Docker quick start

The fastest path to a working server is the official Docker image. It bundles the Fancy Mumble server plus all of the extras (persistent chat, file server, screen-share relay, push notifications) into one ready-to-run package.

You will need:

• Docker (or Podman) installed.
• A machine with a public IP, or port forwarding on your home router.
• About five minutes.

Option A: the interactive setup wizard (recommended)

The setup wizard walks you through every option and writes a ready-to-use .env and mumble-server.ini for you. See Setup wizard to get started - it produces the same result as the manual steps below but explains each choice along the way.

Option B: docker compose with environment variables

The quickest manual option. The server derives its configuration from MUMBLE_CONFIG_* environment variables at startup, including all Fancy Mumble features. Use Option C instead if you prefer a version-tracked config file.

1. Create a new folder and put a docker-compose.yml inside it:

   docker-compose.yml

   services:
     mumble-server:
       image: ghcr.io/fancy-mumble/mumble-server:latest
       container_name: mumble-server
       hostname: mumble-server
       restart: on-failure
       ports:
         - "64738:64738/tcp"   # voice and control
         - "64738:64738/udp"
         - "64739:64739/tcp"   # file server (emotes, attachments)
         - "10000:10000/udp"   # screen-share relay
       volumes:
         - mumble-data:/data
       environment:
         MUMBLE_SUPERUSER_PASSWORD: "changeme"
         MUMBLE_CONFIG_WELCOMETEXT: "Welcome to our server."
         MUMBLE_CONFIG_USERS: 100
         MUMBLE_CONFIG_REGISTERNAME: "My Fancy Server"
   
   volumes:
     mumble-data:

2. Start the server:

   docker compose up -d

3. Check the logs to confirm it booted:

   docker compose logs -f mumble-server

   You should see lines like Server listening on :::64738. Press Ctrl+C to exit the log tail (the container keeps running).

4. Note the SuperUser password you set. If you left it as changeme, change it now:

   docker exec mumble-server mumble-server \
     --ini /data/mumble_server_config.ini \
     --set-su-pw "your-strong-password"

5. Open Fancy Mumble on your client machine and connect to your-host:64738. See Connect to a server.

Option C: docker compose with a custom config file

Use this when you want to enable Fancy Mumble features like persistent chat, the file server, or the screen-share relay. A mumble-server.ini is mounted directly into the container; all MUMBLE_CONFIG_* environment variables are ignored once MUMBLE_CUSTOM_CONFIG_FILE is set.

1. Create a new folder and put these two files inside it:

   docker-compose.yml

   services:
     mumble-server:
       image: ghcr.io/fancy-mumble/mumble-server:latest
       container_name: mumble-server
       hostname: mumble-server
       restart: on-failure
       ports:
         - "64738:64738/tcp"   # voice and control
         - "64738:64738/udp"
         - "64739:64739/tcp"   # file server (emotes, attachments)
         - "10000:10000/udp"   # screen-share relay
       volumes:
         - ./mumble-server.ini:/data/mumble-server.ini:ro
         - mumble-data:/data
       environment:
         MUMBLE_SUPERUSER_PASSWORD: "changeme"
         MUMBLE_CUSTOM_CONFIG_FILE: /data/mumble-server.ini
   
   volumes:
     mumble-data:

   mumble-server.ini

   database=/data/mumble-server.sqlite
   port=64738
   users=100
   bandwidth=558000
   textmessagelength=500000
   imagemessagelength=1048576
   allowhtml=true
   
   ; Persistent chat
   pchatenabled=true
   
   ; File server (emotes, avatars, attachments)
   plugin.file-server.enabled=true
   plugin.file-server.storagePath=/data/file-server-storage
   plugin.file-server.bindAddress=0.0.0.0
   plugin.file-server.port=64739
   ; Set to true only when a reverse proxy (nginx, Caddy, Traefik, etc.) terminates TLS
   ; in front of this port. Leave false (or remove) for direct HTTPS/plain connections.
   plugin.file-server.tlsTerminatedByProxy=true
   
   ; WebRTC SFU (screen-share relay)
   ; Change webrtcsfupublicip to your server's public IP before enabling.
   webrtcsfuenabled=false
   webrtcsfuport=10000
   webrtcsfupublicip=127.0.0.1
   
   ; Push notifications
   ; Requires a Firebase project and credentials file. Leave disabled unless
   ; you have completed the FCM setup (see Push notifications).
   pushenabled=false
   pushcredentialspath=/data/fcm-credentials.json
   pushtopicprefix=mumble
   
   [Ice]
   Ice.Warn.UnknownProperties=1
   Ice.MessageSizeMax=65536

   Edit mumble-server.ini to match your deployment. The file is mounted read-only; restart the container after any change.

2. Start the server:

   docker compose up -d

3. Check the logs to confirm it booted:

   docker compose logs -f mumble-server

   You should see lines like Server listening on :::64738. Press Ctrl+C to exit the log tail (the container keeps running).

4. Note the SuperUser password you set. If you left it as changeme, change it now:

   docker exec mumble-server mumble-server \
     --ini /data/mumble-server.ini \
     --set-su-pw "your-strong-password"

5. Open Fancy Mumble on your client machine and connect to your-host:64738. See Connect to a server.

Option D: plain docker

If you do not use compose:

docker run --detach \
  --name mumble-server \
  --publish 64738:64738/tcp \
  --publish 64738:64738/udp \
  --publish 64739:64739/tcp \
  --publish 10000:10000/udp \
  --volume mumble-data:/data \
  --restart on-failure \
  --env MUMBLE_SUPERUSER_PASSWORD=changeme \
  ghcr.io/fancy-mumble/mumble-server:latest

Verify everything is working

Voice

Connect with the app and join a channel. Speak. Your speaking indicator should light up.

Persistent chat

Send a message, disconnect, reconnect. The message should still be there.

File server

Try uploading your avatar from Settings, Profile. It should persist across reconnects.

Screen-share relay

Only applicable if you enabled the WebRTC SFU (off by default - see Screen sharing relay). Once enabled, start a screen share and a second person should see it without any extra setup.

What just happened?

The image you ran bundles a few pieces:

• The Fancy Mumble server binary.
• A file server for emotes, avatars, and file uploads (port 64739).
• A screen-share relay (port 10000, off by default).
• A push notification module (off by default).
• An entrypoint script that:
  • Translates your MUMBLE_CONFIG_* environment variables into a config file at boot (Options B and D), or reads a mounted mumble-server.ini directly (Option C).
  • Reads passwords from Docker secrets if mounted.
  • Sets file ownership for the data volume.
  • Runs the server in the foreground.

Common first-run problems

• permission denied connecting to /var/run/docker.sock: your user is not in the docker group. Run sudo usermod -aG docker $USER then either log out and back in, or run newgrp docker to apply immediately. On Windows, make sure Docker Desktop is running before invoking any docker command.
• error getting credentials … exec format error: the Docker credential helper configured in ~/.docker/config.json is a Windows binary that cannot run inside WSL. The image is public, so no credentials are needed. Reset the config with echo '{}' > ~/.docker/config.json and retry.
• Failed to set initial capabilities and friends in the logs: at first startup the entrypoint runs the server binary briefly as root to set the SuperUser password, which emits a cluster of warnings:

  Failed to set initial capabilities
  WARNING: You are running murmurd as root, without setting a uname in the ini file.
  resource_limits {current: 0, max: 0}
  Failed to set priority limits.
  Failed to set final capabilities

  All of these come from UnixMurmur::initialcap() / finalcap() which expect Linux capabilities Docker drops by default. They are harmless and only appear during the password-setting step. The actual long-running server runs unprivileged as UID/GID 10000 via su-exec and does not emit them. Do not set uname / MUMBLE_CONFIG_UNAME in a Docker deployment - the named OS user does not exist in the image and the server will exit with Cannot find username.
• Cannot connect from outside the network: forward port 64738/tcp and 64738/udp on your router. The screen-share relay also needs 10000/udp to be reachable.
• Server starts then exits: check the logs. The most common cause is a typo in a MUMBLE_CONFIG_* value. The strict mode rejects unknown keys.
• SuperUser cannot log in: the password is set per-database. If you started the container before setting one, set it with the --set-su-pw command shown above, then restart.
• Voice connects but is one-way: UDP 64738 is blocked. Voice falls back to TCP, but viewers may need to force TCP too. Better: open UDP.
• Logs show plugin on_load failed for fancy-file-server: this is expected when using Option B (environment variables) without configuring a file server storage path. The server continues to run normally; voice, chat, and all other features are unaffected. To enable the file server, switch to Option C and set plugin.file-server.storagePath in your mumble-server.ini.

Next steps

Set up the SuperUser

See SuperUser & first login to take control of your fresh server.

Tweak the configuration

See Configuration reference for every available option.

Enable the feature deep-dives

Persistent chat, push, screen-share relay, file server, emotes, onboarding. All under Feature deep-dives in the sidebar.

Tear it back down

docker compose down -v removes the container and its data volume. Without -v the data survives.