Installation
Detailed installation guide for production environments.
System Requirements
- OS: Linux (Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, Debian 13 recommended) or macOS
- Architecture: x86_64 (amd64) or ARM64
- Memory: 512MB minimum, 1GB recommended
- Disk: 10GB minimum for registry storage
- Runtime: Docker or Podman
Download Gordon
From GitHub Releases
Linux (x86_64)
wget https://github.com/bnema/gordon/releases/latest/download/gordon_linux_amd64.tar.gz
tar -xzf gordon_linux_amd64.tar.gz
chmod +x gordon
sudo mv gordon /usr/local/bin/
Linux (ARM64) - for Raspberry Pi 4, AWS Graviton, Oracle Ampere, etc.
wget https://github.com/bnema/gordon/releases/latest/download/gordon_linux_arm64.tar.gz
tar -xzf gordon_linux_arm64.tar.gz
chmod +x gordon
sudo mv gordon /usr/local/bin/
macOS (Apple Silicon)
curl -LO https://github.com/bnema/gordon/releases/latest/download/gordon_darwin_arm64.tar.gz
tar -xzf gordon_darwin_arm64.tar.gz
chmod +x gordon
sudo mv gordon /usr/local/bin/
macOS (Intel)
curl -LO https://github.com/bnema/gordon/releases/latest/download/gordon_darwin_amd64.tar.gz
tar -xzf gordon_darwin_amd64.tar.gz
chmod +x gordon
sudo mv gordon /usr/local/bin/
Verify installation:
gordon version
From Source
# Requires Go 1.21+
git clone https://github.com/bnema/gordon.git
cd gordon
make build
sudo mv gordon /usr/local/bin/
Container Runtime Setup
Docker
# Install Docker
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
# Add user to docker group
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker
# Verify
docker run hello-world
Podman (Rootless)
Podman rootless mode provides enhanced security by running containers without root privileges.
# Install Podman
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y podman
# Enable user namespaces
echo 'user.max_user_namespaces=28633' | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf
sudo sysctl -p
# Setup subuid/subgid
sudo usermod --add-subuids 100000-165535 --add-subgids 100000-165535 $USER
# Enable Podman socket
systemctl --user enable --now podman.socket
# Configure insecure localhost registry
mkdir -p ~/.config/containers
cat > ~/.config/containers/registries.conf <<EOF
[registries.insecure]
registries = ['localhost:5000']
EOF
Firewall Configuration
Gordon needs ports accessible for the registry and proxy.
Using firewalld
# Install and enable firewalld
sudo apt install -y firewalld
sudo systemctl enable --now firewalld
# Allow HTTP/HTTPS
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=https
# For rootless containers, redirect privileged ports
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-forward-port=port=80:proto=tcp:toport=8080
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-forward-port=port=443:proto=tcp:toport=8443
# Apply changes
sudo firewall-cmd --reload
# Verify
sudo firewall-cmd --list-all
Using ufw
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw allow 5000/tcp # Registry port (if accessing directly)
sudo ufw enable
Configuration
Gordon creates a default configuration on first run:
# Run once to generate config, then stop
gordon start
# Press Ctrl+C
# Edit configuration
nano ~/.config/gordon/gordon.toml
Minimum required configuration:
[server]
port = 8080
registry_port = 5000
registry_domain = "registry.yourdomain.com"
[routes]
"app.yourdomain.com" = "myapp:latest"
See Configuration Reference for all options.
Systemd Service
User Service (Recommended for Rootless)
mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user
cat > ~/.config/systemd/user/gordon.service <<EOF
[Unit]
Description=Gordon Container Platform
After=podman.socket
[Service]
Type=simple
Restart=always
RestartSec=5
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/gordon start
[Install]
WantedBy=default.target
EOF
# Enable and start
systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable --now gordon
# Enable linger (keep service running after logout)
sudo loginctl enable-linger $USER
# Check status
systemctl --user status gordon
System Service (Root Mode)
sudo cat > /etc/systemd/system/gordon.service <<EOF
[Unit]
Description=Gordon Container Platform
After=docker.service
Requires=docker.service
[Service]
Type=simple
Restart=always
RestartSec=5
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/gordon start
User=root
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now gordon
DNS Configuration
Point your domains to your server:
| Type | Name | Content | Proxy |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | app |
SERVER_IP |
Yes (Cloudflare) |
| A | registry |
SERVER_IP |
Yes (Cloudflare) |
Note: Enable Cloudflare proxy (orange cloud) for automatic HTTPS. Gordon receives HTTP traffic from Cloudflare.
Verify Installation
# Check Gordon is running
systemctl --user status gordon
# View logs
journalctl --user -u gordon -f
# Test registry (from local machine)
docker login registry.yourdomain.com
docker pull alpine
docker tag alpine registry.yourdomain.com/test:latest
docker push registry.yourdomain.com/test:latest
Data Directories
Gordon stores data in the following locations:
| Path | Purpose |
|---|---|
~/.config/gordon/gordon.toml |
Configuration file |
~/.gordon/ |
Default data directory |
~/.gordon/registry/ |
Container images |
~/.gordon/env/ |
Environment files |
~/.gordon/logs/ |
Application logs |
~/.gordon/secrets/ |
Secrets (unsafe backend only) |