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Docker (Windows)

This guide covers installing and starting a standalone TBMQ instance using Docker on Windows. For cluster installation, see the cluster setup page.

Open PowerShell as Administrator and run the install script.

Execute the following command to download and run the install script:

Terminal window
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/thingsboard/tbmq/release-2.3.0/msa/tbmq/configs/windows/tbmq-install-and-run.ps1" `
-OutFile ".\tbmq-install-and-run.ps1"; .\tbmq-install-and-run.ps1

The script downloads the docker-compose.yml file, creates the necessary Docker volumes, installs the database, and starts TBMQ. Key configuration points in the docker-compose.yml:

  • 8083:8083 — exposes the HTTP UI on port 8083;
  • 1883:1883 — exposes the MQTT port 1883;
  • 8084:8084 — exposes MQTT over WebSockets on port 8084;
  • tbmq-valkey-data:/data — Valkey data volume;
  • tbmq-postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data — PostgreSQL data volume;
  • tbmq-kafka-data:/var/lib/kafka/data — Kafka data volume;
  • tbmq-logs:/var/log/thingsboard-mqtt-broker — TBMQ logs volume;
  • tbmq-data:/data — TBMQ data directory (contains .firstlaunch after DB installation);
  • tbmq — Docker service name;
  • restart: always — auto-restarts TBMQ on system reboot or failure.

Once installation completes, open http://{your-host-ip}:8083 in your browser (e.g. http://localhost:8083).

You should see the TBMQ login page. Use the default System Administrator credentials:

Username:

Password:

sysadmin

On first login, you are prompted to change the default password and re-login with the new credentials.

To view TBMQ logs:

Terminal window
docker compose logs -f tbmq

To stop the containers:

Terminal window
docker compose stop

To start the containers:

Terminal window
docker compose start
  1. Check the version-specific notes below for any preparation your target version requires.
  2. Back up your database (optional but recommended).
  3. Run the upgrade command.

For full version history and supported upgrade paths, see the upgrade instructions page. If the documentation does not cover your specific upgrade path, contact us for guidance.

If there are no version-specific notes for your upgrade path, skip directly to Run upgrade.

Backing up your PostgreSQL database before upgrading is highly recommended but optional. For guidance, follow the backup and restore instructions.

This release migrates all third-party components from Bitnami images to official open-source alternatives. Review the third-party component updates for full details.

The upgrade script requires a .tbmq-upgrade.env file. If it does not already exist from a previous upgrade, create an empty one:

Terminal window
New-Item -Path .tbmq-upgrade.env -ItemType File -Force

Then proceed with the upgrade.

This release migrates MQTT authentication from YAML/env configuration into the database.

The upgrade script requires a .tbmq-upgrade.env file in the same directory as docker-compose.yml. The values must match the authentication settings in your tbmq service environment.

Create the env file

Terminal window
@'
SECURITY_MQTT_BASIC_ENABLED=true
SECURITY_MQTT_SSL_ENABLED=true
SECURITY_MQTT_SSL_SKIP_VALIDITY_CHECK_FOR_CLIENT_CERT=false
'@ | Set-Content -Path .tbmq-upgrade.env -Encoding UTF8

Notes

  • Required: If .tbmq-upgrade.env is missing, the upgrade script will fail.
  • Supported variables:
    • SECURITY_MQTT_BASIC_ENABLED (true|false)
    • SECURITY_MQTT_SSL_ENABLED (true|false)
    • SECURITY_MQTT_SSL_SKIP_VALIDITY_CHECK_FOR_CLIENT_CERT (true|false) — usually false

Once the file is created, proceed with the upgrade.

This release adds the Integration Executor microservice and updates third-party service versions.

Add Integration Executor microservice

Add the Integration Executor service definition and volume to your docker-compose.yml ( full example):

Service definition and volume
tbmq-integration-executor:
restart: always
image: "thingsboard/tbmq-integration-executor:2.1.0"
depends_on:
- kafka
- tbmq
logging:
driver: "json-file"
options:
max-size: "200m"
max-file: "5"
environment:
TB_SERVICE_ID: tbmq-ie
TB_KAFKA_SERVERS: kafka:9092
#JAVA_OPTS: "-Xmx2048M -Xms2048M -Xss384k -XX:+AlwaysPreTouch"
volumes:
- tbmq-ie-logs:/var/log/tbmq-integration-executor
volumes:
tbmq-ie-logs:
external: true

Create the log volume and start the service:

Terminal window
docker volume create tbmq-ie-logs
docker compose up -d tbmq-integration-executor --no-deps

Update third-party services

This release updates third-party dependency versions ( pull request):

ServicePrevious versionUpdated version
Redis7.07.2.5
PostgreSQL15.x16.x
Kafka3.5.13.7.0

After addressing third-party service versions, proceed with the upgrade.

This release adds Redis configuration to the Docker Compose setup.

Update your docker-compose.yml to include the Redis service ( pull request diff).

Complete Docker Compose file prior to the upgrade
#
# Copyright © 2016-2024 The Thingsboard Authors
#
# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
# You may obtain a copy of the License at
#
# http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
#
# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
# limitations under the License.
#
services:
postgres:
restart: always
image: "postgres:15"
ports:
- "5432"
environment:
POSTGRES_DB: thingsboard_mqtt_broker
POSTGRES_PASSWORD: postgres
volumes:
- tbmq-postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
kafka:
restart: always
image: "bitnamilegacy/kafka:3.5.1"
ports:
- "9092"
environment:
KAFKA_CFG_NODE_ID: 0
KAFKA_CFG_PROCESS_ROLES: controller,broker
KAFKA_CFG_CONTROLLER_QUORUM_VOTERS: 0@kafka:9093
KAFKA_CFG_LISTENERS: PLAINTEXT://:9092,CONTROLLER://:9093
KAFKA_CFG_ADVERTISED_LISTENERS: PLAINTEXT://:9092
KAFKA_CFG_LISTENER_SECURITY_PROTOCOL_MAP: CONTROLLER:PLAINTEXT,PLAINTEXT:PLAINTEXT
KAFKA_CFG_CONTROLLER_LISTENER_NAMES: CONTROLLER
KAFKA_CFG_INTER_BROKER_LISTENER_NAME: PLAINTEXT
volumes:
- tbmq-kafka-data:/bitnami/kafka
redis:
restart: always
image: "bitnamilegacy/redis:7.0"
environment:
# ALLOW_EMPTY_PASSWORD is recommended only for development.
ALLOW_EMPTY_PASSWORD: "yes"
ports:
- "6379"
volumes:
- tbmq-redis-data:/bitnami/redis/data
tbmq:
restart: always
image: "thingsboard/tbmq:1.4.0"
depends_on:
- postgres
- kafka
- redis
ports:
- "8083:8083"
- "1883:1883"
- "8084:8084"
environment:
TB_SERVICE_ID: tbmq
SPRING_DATASOURCE_URL: jdbc:postgresql://postgres:5432/thingsboard_mqtt_broker
SPRING_DATASOURCE_USERNAME: postgres
SPRING_DATASOURCE_PASSWORD: postgres
TB_KAFKA_SERVERS: kafka:9092
REDIS_HOST: redis
SECURITY_MQTT_BASIC_ENABLED: "true"
#JAVA_OPTS: "-Xmx2048M -Xms2048M -Xss384k -XX:+AlwaysPreTouch"
volumes:
- tbmq-logs:/var/log/thingsboard-mqtt-broker
- tbmq-data:/data
volumes:
tbmq-postgres-data:
external: true
tbmq-kafka-data:
external: true
tbmq-redis-data:
external: true
tbmq-logs:
external: true
tbmq-data:
external: true

Create the Redis data volume:

Terminal window
docker volume create tbmq-redis-data

Then run the script to apply the changes:

Terminal window
.\tbmq-install-and-run.ps1

Afterward, proceed with the upgrade.

To upgrade to the latest version, run:

Terminal window
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/thingsboard/tbmq/release-2.3.0/msa/tbmq/configs/windows/tbmq-upgrade.ps1" `
-OutFile ".\tbmq-upgrade.ps1"; .\tbmq-upgrade.ps1

To enable MQTT over SSL/TLS in TBMQ, provide valid SSL certificates and configure TBMQ to use them. For supported formats and configuration options, see the MQTT over SSL guide.

Prepare SSL certificates

Obtain a valid SSL certificate and private key, for example:

  • mqttserver.pem — public certificate (may include the full chain)
  • mqttserver_key.pem — private key

Mount certificates into the container

In docker-compose.yml, add a volume mount:

volumes:
- PATH_TO_CERTS:/config/certificates

Replace PATH_TO_CERTS with the path to your certificate files and ensure TBMQ has read access.

Configure environment variables

Add the following to the tbmq service environment in docker-compose.yml:

LISTENER_SSL_ENABLED: "true"
LISTENER_SSL_PEM_CERT: "/config/certificates/mqttserver.pem"
LISTENER_SSL_PEM_KEY: "/config/certificates/mqttserver_key.pem"
LISTENER_SSL_PEM_KEY_PASSWORD: "server_key_password"

Leave LISTENER_SSL_PEM_KEY_PASSWORD empty if your private key has no password.

Expose the MQTTS port

In docker-compose.yml:

ports:
- "8883:8883"

Restart TBMQ

Terminal window
.\tbmq-install-and-run.ps1

Once restarted, MQTT clients can connect securely on port 8883.