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This guide walks you through deploying ipMoodle using the deploy.sh automation script.

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Overview

The deployment process consists of three main phases:
  1. Environment setup - Generates .env file with database credentials
  2. Infrastructure deployment - Builds Docker images and starts containers
  3. Moodle installation - Downloads and configures Moodle 4.3
The entire deployment process typically takes 5-10 minutes, depending on your internet connection and system resources.

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Pre-Deployment Configuration

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Set Required Environment Variable

Before running the deployment script, configure your site URL: 
export SITE_URL="https://your-domain.com"
The SITE_URL variable is required. The deployment script will use this value to configure Moodle’s base URL.

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Optional: Customize Database Credentials

The deployment script uses default database credentials. For production environments, you should customize these:
deploy.sh
export DB_NAME="moodle"
export DB_USER="moodle"
export DB_PASS="moodle"  # Change this for production!
By default, the script uses:
  • Database Name: moodle
  • Database User: moodle
  • Database Password: moodle
These are defined in deploy.sh:5-7.

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Installation Steps

1

Navigate to the installation directory

cd /path/to/ipmoodle
2

Make the deployment script executable

chmod +x deploy.sh
3

Run the deployment script

./deploy.sh
The script will execute the following operations automatically:
The script creates a .env file with your configuration:
cat <<EOF > .env
SITE_URL=$SITE_URL
DB_NAME=$DB_NAME
DB_USER=$DB_USER
DB_PASS=$DB_PASS
EOF
This file is used by Docker Compose to configure the containers.
docker compose build
This builds the custom PHP-FPM image defined in the Dockerfile:
  • Base image: php:8.2-fpm-alpine
  • Installs Moodle-required PHP extensions
  • Configures PHP settings (512M memory limit, 512M upload size)
  • Sets up proper permissions for www-data user
Expected duration: 3-5 minutes on first run
docker compose up -d
This starts all services:
  • db: PostgreSQL 16 database
  • app: PHP-FPM application server
  • cron: Automated task scheduler
  • web: Nginx web server
All containers start in detached mode (-d flag).
If the ./html directory is empty, the script automatically downloads Moodle:
docker compose exec -T app sh -c "curl -L https://download.moodle.org/download.php/direct/stable403/moodle-latest-403.tgz | tar xz --strip-components=1"
Then sets proper permissions:
docker compose exec -T app chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html
docker compose exec -T app chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/moodledata
docker compose exec -T app chmod -R 755 /var/www/html
Expected duration: 2-3 minutes
4

Verify deployment

Check that all containers are running:
docker compose ps
You should see four containers:
  • moodle_db (PostgreSQL)
  • moodle_app (PHP-FPM)
  • moodle_cron (Cron scheduler)
  • moodle_web (Nginx)
All should show status “Up”.
5

Access Moodle installer

Open your browser and navigate to the URL you configured:
http://your-domain.com
You’ll be greeted by the Moodle installation wizard.

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Deployment Script Breakdown

Here’s what happens when you run deploy.sh:
deploy.sh
#!/bin/bash

# Phase 1: Generate .env file
echo "Generando entorno..."
cat <<EOF > .env
SITE_URL=$SITE_URL
DB_NAME=$DB_NAME
DB_USER=$DB_USER
DB_PASS=$DB_PASS
EOF

# Phase 2: Build custom image
echo "--- 1. Construyendo Imagen Propia (Esto tomará unos minutos) ---"
docker compose build

# Phase 3: Start all services
echo "--- 2. Levantando Infraestructura ---"
docker compose up -d

# Phase 4: Download Moodle if needed
echo "--- 3. Verificando Código Moodle ---"
if [ -z "$(ls -A ./html)" ]; then
    echo "Descargando Moodle 4.3 (Latest Stable)..."
    docker compose exec -T app sh -c "curl -L https://download.moodle.org/download.php/direct/stable403/moodle-latest-403.tgz | tar xz --strip-components=1"
    
    echo "Asignando permisos correctos..."
    docker compose exec -T app chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html
    docker compose exec -T app chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/moodledata
    docker compose exec -T app chmod -R 755 /var/www/html
else
    echo "El código ya existe. Omitiendo descarga."
fi

echo -e "\n--- ¡DESPLIEGUE FINALIZADO! ---"
echo "Accede a: $SITE_URL"
echo "Tus archivos están en: /opt/moodleip/html"

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What Gets Created

After deployment, your directory structure will look like this: 
.
├── deploy.sh
├── docker-compose.yml
├── Dockerfile
├── .env                    # Generated during deployment
├── html/                   # Moodle application files
├── moodledata/             # Moodle data directory
├── db_data/                # PostgreSQL database files
└── nginx/
    └── default.conf        # Nginx configuration
All data is persisted in local directories, making backups and upgrades straightforward.

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Container Services

The deployment creates four interconnected containers:

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Database Container

docker-compose.yml
db:
  image: postgres:16-alpine
  container_name: moodle_db
  restart: always
  environment:
    POSTGRES_DB: ${DB_NAME}
    POSTGRES_USER: ${DB_USER}
    POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASS}
  volumes:
    - ./db_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

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Application Container

docker-compose.yml
app:
  build: .
  container_name: moodle_app
  restart: always
  environment:
    MOODLE_DB_TYPE: pgsql
    MOODLE_DB_HOST: db
    MOODLE_DB_NAME: ${DB_NAME}
    MOODLE_DB_USER: ${DB_USER}
    MOODLE_DB_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASS}
    MOODLE_URL: ${SITE_URL}
  volumes:
    - ./html:/var/www/html
    - ./moodledata:/var/www/moodledata

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Cron Container

docker-compose.yml
cron:
  build: .
  container_name: moodle_cron
  restart: always
  command: sh -c "echo '*/1 * * * * /usr/local/bin/php /var/www/html/admin/cli/cron.php > /dev/null 2>&1' > /var/spool/cron/crontabs/www-data && crond -f -l 8"
The cron container runs Moodle’s maintenance tasks every minute, as recommended by Moodle documentation.

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Web Container

docker-compose.yml
web:
  image: nginx:alpine
  container_name: moodle_web
  restart: always
  ports:
    - "80:80"
  volumes:
    - ./html:/var/www/html:ro
    - ./nginx/default.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf:ro

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Troubleshooting Installation

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Port 80 Already in Use

If port 80 is occupied: 
# Check what's using port 80
sudo netstat -tlnp | grep :80

# Stop the conflicting service or modify docker-compose.yml
# to use a different port (e.g., "8080:80")

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Permission Denied Errors

Ensure your user is in the docker group: 
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
# Log out and back in for changes to take effect

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Download Fails

If Moodle download fails, check your internet connection and try manually: 
docker compose exec app sh
curl -L https://download.moodle.org/download.php/direct/stable403/moodle-latest-403.tgz -o /tmp/moodle.tgz
tar xzf /tmp/moodle.tgz --strip-components=1 -C /var/www/html

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Containers Won’t Start

View container logs: 
docker compose logs db
docker compose logs app
docker compose logs web

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Next Steps

Once deployment is complete:
  1. Complete the Moodle web-based installation wizard
  2. Review Configuration for post-installation setup
  3. Configure SSL/HTTPS for production environments
The default database password is insecure. Change it immediately for production deployments by modifying the DB_PASS variable in deploy.sh before running the script.

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