Fix Ghost Docker Compose Errors: A Troubleshooting Guide

Hey guys! Running into Docker Compose configuration errors with your Ghost service can be a real headache, but don't worry, we're here to help you sort it out. It sounds like you've stumbled upon a docker-compose.yml file that's throwing a bunch of errors right out of the box. Let's dive into the common issues and how to fix them, making sure your Ghost blog is up and running smoothly.

Understanding the Docker Compose Errors

First off, let's break down the errors you're seeing. These errors are Docker Compose's way of telling you that there's something in your docker-compose.yml file that it doesn't understand or that violates its rules. It's like a grammar check for your Docker setup!

1. services.ghost.expose is invalid: should be of the format 'PORT[/PROTOCOL]'

This error means that the expose directive in your Ghost service configuration isn't formatted correctly. The expose directive is used to expose ports internally within the Docker network, not to the outside world. It needs to follow the PORT[/PROTOCOL] format, like 2368 or 2368/tcp.

How to fix it: You might not even need the expose directive at all. If you're trying to make your Ghost blog accessible from your host machine or the internet, you should be using the ports directive instead. This maps ports from your host to the container. For example:

services:
 ghost:
 ports:
 - "2368:2368"

This line maps port 2368 on your host machine to port 2368 in the Ghost container, making your blog accessible.

2. services.db.healthcheck value 'start_interval' does not match any of the regexes: '^x-'

This error indicates an issue with the health check configuration for your database service. Docker Compose uses health checks to ensure that your services are running correctly. The error message suggests that you've used start_interval in your health check, which isn't a standard Docker Compose option. It's possible that this was a typo or an attempt to use a non-existent feature.

How to fix it: Review your database service's health check configuration. Standard options include test, interval, timeout, retries, and start_period. If you were trying to set an interval for when the health check starts, you might be looking for start_period. Here’s an example of a valid health check:

services:
 db:
 healthcheck:
 test: ["CMD", "mysqladmin", "ping", "-h", "localhost"]
 interval: 10s
 timeout: 5s
 retries: 3
 start_period: 30s

This configuration checks the MySQL database every 10 seconds, allows 5 seconds for a response, retries 3 times if it fails, and waits 30 seconds before starting the checks.

3. services.activitypub-migrate.restart contains an invalid type, it should be a string

This error tells us that the restart directive for the activitypub-migrate service is using the wrong data type. The restart directive should be a string, such as always, on-failure, or unless-stopped. It seems like you might have used a boolean or some other incorrect type.

How to fix it: Ensure that your restart directive is a string. For example:

services:
 activitypub-migrate:
 restart: "on-failure"

This configuration tells Docker to restart the container if it fails.

4. services.tinybird-login.restart contains an invalid type, it should be a string

This is the same issue as the previous error, but for the tinybird-login service. The restart directive needs to be a string.

How to fix it: Just like before, make sure your restart directive is a string:

services:
 tinybird-login:
 restart: "on-failure"

5. services.tinybird-sync.restart contains an invalid type, it should be a string

And again, the same problem, this time for the tinybird-sync service.

How to fix it: Correct the restart directive to use a string:

services:
 tinybird-sync:
 restart: "on-failure"

6. services.activitypub.environment.ALLOW_PRIVATE_ADDRESS contains true, which is an invalid type, it should be a string, number, or a null

This error indicates that the environment variable ALLOW_PRIVATE_ADDRESS for the activitypub service has an invalid type. Environment variables in Docker Compose are treated as strings, so boolean values need to be represented as strings (`