[BUG] Can not Register in Docker installation: Connection failed

[monfero]

Bug Description

I can't register in a fresh docker installation.

Deployment Type

[x ] Self-hosted version

Steps to Reproduce

I've launched a docker instance with this code:

docker run -d -p 33000:3000 -p 38000:8000 \
  -v surfsense-data:/data \
  --name surfsense \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  ghcr.io/modsetter/surfsense:latest

I go to "Sign Up", enter a valid e-mail an a new password and I get the following error in a popup message:
"Connection failed. Please check your internet connection and try again."

I've entered the docker container and tested with curl the access to web pages and it's ok.

Expected Behavior

A new account created.

Actual Behavior

popup message:
"Connection failed. Please check your internet connection and try again."

Screenshots/Videos

Environment Information

• Browser: Firefox or Chromium
• Operating System: Ubuntu 22.04
• SurfSense Version: beta-v0.0.8 ?? self-hosted latest

Logs/Error Messages

"Connection failed. Please check your internet connection and try again."

Checklist

• I have searched existing issues to ensure this is not a duplicate
• I have provided all the required information above
• I have added appropriate labels (bug, deployment type)

[CREDO23]

Hi @monfero, can you share logs please ?

[atimogus]

hi @CREDO23 have the same problem and i have posted in this thread

#474

[CREDO23]

Let me try to reproduce it !

[atimogus]

what is funny is that i didnt do anything much in the setup

i have just followed tutorial from here

https://www.surfsense.com/docs/docker-installation

# Download the quick start compose file
curl -o docker-compose.yml https://raw.githubusercontent.com/MODSetter/SurfSense/main/docker-compose.quickstart.yml
# Create .env file (optional - for custom configuration)
cat > .env << EOF
# EMBEDDING_MODEL=sentence-transformers/all-MiniLM-L6-v2
# ETL_SERVICE=DOCLING
# SECRET_KEY=your_custom_secret_key  # Auto-generated if not set
EOF
# Start SurfSense
docker compose up -d

and i am running it on other pc inside docker in proxmox VM

i have also tried adding to .env that is inside the same folder as docker compose file

NEXT_PUBLIC_FASTAPI_BACKEND_AUTH_TYPE=LOCAL
NEXT_PUBLIC_FASTAPI_BACKEND_URL=http://192.168.1.143:8000
NEXT_PUBLIC_ETL_SERVICE=UNSTRUCTURED

but did not help

[CREDO23]

I understand, I think I find the issue. I just want to confirm it, can you please check the logs of the backend container and paste them here ? :

something like docker logs -f backend

[atimogus]

there is no backend container, i have got ollama and openwebiu on other docker compose

ubuntu@ubuntu-gpu:~/ssd240gb/surfsense$ sudo docker compose logs -f backend
no such service: backend
ubuntu@ubuntu-gpu:~/ssd240gb/surfsense$ sudo docker ps
CONTAINER ID   IMAGE                                COMMAND                CREATED       STATUS                 PORTS                                                                                      NAMES
a45a0f5fd1c9   ghcr.io/modsetter/surfsense:latest   "/app/entrypoint.sh"   2 hours ago   Up 2 hours (healthy)   0.0.0.0:8000->8000/tcp, [::]:8000->8000/tcp, 0.0.0.0:3001->3000/tcp, [::]:3001->3000/tcp   surfsense
850d947c10dc   ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:main   "bash start.sh"        9 hours ago   Up 2 hours (healthy)   0.0.0.0:3000->8080/tcp, [::]:3000->8080/tcp                                                open-webui
746aab0f6a13   ollama/ollama:latest                 "/bin/ollama serve"    9 hours ago   Up 2 hours             0.0.0.0:11434->11434/tcp, [::]:11434->11434/tcp                                            ollama-gpu
ubuntu@ubuntu-gpu:~/ssd240gb/surfsense$ 

[MODSetter]

@atimogus LMK if #577 fixed the issue?

[atimogus]

so i am still having the error if i want to connect from other machine to external ip of my machine where surfsense is hosted

if i go http://192.168.1.143:3001/login it gives me error

Login failed

An unexpected error occurred. Please try again

if i type in powershell

ssh -L 3001:localhost:3001 ubuntu@192.168.1.143

and in my pc i type http://localhost:3001/register

account is created flawlessly and i could login into dashboard

[CREDO23]

@MODSetter , you need to build and push to GHCR a new image, because @monfero is using docker installation

[MODSetter]

@atimogus I just triggered a new build. I triggered one 1 hour back but it got stuck. Man Github actions suck.

[MODSetter]

@monfero Can you try again.

@atimogus In your logs here #474 (comment) your backend is running. I think you need to do something like this for your setup:

Docker Run (use any available ports on server)

docker run -d -p 3001:3000 -p 8001:8000 -v surfsense-data:/data --name surfsense --restart unless-stopped ghcr.io/modsetter/surfsense:latest

SSH Tunnel (map local 3000/8000 → server's 3001/8001)

ssh -L 3000:localhost:3001 -L 8000:localhost:8001 ubuntu@192.168.1.143

Then open http://localhost:3000 in browser.