Database data resets everytime I restart the container.

[JoacoG]

Describe the bug
I installed the webhook using the docker container. When I reset the container using docker compose ... down and docker compose ... up, data is wiped out.

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Install the webhook using docker compose -f central/docker-compose.yml -f docker/central-webhook/compose.webhook.yml up -d
2. Restart the container using docker compose -f central/docker-compose.yml -f docker/central-webhook/compose.webhook.yml down and then docker compose -f central/docker-compose.yml -f docker/central-webhook/compose.webhook.yml up -d again
3. Data is wiped out in db

Expected behavior
Database to be the same each time central is restarted.

Screenshots
None

Additional context

I was looking at central folder. Here is the docker file for the PostgreSQL db there.

FROM postgres:14.10

COPY files/postgres14/start-postgres.sh /usr/local/bin/

# PGDATA is originally declared in the parent Dockerfile, but points
# to an anonymous VOLUME declaration in the same file:
#
#   ENV PGDATA /var/lib/postgresql/data
#   ...
#   VOLUME /var/lib/postgresql/data
#
# To ensure future accessibility, PGDATA must be stored _outside_ the
# anonymous volume.
ENV PGDATA=/var/lib/odk/postgresql/14/data

ENTRYPOINT []

I think the images you built for postgres do not have this configuration. See pgsql-http.dockerfile in central-webhook repo.

# Postgres v14
FROM postgres:14 AS pg-14

RUN apt-get update \
    && apt-get install -y postgresql-14-http \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# Postgres v15
FROM postgres:15 AS pg-15

RUN apt-get update \
    && apt-get install -y postgresql-15-http \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# Postgres v16
FROM postgres:16 AS pg-16

RUN apt-get update \
    && apt-get install -y postgresql-16-http \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# Postgres v17
FROM postgres:17 AS pg-17

RUN apt-get update \
    && apt-get install -y postgresql-17-http \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# Postgres v18
FROM postgres:18 AS pg-18

RUN apt-get update \
    && apt-get install -y postgresql-18-http \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

[spwoodcock]

You are totally right. Central moves the default
postgres data dir by the looks of it

ENV PGDATA=/var/lib/odk/postgresql/14/data

The only other thing in that dockerfile is the check for the database upgrade service.

To make these pre-built images fully compatible with a vanilla ODK Central config, perhaps they need to be built on top of the official ODK Central db image (which isn't published, so we would need to build).

It could be a tag like hotosm/postgres:14-http-odk

[JoacoG]

I tested with this image

# Postgres v14.10 ODK
FROM postgres:14.10 AS pg-1410-odk

RUN apt-get update \
    && apt-get install -y postgresql-14-http \
    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

ENV PGDATA=/var/lib/odk/postgresql/14/data

And now data is not "reset" everytime I restart central/central-webhook.

To make it fully compatible with vanilla ODK install maybe the exact postgre version should be used. In the last ODK version (v2025.4), they updated to PostgreSQL 14.11. I used 14.10 there because I'm using v2025.3.1.

This should allow someone with a working ODK vanilla instance to install the tool with no problem right? I mean, they could choose to run ODK with or without central-webhook just by using docker compose -f central/docker-compose.yml -f docker/central-webhook/compose.webhook.yml up -d o docker compose -f central/docker-compose.yml up -d with no problem?