effect.
grampsweb_redis  | 1:C 21 Sep 2025 10:53:53.173 * oO0OoO0OoO0Oo Redis is starting oO0OoO0OoO0Oo
grampsweb_redis  | 1:C 21 Sep 2025 10:53:53.173 * Redis version=7.2.4, bits=64, commit=00000000, modified=0, pid=1, just started
grampsweb_redis  | 1:C 21 Sep 2025 10:53:53.173 # Warning: no config file specified, using the default config. In order to specify a config file use redis-server /path/to/redis.conf
grampsweb_redis  | 1:M 21 Sep 2025 10:53:53.173 * monotonic clock: POSIX clock_gettime
grampsweb_redis  | 1:M 21 Sep 2025 10:53:53.174 * Running mode=standalone, port=6379.
grampsweb_redis  | 1:M 21 Sep 2025 10:53:53.175 * Server initialized
grampsweb_redis  | 1:M 21 Sep 2025 10:53:53.175 * Ready to accept connections tcp
grampsweb-1      | 
grampsweb-1      | (__main__.py:11): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 10:53:54.817: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed
grampsweb_celery  | 
grampsweb_celery  | (__main__.py:8): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 10:53:54.836: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed
grampsweb_celery  | Traceback (most recent call last):
grampsweb_celery  |   File "<frozen runpy>", line 198, in _run_module_as_main
grampsweb_celery  |   File "<frozen runpy>", line 88, in _run_code
grampsweb_celery  |   File "/app/src/gramps_webapi/__main__.py", line 369, in <module>
grampsweb_celery  |     cli(
grampsweb_celery  |   File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/click/core.py", line 1442, in __call__
grampsweb_celery  |     return self.main(*args, **kwargs)
grampsweb_celery  |            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
grampsweb_celery  |   File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/click/core.py", line 1363, in main
grampsweb_celery  |     rv = self.invoke(ctx)
grampsweb_celery  |          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
grampsweb_celery  |   File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/click/core.py", line 1827, in invoke
grampsweb_celery  |     super().invoke(ctx)
grampsweb_celery  |   File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/click/core.py", line 1226, in invoke
grampsweb_celery  |     return ctx.invoke(self.callback, **ctx.params)
grampsweb_celery  |            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
grampsweb_celery  |   File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/click/core.py", line 794, in invoke
grampsweb_celery  |     return callback(*args, **kwargs)
grampsweb_celery  |            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
grampsweb_celery  |   File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/click/decorators.py", line 34, in new_func
grampsweb_celery  |     return f(get_current_context(), *args, **kwargs)
grampsweb_celery  |            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
grampsweb_celery  |   File "/app/src/gramps_webapi/__main__.py", line 60, in cli
grampsweb_celery  |     ctx.obj = {"app": create_app()}
grampsweb_celery  |                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^
grampsweb_celery  |   File "/app/src/gramps_webapi/app.py", line 122, in create_app
grampsweb_celery  |     WebDbManager(
grampsweb_celery  |   File "/app/src/gramps_webapi/dbmanager.py", line 73, in __init__
grampsweb_celery  |     self._check_backend()
grampsweb_celery  |   File "/app/src/gramps_webapi/dbmanager.py", line 146, in _check_backend
grampsweb_celery  |     raise ValueError(
grampsweb_celery  | ValueError: Database backend 'bsddb' of tree 'Gramps Web' not supported.
grampsweb-1       | INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Context impl SQLiteImpl.
grampsweb-1       | INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Will assume non-transactional DDL.
grampsweb-1       | INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Running upgrade  -> c89728e71264, empty message
grampsweb-1       | INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Running upgrade c89728e71264 -> e5e738d09fa7, Added configuration table
grampsweb-1       | INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Running upgrade e5e738d09fa7 -> e176543c72a8, Add tree column to User
grampsweb-1       | INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Running upgrade e176543c72a8 -> 66e56620891a, Add trees table
grampsweb-1       | INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Running upgrade 66e56620891a -> 22c8d1fba959, Add trees.enabled
grampsweb_celery exited with code 1 (restarting)

I deleted all volumes and containers before this test. All of the images where pulled yesterday and should be up to date.

When adding the env variable the error goes away. It also seems that this only happens when using volumes that are not mount volumes.

But I have to admit that I have no idea why this happens. I cant find any reference to the env variable in the code too.

[DavidMStraub]

Are you sure your volumes are new/empty? Stuff like that usually happens when there are leftovers from old incomplete installation attempts.

[JL710]

Yup, I am pretty shure. I stopped with docker compose down -v and checked with docker volume ls.

Also here is a complete log where docker even states that the volumes are created:

sudo docker compose -f test-compose.yml up                                                                                                                                                                                     
[+] Running 12/12
 ✔ Network gramps-test_default            Created                                                                                                                                                                                      0.1s 
 ✔ Volume gramps-test_gramps_cache        Created                                                                                                                                                                                      0.0s 
 ✔ Volume gramps-test_gramps_db           Created                                                                                                                                                                                      0.0s 
 ✔ Volume gramps-test_gramps_tmp          Created                                                                                                                                                                                      0.0s 
 ✔ Volume gramps-test_gramps_users        Created                                                                                                                                                                                      0.0s 
 ✔ Volume gramps-test_gramps_secret       Created                                                                                                                                                                                      0.0s 
 ✔ Volume gramps-test_gramps_media        Created                                                                                                                                                                                      0.0s 
 ✔ Volume gramps-test_gramps_index        Created                                                                                                                                                                                      0.0s 
 ✔ Volume gramps-test_gramps_thumb_cache  Created                                                                                                                                                                                      0.0s 
 ✔ Container grampsweb_redis              Created                                                                                                                                                                                      0.3s 
 ✔ Container grampsweb_celery             Created                                                                                                                                                                                      0.0s 
 ✔ Container gramps-test-grampsweb-1      Created                                                                                                                                                                                      0.0s 
Attaching to grampsweb-1, grampsweb_celery, grampsweb_redis
grampsweb_redis  | 1:C 21 Sep 2025 12:35:16.805 # WARNING Memory overcommit must be enabled! Without it, a background save or replication may fail under low memory condition. Being disabled, it can also cause failures without low memory condition, see https://github.com/jemalloc/jemalloc/issues/1328. To fix this issue add 'vm.overcommit_memory = 1' to /etc/sysctl.conf and then reboot or run the command 'sysctl vm.overcommit_memory=1' for this to take effect.
grampsweb_redis  | 1:C 21 Sep 2025 12:35:16.805 * oO0OoO0OoO0Oo Redis is starting oO0OoO0OoO0Oo
grampsweb_redis  | 1:C 21 Sep 2025 12:35:16.805 * Redis version=7.2.4, bits=64, commit=00000000, modified=0, pid=1, just started
grampsweb_redis  | 1:C 21 Sep 2025 12:35:16.805 # Warning: no config file specified, using the default config. In order to specify a config file use redis-server /path/to/redis.conf
grampsweb_redis  | 1:M 21 Sep 2025 12:35:16.806 * monotonic clock: POSIX clock_gettime
grampsweb_redis  | 1:M 21 Sep 2025 12:35:16.806 * Running mode=standalone, port=6379.
grampsweb_redis  | 1:M 21 Sep 2025 12:35:16.807 * Server initialized
grampsweb_redis  | 1:M 21 Sep 2025 12:35:16.807 * Ready to accept connections tcp
grampsweb_celery  | 
grampsweb_celery  | (__main__.py:11): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 12:35:18.258: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed
grampsweb-1       | 
grampsweb-1       | (__main__.py:8): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 12:35:18.289: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed
grampsweb-1       | Traceback (most recent call last):
grampsweb-1       |   File "<frozen runpy>", line 198, in _run_module_as_main
grampsweb-1       |   File "<frozen runpy>", line 88, in _run_code
grampsweb-1       |   File "/app/src/gramps_webapi/__main__.py", line 369, in <module>
grampsweb-1       |     cli(
grampsweb-1       |   File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/click/core.py", line 1442, in __call__
grampsweb-1       |     return self.main(*args, **kwargs)
grampsweb-1       |            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
grampsweb-1       |   File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/click/core.py", line 1363, in main
grampsweb-1       |     rv = self.invoke(ctx)
grampsweb-1       |          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
grampsweb-1       |   File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/click/core.py", line 1827, in invoke
grampsweb-1       |     super().invoke(ctx)
grampsweb-1       |   File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/click/core.py", line 1226, in invoke
grampsweb-1       |     return ctx.invoke(self.callback, **ctx.params)
grampsweb-1       |            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
grampsweb-1       |   File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/click/core.py", line 794, in invoke
grampsweb-1       |     return callback(*args, **kwargs)
grampsweb-1       |            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
grampsweb-1       |   File "/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/click/decorators.py", line 34, in new_func
grampsweb-1       |     return f(get_current_context(), *args, **kwargs)
grampsweb-1       |            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
grampsweb-1       |   File "/app/src/gramps_webapi/__main__.py", line 60, in cli
grampsweb-1       |     ctx.obj = {"app": create_app()}
grampsweb-1       |                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^
grampsweb-1       |   File "/app/src/gramps_webapi/app.py", line 122, in create_app
grampsweb-1       |     WebDbManager(
grampsweb-1       |   File "/app/src/gramps_webapi/dbmanager.py", line 73, in __init__
grampsweb-1       |     self._check_backend()
grampsweb-1       |   File "/app/src/gramps_webapi/dbmanager.py", line 146, in _check_backend
grampsweb-1       |     raise ValueError(
grampsweb-1       | ValueError: Database backend 'bsddb' of tree 'Gramps Web' not supported.
grampsweb_celery  | INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Context impl SQLiteImpl.
grampsweb_celery  | INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Will assume non-transactional DDL.
grampsweb_celery  | INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Running upgrade  -> c89728e71264, empty message
grampsweb_celery  | INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Running upgrade c89728e71264 -> e5e738d09fa7, Added configuration table
grampsweb_celery  | INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Running upgrade e5e738d09fa7 -> e176543c72a8, Add tree column to User
grampsweb_celery  | INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Running upgrade e176543c72a8 -> 66e56620891a, Add trees table
grampsweb_celery  | INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Running upgrade 66e56620891a -> 22c8d1fba959, Add trees.enabled
grampsweb_celery  | INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Running upgrade 22c8d1fba959 -> b0582f54029c, Use BigInt for usage_media
grampsweb_celery  | INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Running upgrade b0582f54029c -> 84960b7d968c, Use BigInt for quota_media
grampsweb_celery  | INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Running upgrade 84960b7d968c -> a8e57fe0d82e, Add coloumns for AI quota
grampsweb-1 exited with code 1 (restarting)
Gracefully Stopping... press Ctrl+C again to force

 Container grampsweb_celery  Stopping
 Container gramps-test-grampsweb-1  Stopping
grampsweb-1       | 
grampsweb-1       | (__main__.py:8): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 12:35:20.794: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed
grampsweb_celery  | 
grampsweb_celery  | (celery:1): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 12:35:21.370: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed
grampsweb-1       | INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Context impl SQLiteImpl.
grampsweb-1       | INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Will assume non-transactional DDL.
grampsweb_celery  | /usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/celery/platforms.py:841: SecurityWarning: You're running the worker with superuser privileges: this is
grampsweb_celery  | absolutely not recommended!
grampsweb_celery  | 
grampsweb_celery  | Please specify a different user using the --uid option.
grampsweb_celery  | 
grampsweb_celery  | User information: uid=0 euid=0 gid=0 egid=0
grampsweb_celery  | 
grampsweb_celery  |   warnings.warn(SecurityWarning(ROOT_DISCOURAGED.format(
grampsweb_celery  |  
grampsweb_celery  |  -------------- celery@31800472d881 v5.5.3 (immunity)
grampsweb_celery  | --- ***** ----- 
grampsweb_celery  | -- ******* ---- Linux-6.16.7-200.fc42.x86_64-x86_64-with-glibc2.36 2025-09-21 12:35:21
grampsweb_celery  | - *** --- * --- 
grampsweb_celery  | - ** ---------- [config]
grampsweb_celery  | - ** ---------- .> app:         default:0x7f0747ad71d0 (.default.Loader)
grampsweb_celery  | - ** ---------- .> transport:   redis://grampsweb_redis:6379/0
grampsweb_celery  | - ** ---------- .> results:     redis://grampsweb_redis:6379/0
grampsweb_celery  | - *** --- * --- .> concurrency: 2 (prefork)
grampsweb_celery  | -- ******* ---- .> task events: OFF (enable -E to monitor tasks in this worker)
grampsweb_celery  | --- ***** ----- 
grampsweb_celery  |  -------------- [queues]
grampsweb_celery  |                 .> celery           exchange=celery(direct) key=celery
grampsweb_celery  |                 
grampsweb_celery  | 
grampsweb_celery  | [tasks]
grampsweb_celery  |   . gramps_webapi.api.tasks.check_repair_database
grampsweb_celery  |   . gramps_webapi.api.tasks.delete_objects
grampsweb_celery  |   . gramps_webapi.api.tasks.export_db
grampsweb_celery  |   . gramps_webapi.api.tasks.export_media
grampsweb_celery  |   . gramps_webapi.api.tasks.generate_report
grampsweb_celery  |   . gramps_webapi.api.tasks.import_file
grampsweb_celery  |   . gramps_webapi.api.tasks.import_media_archive
grampsweb_celery  |   . gramps_webapi.api.tasks.media_ocr
grampsweb_celery  |   . gramps_webapi.api.tasks.process_transactions
grampsweb_celery  |   . gramps_webapi.api.tasks.search_reindex_full
grampsweb_celery  |   . gramps_webapi.api.tasks.search_reindex_incremental
grampsweb_celery  |   . gramps_webapi.api.tasks.send_email_confirm_email
grampsweb_celery  |   . gramps_webapi.api.tasks.send_email_new_user
grampsweb_celery  |   . gramps_webapi.api.tasks.send_email_reset_password
grampsweb_celery  |   . gramps_webapi.api.tasks.send_telemetry_task
grampsweb_celery  |   . gramps_webapi.api.tasks.update_search_indices_from_transaction
grampsweb_celery  |   . gramps_webapi.api.tasks.upgrade_database_schema
grampsweb_celery  |   . gramps_webapi.api.tasks.upgrade_undodb_schema
grampsweb_celery  | 
grampsweb_celery  | [2025-09-21 12:35:22,054: INFO/MainProcess] Connected to redis://grampsweb_redis:6379/0
grampsweb_celery  | [2025-09-21 12:35:22,059: INFO/MainProcess] mingle: searching for neighbors
grampsweb-1       | [2025-09-21 12:35:22 +0000] [10] [INFO] Starting gunicorn 23.0.0
grampsweb-1       | [2025-09-21 12:35:22 +0000] [10] [INFO] Listening at: http://0.0.0.0:5000 (10)
grampsweb-1       | [2025-09-21 12:35:22 +0000] [10] [INFO] Using worker: sync
grampsweb-1       | [2025-09-21 12:35:22 +0000] [11] [INFO] Booting worker with pid: 11
grampsweb-1       | [2025-09-21 12:35:22 +0000] [12] [INFO] Booting worker with pid: 12
grampsweb-1       | [2025-09-21 12:35:22 +0000] [13] [INFO] Booting worker with pid: 13
grampsweb-1       | [2025-09-21 12:35:22 +0000] [14] [INFO] Booting worker with pid: 14
grampsweb-1       | [2025-09-21 12:35:22 +0000] [15] [INFO] Booting worker with pid: 15
grampsweb-1       | [2025-09-21 12:35:22 +0000] [16] [INFO] Booting worker with pid: 16
grampsweb-1       | [2025-09-21 12:35:22 +0000] [17] [INFO] Booting worker with pid: 17
grampsweb-1       | [2025-09-21 12:35:22 +0000] [18] [INFO] Booting worker with pid: 18
grampsweb_celery  | [2025-09-21 12:35:23,067: INFO/MainProcess] mingle: all alone
grampsweb_celery  | [2025-09-21 12:35:23,081: INFO/MainProcess] celery@31800472d881 ready.
grampsweb-1       | 
grampsweb-1       | (gunicorn:11): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 12:35:23.576: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed
grampsweb-1       | 
grampsweb-1       | (gunicorn:13): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 12:35:23.784: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed
grampsweb-1       | 
grampsweb-1       | (gunicorn:16): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 12:35:23.840: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed
grampsweb-1       | 
grampsweb-1       | (gunicorn:12): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 12:35:23.960: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed
grampsweb-1       | 
grampsweb-1       | (gunicorn:17): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 12:35:23.970: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed
grampsweb-1       | 
grampsweb-1       | (gunicorn:14): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 12:35:24.012: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed
grampsweb-1       | 
grampsweb-1       | (gunicorn:15): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 12:35:24.122: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed
grampsweb-1       | 
grampsweb-1       | (gunicorn:18): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 12:35:24.210: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed
 Container grampsweb_celery  Stopped
grampsweb_celery exited with code 137
 Container gramps-test-grampsweb-1  Stopped
 Container grampsweb_redis  Stopping
grampsweb-1 exited with code 137
grampsweb_redis   | 1:signal-handler (1758458130) Received SIGTERM scheduling shutdown...
grampsweb_redis   | 1:M 21 Sep 2025 12:35:30.643 * User requested shutdown...
grampsweb_redis   | 1:M 21 Sep 2025 12:35:30.643 * Saving the final RDB snapshot before exiting.
grampsweb_redis   | 1:M 21 Sep 2025 12:35:30.645 * DB saved on disk
grampsweb_redis   | 1:M 21 Sep 2025 12:35:30.645 # Redis is now ready to exit, bye bye...
 Container grampsweb_redis  Stopped
grampsweb_redis exited with code 0

[JL710]

I also noticed that when I remove the depends on with mounted volumes I get the error as well.

[DavidMStraub]

Are you 100% sure that both services have mounted the same volumes? I checked the function in Gramps that is responsible for the error, and it will return bsddb by default if it doesn't find a database backend file:

https://github.com/gramps-project/gramps/blob/master/gramps/gen/db/utils.py#L132-L141

This is obviously a stupid default since bsddb is not supported anymore, but anyway - it means your Gramps Web API processes started up and found an incompletely initialized database directory.

[JL710]

I recorded a reproducing walk through on my machine. You can see that the volumes do not exist before and are created, no containers existing before, the compose file and the error.

2025-09-21.15-18-28.mp4

[DavidMStraub]

Hah, super useful, thanks.

But I can see you still have the GRAMPSWEB_DB_BACKEND: sqlite and you get the bsddb error, so can we conclude that this env var has no effect (as it must be)?

[DavidMStraub]

So if I do

docker run -p "5055:5000" -e TREE=new ghcr.io/gramps-project/grampsweb:latest

as documented here, it works as it should and automatically creates a tree that has sqlite in /root/.gramps/grampsdb/some-tree-id/database.txt.

Can you please check if that's the case for you as well?

Are you on the latest image?

[JL710]

Oh. Yup. We can conclude the env var has no effect. I must have changed something yesterday at the same time that "fixed" it.

[JL710]

I installed docker on my current machine yesterday. So all images where pulled since then. I assume they are up to date.
Checking the image, it is listed as:

ghcr.io/gramps-project/grampsweb   latest         db10a568a931   3 weeks ago     5.39GB

Here I ran your command:

sudo docker run -p "5055:5000" -e TREE=new ghcr.io/gramps-project/grampsweb:latest                                                                                                                                                127 ↵

(__main__.py:11): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 21:20:14.157: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed
/app/src/gramps_webapi/app.py:74: UserWarning: Setting the `TREE` config option via the `TREE` environment variable is deprecated and will stop working in the future. Please use `GRAMPSWEB_TREE` instead.
  warnings.warn(
INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Context impl SQLiteImpl.
INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Will assume non-transactional DDL.
INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Running upgrade  -> c89728e71264, empty message
INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Running upgrade c89728e71264 -> e5e738d09fa7, Added configuration table
INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Running upgrade e5e738d09fa7 -> e176543c72a8, Add tree column to User
INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Running upgrade e176543c72a8 -> 66e56620891a, Add trees table
INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Running upgrade 66e56620891a -> 22c8d1fba959, Add trees.enabled
INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Running upgrade 22c8d1fba959 -> b0582f54029c, Use BigInt for usage_media
INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Running upgrade b0582f54029c -> 84960b7d968c, Use BigInt for quota_media
INFO  [alembic.runtime.migration] Running upgrade 84960b7d968c -> a8e57fe0d82e, Add coloumns for AI quota
[2025-09-21 21:20:18 +0000] [14] [INFO] Starting gunicorn 23.0.0
[2025-09-21 21:20:18 +0000] [14] [INFO] Listening at: http://0.0.0.0:5000 (14)
[2025-09-21 21:20:18 +0000] [14] [INFO] Using worker: sync
[2025-09-21 21:20:18 +0000] [15] [INFO] Booting worker with pid: 15
[2025-09-21 21:20:18 +0000] [16] [INFO] Booting worker with pid: 16
[2025-09-21 21:20:18 +0000] [17] [INFO] Booting worker with pid: 17
[2025-09-21 21:20:18 +0000] [18] [INFO] Booting worker with pid: 18
[2025-09-21 21:20:18 +0000] [19] [INFO] Booting worker with pid: 19
[2025-09-21 21:20:18 +0000] [20] [INFO] Booting worker with pid: 20
[2025-09-21 21:20:18 +0000] [21] [INFO] Booting worker with pid: 21
[2025-09-21 21:20:19 +0000] [22] [INFO] Booting worker with pid: 22

(gunicorn:15): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 21:20:19.976: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed

(gunicorn:16): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 21:20:20.002: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed

(gunicorn:20): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 21:20:20.240: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed

(gunicorn:19): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 21:20:20.294: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed
/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/gramps_webapi/app.py:74: UserWarning: Setting the `TREE` config option via the `TREE` environment variable is deprecated and will stop working in the future. Please use `GRAMPSWEB_TREE` instead.
  warnings.warn(

(gunicorn:18): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 21:20:20.407: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed

(gunicorn:17): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 21:20:20.408: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed
/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/gramps_webapi/app.py:74: UserWarning: Setting the `TREE` config option via the `TREE` environment variable is deprecated and will stop working in the future. Please use `GRAMPSWEB_TREE` instead.
  warnings.warn(
/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/flask_limiter/extension.py:324: UserWarning: Using the in-memory storage for tracking rate limits as no storage was explicitly specified. This is not recommended for production use. See: https://flask-limiter.readthedocs.io#configuring-a-storage-backend for documentation about configuring the storage backend.
  warnings.warn(
/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/flask_limiter/extension.py:324: UserWarning: Using the in-memory storage for tracking rate limits as no storage was explicitly specified. This is not recommended for production use. See: https://flask-limiter.readthedocs.io#configuring-a-storage-backend for documentation about configuring the storage backend.
  warnings.warn(
/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/gramps_webapi/app.py:74: UserWarning: Setting the `TREE` config option via the `TREE` environment variable is deprecated and will stop working in the future. Please use `GRAMPSWEB_TREE` instead.
  warnings.warn(

(gunicorn:21): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 21:20:20.664: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed
/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/flask_limiter/extension.py:324: UserWarning: Using the in-memory storage for tracking rate limits as no storage was explicitly specified. This is not recommended for production use. See: https://flask-limiter.readthedocs.io#configuring-a-storage-backend for documentation about configuring the storage backend.
  warnings.warn(
/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/gramps_webapi/app.py:74: UserWarning: Setting the `TREE` config option via the `TREE` environment variable is deprecated and will stop working in the future. Please use `GRAMPSWEB_TREE` instead.
  warnings.warn(

(gunicorn:22): Gtk-CRITICAL **: 21:20:20.735: gtk_icon_theme_get_for_screen: assertion 'GDK_IS_SCREEN (screen)' failed
/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/flask_limiter/extension.py:324: UserWarning: Using the in-memory storage for tracking rate limits as no storage was explicitly specified. This is not recommended for production use. See: https://flask-limiter.readthedocs.io#configuring-a-storage-backend for documentation about configuring the storage backend.
  warnings.warn(
/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/gramps_webapi/app.py:74: UserWarning: Setting the `TREE` config option via the `TREE` environment variable is deprecated and will stop working in the future. Please use `GRAMPSWEB_TREE` instead.
  warnings.warn(
/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/gramps_webapi/app.py:74: UserWarning: Setting the `TREE` config option via the `TREE` environment variable is deprecated and will stop working in the future. Please use `GRAMPSWEB_TREE` instead.
  warnings.warn(
/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/flask_limiter/extension.py:324: UserWarning: Using the in-memory storage for tracking rate limits as no storage was explicitly specified. This is not recommended for production use. See: https://flask-limiter.readthedocs.io#configuring-a-storage-backend for documentation about configuring the storage backend.
  warnings.warn(
/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/flask_limiter/extension.py:324: UserWarning: Using the in-memory storage for tracking rate limits as no storage was explicitly specified. This is not recommended for production use. See: https://flask-limiter.readthedocs.io#configuring-a-storage-backend for documentation about configuring the storage backend.
  warnings.warn(
/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/gramps_webapi/app.py:74: UserWarning: Setting the `TREE` config option via the `TREE` environment variable is deprecated and will stop working in the future. Please use `GRAMPSWEB_TREE` instead.
  warnings.warn(
/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/flask_limiter/extension.py:324: UserWarning: Using the in-memory storage for tracking rate limits as no storage was explicitly specified. This is not recommended for production use. See: https://flask-limiter.readthedocs.io#configuring-a-storage-backend for documentation about configuring the storage backend.
  warnings.warn(
/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/gramps_webapi/app.py:74: UserWarning: Setting the `TREE` config option via the `TREE` environment variable is deprecated and will stop working in the future. Please use `GRAMPSWEB_TREE` instead.
  warnings.warn(
/usr/local/lib/python3.11/dist-packages/flask_limiter/extension.py:324: UserWarning: Using the in-memory storage for tracking rate limits as no storage was explicitly specified. This is not recommended for production use. See: https://flask-limiter.readthedocs.io#configuring-a-storage-backend for documentation about configuring the storage backend.
  warnings.warn(

As you see, it marks a deprecaded env variable, but works otherwise. Using the new env variable shows the same result (without the warnings).

In the started container there is the mentioned file /root/.gramps/grampsdb/some-tree-id/database.txt (although empty).

The file also exists in both compose containers where the error is logged from grampsweb_celery.

[DavidMStraub]

Oh. Yup. We can conclude the env var has no effect. I must have changed something yesterday at the same time that "fixed" it.

What do you mean by fixed? You still see the bsddb error when you use compose, but don't see it when you just run the single container, correct?

[JL710]

Thats mostly correct.

I have the error when using this compose file:

services:
  grampsweb: &grampsweb
    image: ghcr.io/gramps-project/grampsweb:latest
    restart: always
    ports:
      - "8081:5000"  # host:docker
    environment:
      GRAMPSWEB_TREE: "Gramps Web"  # will create a new tree if not exists
      GRAMPSWEB_CELERY_CONFIG__broker_url: "redis://grampsweb_redis:6379/0"
      GRAMPSWEB_CELERY_CONFIG__result_backend: "redis://grampsweb_redis:6379/0"
      GRAMPSWEB_RATELIMIT_STORAGE_URI: redis://grampsweb_redis:6379/1
    depends_on:
      - grampsweb_redis
    volumes:
      - gramps_users:/app/users  # persist user database
      - gramps_index:/app/indexdir  # persist search index
      - gramps_thumb_cache:/app/thumbnail_cache  # persist thumbnails
      - gramps_cache:/app/cache  # persist export and report caches
      - gramps_secret:/app/secret  # persist flask secret
      - gramps_db:/root/.gramps/grampsdb  # persist Gramps database
      - gramps_media:/app/media  # persist media files
      - gramps_tmp:/tmp

  grampsweb_celery:
    <<: *grampsweb  # YAML merge key copying the entire grampsweb service config
    ports: []
    container_name: grampsweb_celery
    depends_on:
      - grampsweb_redis
    command: celery -A gramps_webapi.celery worker --loglevel=INFO --concurrency=2

  grampsweb_redis:
    image: docker.io/library/redis:7.2.4-alpine
    container_name: grampsweb_redis
    restart: always

volumes:
  gramps_users:
  gramps_index:
  gramps_thumb_cache:
  gramps_cache:
  gramps_secret:
  gramps_db:
  gramps_media:
  gramps_tmp:

But not with this compose file:

services:
  grampsweb: &grampsweb
    image: ghcr.io/gramps-project/grampsweb:latest
    restart: always
    ports:
      - "8081:5000"  # host:docker
    environment:
      GRAMPSWEB_TREE: "Gramps Web"  # will create a new tree if not exists
      GRAMPSWEB_CELERY_CONFIG__broker_url: "redis://grampsweb_redis:6379/0"
      GRAMPSWEB_CELERY_CONFIG__result_backend: "redis://grampsweb_redis:6379/0"
      GRAMPSWEB_RATELIMIT_STORAGE_URI: redis://grampsweb_redis:6379/1
      GRAMPSWEB_DB_BACKEND: sqlite
    depends_on:
      - grampsweb_redis
    volumes:
      - ./data/gramps_users:/app/users:Z  # persist user database
      - ./data/gramps_index:/app/indexdir:Z  # persist search index
      - ./data/gramps_thumb_cache:/app/thumbnail_cache:Z  # persist thumbnails
      - ./data/gramps_cache:/app/cache:Z  # persist export and report caches
      - ./data/gramps_secret:/app/secret:Z  # persist flask secret
      - ./data/gramps_db:/root/.gramps/grampsdb:Z  # persist Gramps database
      - ./data/gramps_media:/app/media:Z  # persist media files
      - ./data/gramps_tmp:/tmp:Z
      - ./config.cfg:/app/config/config.cfg

  grampsweb_celery:
    <<: *grampsweb  # YAML merge key copying the entire grampsweb service config
    ports: []
    container_name: grampsweb_celery
    depends_on:
      - grampsweb
      - grampsweb_redis
    command: celery -A gramps_webapi.celery worker --loglevel=INFO --concurrency=2

  grampsweb_redis:
    image: docker.io/library/redis:7.2.4-alpine
    container_name: grampsweb_redis
    restart: always

[DavidMStraub]

The second one uses bind mounts. So I bet you have some stuff in ./data/gramps_db, so the volume is not empty.