[GH-ISSUE #628] Help: /var/lib/ntfy/user.db not creating on docker #467

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opened 2026-05-07 00:24:28 +02:00 by BreizhHardware · 13 comments

BreizhHardware commented 2026-05-07 00:24:28 +02:00

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Originally created by @obxjames on GitHub (Feb 21, 2023).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/binwiederhier/ntfy/issues/628

Problem:

Trying to set up user system from new release however running into the issue...
option auth-file not set; auth is unconfigured for this server

If it does recognise the server.yml is configured correctly it will error

2023/02/21 21:24:38 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1)
unable to open database file: no such file or directory

Tried so far:

• Adding to Enviroment Vars
• Created server.yml and set up there
• Checked other resources with no real success
• set user var to 0:0 (root)

Setup:

Using binwiederhier/ntfy:latest

• Tested 2.0.0 plus 2.0.1

Server.yml

# ntfy server config file
#
# Please refer to the documentation at https://ntfy.sh/docs/config/ for details.
# All options also support underscores (_) instead of dashes (-) to comply with the YAML spec.

# Public facing base URL of the service (e.g. https://ntfy.sh or https://ntfy.example.com)
#
# This setting is required for any of the following features:
# - attachments (to return a download URL)
# - e-mail sending (for the topic URL in the email footer)
# - iOS push notifications for self-hosted servers (to calculate the Firebase poll_request topic)
# - Matrix Push Gateway (to validate that the pushkey is correct)
#
 base-url: https://ntfy.[redacted]

# Listen address for the HTTP & HTTPS web server. If "listen-https" is set, you must also
# set "key-file" and "cert-file". Format: [<ip>]:<port>, e.g. "1.2.3.4:8080".
#
# To listen on all interfaces, you may omit the IP address, e.g. ":443".
# To disable HTTP, set "listen-http" to "-".
#
# listen-http: ":80"
# listen-https:

# Listen on a Unix socket, e.g. /var/lib/ntfy/ntfy.sock
# This can be useful to avoid port issues on local systems, and to simplify permissions.
#
# listen-unix: <socket-path>
# listen-unix-mode: <linux permissions, e.g. 0700>

# Path to the private key & cert file for the HTTPS web server. Not used if "listen-https" is not set.
#
# key-file: <filename>
# cert-file: <filename>

# If set, also publish messages to a Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) topic for your app.
# This is optional and only required to save battery when using the Android app.
#
# firebase-key-file: <filename>

# If "cache-file" is set, messages are cached in a local SQLite database instead of only in-memory.
# This allows for service restarts without losing messages in support of the since= parameter.
#
# The "cache-duration" parameter defines the duration for which messages will be buffered
# before they are deleted. This is required to support the "since=..." and "poll=1" parameter.
# To disable the cache entirely (on-disk/in-memory), set "cache-duration" to 0.
# The cache file is created automatically, provided that the correct permissions are set.
#
# The "cache-startup-queries" parameter allows you to run commands when the database is initialized,
# e.g. to enable WAL mode (see https://phiresky.github.io/blog/2020/sqlite-performance-tuning/)).
# Example:
#    cache-startup-queries: |
#       pragma journal_mode = WAL;
#       pragma synchronous = normal;
#       pragma temp_store = memory;
#       pragma busy_timeout = 15000;
#       vacuum;
#
# The "cache-batch-size" and "cache-batch-timeout" parameter allow enabling async batch writing
# of messages. If set, messages will be queued and written to the database in batches of the given
# size, or after the given timeout. This is only required for high volume servers.
#
# Debian/RPM package users:
#   Use /var/cache/ntfy/cache.db as cache file to avoid permission issues. The package
#   creates this folder for you.
#
# Check your permissions:
#   If you are running ntfy with systemd, make sure this cache file is owned by the
#   ntfy user and group by running: chown ntfy.ntfy <filename>.
#
 cache-file: "/var/cache/ntfy/cache.db"
# cache-duration: "12h"
# cache-startup-queries:
# cache-batch-size: 0
# cache-batch-timeout: "0ms"

# If set, access to the ntfy server and API can be controlled on a granular level using
# the 'ntfy user' and 'ntfy access' commands. See the --help pages for details, or check the docs.
#
# - auth-file is the SQLite user/access database; it is created automatically if it doesn't already exist
# - auth-default-access defines the default/fallback access if no access control entry is found; it can be
#   set to "read-write" (default), "read-only", "write-only" or "deny-all".
# - auth-startup-queries allows you to run commands when the database is initialized, e.g. to enable
#   WAL mode. This is similar to cache-startup-queries. See above for details.
#
# Debian/RPM package users:
#   Use /var/lib/ntfy/user.db as user database to avoid permission issues. The package
#   creates this folder for you.
#
# Check your permissions:
#   If you are running ntfy with systemd, make sure this user database file is owned by the
#   ntfy user and group by running: chown ntfy.ntfy <filename>.
#
 auth-file: "/var/lib/ntfy/user.db"
 auth-default-access: "deny-all"
# auth-startup-queries:

# If set, the X-Forwarded-For header is used to determine the visitor IP address
# instead of the remote address of the connection.
#
# WARNING: If you are behind a proxy, you must set this, otherwise all visitors are rate limited
#          as if they are one.
#
 behind-proxy: true

# If enabled, clients can attach files to notifications as attachments. Minimum settings to enable attachments
# are "attachment-cache-dir" and "base-url".
#
# - attachment-cache-dir is the cache directory for attached files
# - attachment-total-size-limit is the limit of the on-disk attachment cache directory (total size)
# - attachment-file-size-limit is the per-file attachment size limit (e.g. 300k, 2M, 100M)
# - attachment-expiry-duration is the duration after which uploaded attachments will be deleted (e.g. 3h, 20h)
#
# attachment-cache-dir:
# attachment-total-size-limit: "5G"
# attachment-file-size-limit: "15M"
# attachment-expiry-duration: "3h"

# If enabled, allow outgoing e-mail notifications via the 'X-Email' header. If this header is set,
# messages will additionally be sent out as e-mail using an external SMTP server. As of today, only
# SMTP servers with plain text auth and STARTLS are supported. Please also refer to the rate limiting settings
# below (visitor-email-limit-burst & visitor-email-limit-burst).
#
# - smtp-sender-addr is the hostname:port of the SMTP server
# - smtp-sender-user/smtp-sender-pass are the username and password of the SMTP user
# - smtp-sender-from is the e-mail address of the sender
#
# smtp-sender-addr:
# smtp-sender-user:
# smtp-sender-pass:
# smtp-sender-from:

# If enabled, ntfy will launch a lightweight SMTP server for incoming messages. Once configured, users can send
# emails to a topic e-mail address to publish messages to a topic.
#
# - smtp-server-listen defines the IP address and port the SMTP server will listen on, e.g. :25 or 1.2.3.4:25
# - smtp-server-domain is the e-mail domain, e.g. ntfy.sh
# - smtp-server-addr-prefix is an optional prefix for the e-mail addresses to prevent spam. If set to "ntfy-",
#   for instance, only e-mails to ntfy-$topic@ntfy.sh will be accepted. If this is not set, all emails to
#   $topic@ntfy.sh will be accepted (which may obviously be a spam problem).
#
# smtp-server-listen:
# smtp-server-domain:
# smtp-server-addr-prefix:

# Interval in which keepalive messages are sent to the client. This is to prevent
# intermediaries closing the connection for inactivity.
#
# Note that the Android app has a hardcoded timeout at 77s, so it should be less than that.
#
# keepalive-interval: "45s"

# Interval in which the manager prunes old messages, deletes topics
# and prints the stats.
#
# manager-interval: "1m"

# Defines topic names that are not allowed, because they are otherwise used. There are a few default topics
# that cannot be used (e.g. app, account, settings, ...). To extend the default list, define them here.
#
# Example:
#   disallowed-topics:
#     - about
#     - pricing
#     - contact
#
# disallowed-topics:

# Defines if the root route (/) is pointing to the landing page (as on ntfy.sh) or the
# web app. If you self-host, you don't want to change this.
# Can be "app" (default), "home" or "disable" to disable the web app entirely.
#
# web-root: app

# Various feature flags used to control the web app, and API access, mainly around user and
# account management.
#
# - enable-signup allows users to sign up via the web app, or API
# - enable-login allows users to log in via the web app, or API
# - enable-reservations allows users to reserve topics (if their tier allows it)
#
 enable-signup: true
 enable-login: true
 enable-reservations: true

# Server URL of a Firebase/APNS-connected ntfy server (likely "https://ntfy.sh").
#
# iOS users:
#   If you use the iOS ntfy app, you MUST configure this to receive timely notifications. You'll like want this:
#   upstream-base-url: "https://ntfy.sh"
#
# If set, all incoming messages will publish a "poll_request" message to the configured upstream server, containing
# the message ID of the original message, instructing the iOS app to poll this server for the actual message contents.
# This is to prevent the upstream server and Firebase/APNS from being able to read the message.
#
 upstream-base-url: "https://ntfy.sh"

# Rate limiting: Total number of topics before the server rejects new topics.
#
# global-topic-limit: 15000

# Rate limiting: Number of subscriptions per visitor (IP address)
#
# visitor-subscription-limit: 30

# Rate limiting: Allowed GET/PUT/POST requests per second, per visitor:
# - visitor-request-limit-burst is the initial bucket of requests each visitor has
# - visitor-request-limit-replenish is the rate at which the bucket is refilled
# - visitor-request-limit-exempt-hosts is a comma-separated list of hostnames, IPs or CIDRs to be
#   exempt from request rate limiting. Hostnames are resolved at the time the server is started.
#   Example: "1.2.3.4,ntfy.example.com,8.7.6.0/24"
#
# visitor-request-limit-burst: 60
# visitor-request-limit-replenish: "5s"
# visitor-request-limit-exempt-hosts: ""

# Rate limiting: Hard daily limit of messages per visitor and day. The limit is reset
# every day at midnight UTC. If the limit is not set (or set to zero), the request
# limit (see above) governs the upper limit.
#
# visitor-message-daily-limit: 0

# Rate limiting: Allowed emails per visitor:
# - visitor-email-limit-burst is the initial bucket of emails each visitor has
# - visitor-email-limit-replenish is the rate at which the bucket is refilled
#
# visitor-email-limit-burst: 16
# visitor-email-limit-replenish: "1h"

# Rate limiting: Attachment size and bandwidth limits per visitor:
# - visitor-attachment-total-size-limit is the total storage limit used for attachments per visitor
# - visitor-attachment-daily-bandwidth-limit is the total daily attachment download/upload traffic limit per visitor
#
# visitor-attachment-total-size-limit: "100M"
# visitor-attachment-daily-bandwidth-limit: "500M"

# Payments integration via Stripe
#
# - stripe-secret-key is the key used for the Stripe API communication. Setting this values
#   enables payments in the ntfy web app (e.g. Upgrade dialog). See https://dashboard.stripe.com/apikeys.
# - stripe-webhook-key is the key required to validate the authenticity of incoming webhooks from Stripe.
#   Webhooks are essential up keep the local database in sync with the payment provider. See https://dashboard.stripe.com/webhooks.
#
# stripe-secret-key:
# stripe-webhook-key:

# Logging options
#
# By default, ntfy logs to the console (stderr), with an "info" log level, and in a human-readable text format.
# ntfy supports five different log levels, can also write to a file, log as JSON, and even supports granular
# log level overrides for easier debugging. Some options (log-level and log-level-overrides) can be hot reloaded
# by calling "kill -HUP $pid" or "systemctl reload ntfy".
#
# - log-format defines the output format, can be "text" (default) or "json"
# - log-file is a filename to write logs to. If this is not set, ntfy logs to stderr.
# - log-level defines the default log level, can be one of "trace", "debug", "info" (default), "warn" or "error".
#   Be aware that "debug" (and particularly "trace") can be VERY CHATTY. Only turn them on briefly for debugging purposes.
# - log-level-overrides lets you override the log level if certain fields match. This is incredibly powerful
#   for debugging certain parts of the system (e.g. only the account management, or only a certain visitor).
#   This is an array of strings in the format:
#      - "field=value -> level" to match a value exactly, e.g. "tag=manager -> trace"
#      - "field -> level" to match any value, e.g. "time_taken_ms -> debug"
#   Warning: Using log-level-overrides has a performance penalty. Only use it for temporary debugging.
#
# Example (good for production):
#   log-level: info
#   log-format: json
#   log-file: /var/log/ntfy.log
#
# Example level overrides (for debugging, only use temporarily):
#   log-level-overrides:
#      - "tag=manager -> trace"
#      - "visitor_ip=1.2.3.4 -> debug"
#      - "time_taken_ms -> debug"
#
# log-level: info
# log-level-overrides:
# log-format: text
# log-file:

Originally created by @obxjames on GitHub (Feb 21, 2023). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/binwiederhier/ntfy/issues/628 ### Problem: Trying to set up user system from new release however running into the issue... _option auth-file not set; auth is unconfigured for this server_ If it does recognise the server.yml is configured correctly it will error _2023/02/21 21:24:38 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1) unable to open database file: no such file or directory_ ### Tried so far: - Adding to Enviroment Vars - Created server.yml and set up there - Checked other resources with no real success - set user var to 0:0 (root) ### Setup: Using **binwiederhier/ntfy:latest** - Tested 2.0.0 plus 2.0.1 ### Server.yml ``` # ntfy server config file # # Please refer to the documentation at https://ntfy.sh/docs/config/ for details. # All options also support underscores (_) instead of dashes (-) to comply with the YAML spec. # Public facing base URL of the service (e.g. https://ntfy.sh or https://ntfy.example.com) # # This setting is required for any of the following features: # - attachments (to return a download URL) # - e-mail sending (for the topic URL in the email footer) # - iOS push notifications for self-hosted servers (to calculate the Firebase poll_request topic) # - Matrix Push Gateway (to validate that the pushkey is correct) # base-url: https://ntfy.[redacted] # Listen address for the HTTP & HTTPS web server. If "listen-https" is set, you must also # set "key-file" and "cert-file". Format: [<ip>]:<port>, e.g. "1.2.3.4:8080". # # To listen on all interfaces, you may omit the IP address, e.g. ":443". # To disable HTTP, set "listen-http" to "-". # # listen-http: ":80" # listen-https: # Listen on a Unix socket, e.g. /var/lib/ntfy/ntfy.sock # This can be useful to avoid port issues on local systems, and to simplify permissions. # # listen-unix: <socket-path> # listen-unix-mode: <linux permissions, e.g. 0700> # Path to the private key & cert file for the HTTPS web server. Not used if "listen-https" is not set. # # key-file: <filename> # cert-file: <filename> # If set, also publish messages to a Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) topic for your app. # This is optional and only required to save battery when using the Android app. # # firebase-key-file: <filename> # If "cache-file" is set, messages are cached in a local SQLite database instead of only in-memory. # This allows for service restarts without losing messages in support of the since= parameter. # # The "cache-duration" parameter defines the duration for which messages will be buffered # before they are deleted. This is required to support the "since=..." and "poll=1" parameter. # To disable the cache entirely (on-disk/in-memory), set "cache-duration" to 0. # The cache file is created automatically, provided that the correct permissions are set. # # The "cache-startup-queries" parameter allows you to run commands when the database is initialized, # e.g. to enable WAL mode (see https://phiresky.github.io/blog/2020/sqlite-performance-tuning/)). # Example: # cache-startup-queries: | # pragma journal_mode = WAL; # pragma synchronous = normal; # pragma temp_store = memory; # pragma busy_timeout = 15000; # vacuum; # # The "cache-batch-size" and "cache-batch-timeout" parameter allow enabling async batch writing # of messages. If set, messages will be queued and written to the database in batches of the given # size, or after the given timeout. This is only required for high volume servers. # # Debian/RPM package users: # Use /var/cache/ntfy/cache.db as cache file to avoid permission issues. The package # creates this folder for you. # # Check your permissions: # If you are running ntfy with systemd, make sure this cache file is owned by the # ntfy user and group by running: chown ntfy.ntfy <filename>. # cache-file: "/var/cache/ntfy/cache.db" # cache-duration: "12h" # cache-startup-queries: # cache-batch-size: 0 # cache-batch-timeout: "0ms" # If set, access to the ntfy server and API can be controlled on a granular level using # the 'ntfy user' and 'ntfy access' commands. See the --help pages for details, or check the docs. # # - auth-file is the SQLite user/access database; it is created automatically if it doesn't already exist # - auth-default-access defines the default/fallback access if no access control entry is found; it can be # set to "read-write" (default), "read-only", "write-only" or "deny-all". # - auth-startup-queries allows you to run commands when the database is initialized, e.g. to enable # WAL mode. This is similar to cache-startup-queries. See above for details. # # Debian/RPM package users: # Use /var/lib/ntfy/user.db as user database to avoid permission issues. The package # creates this folder for you. # # Check your permissions: # If you are running ntfy with systemd, make sure this user database file is owned by the # ntfy user and group by running: chown ntfy.ntfy <filename>. # auth-file: "/var/lib/ntfy/user.db" auth-default-access: "deny-all" # auth-startup-queries: # If set, the X-Forwarded-For header is used to determine the visitor IP address # instead of the remote address of the connection. # # WARNING: If you are behind a proxy, you must set this, otherwise all visitors are rate limited # as if they are one. # behind-proxy: true # If enabled, clients can attach files to notifications as attachments. Minimum settings to enable attachments # are "attachment-cache-dir" and "base-url". # # - attachment-cache-dir is the cache directory for attached files # - attachment-total-size-limit is the limit of the on-disk attachment cache directory (total size) # - attachment-file-size-limit is the per-file attachment size limit (e.g. 300k, 2M, 100M) # - attachment-expiry-duration is the duration after which uploaded attachments will be deleted (e.g. 3h, 20h) # # attachment-cache-dir: # attachment-total-size-limit: "5G" # attachment-file-size-limit: "15M" # attachment-expiry-duration: "3h" # If enabled, allow outgoing e-mail notifications via the 'X-Email' header. If this header is set, # messages will additionally be sent out as e-mail using an external SMTP server. As of today, only # SMTP servers with plain text auth and STARTLS are supported. Please also refer to the rate limiting settings # below (visitor-email-limit-burst & visitor-email-limit-burst). # # - smtp-sender-addr is the hostname:port of the SMTP server # - smtp-sender-user/smtp-sender-pass are the username and password of the SMTP user # - smtp-sender-from is the e-mail address of the sender # # smtp-sender-addr: # smtp-sender-user: # smtp-sender-pass: # smtp-sender-from: # If enabled, ntfy will launch a lightweight SMTP server for incoming messages. Once configured, users can send # emails to a topic e-mail address to publish messages to a topic. # # - smtp-server-listen defines the IP address and port the SMTP server will listen on, e.g. :25 or 1.2.3.4:25 # - smtp-server-domain is the e-mail domain, e.g. ntfy.sh # - smtp-server-addr-prefix is an optional prefix for the e-mail addresses to prevent spam. If set to "ntfy-", # for instance, only e-mails to ntfy-$topic@ntfy.sh will be accepted. If this is not set, all emails to # $topic@ntfy.sh will be accepted (which may obviously be a spam problem). # # smtp-server-listen: # smtp-server-domain: # smtp-server-addr-prefix: # Interval in which keepalive messages are sent to the client. This is to prevent # intermediaries closing the connection for inactivity. # # Note that the Android app has a hardcoded timeout at 77s, so it should be less than that. # # keepalive-interval: "45s" # Interval in which the manager prunes old messages, deletes topics # and prints the stats. # # manager-interval: "1m" # Defines topic names that are not allowed, because they are otherwise used. There are a few default topics # that cannot be used (e.g. app, account, settings, ...). To extend the default list, define them here. # # Example: # disallowed-topics: # - about # - pricing # - contact # # disallowed-topics: # Defines if the root route (/) is pointing to the landing page (as on ntfy.sh) or the # web app. If you self-host, you don't want to change this. # Can be "app" (default), "home" or "disable" to disable the web app entirely. # # web-root: app # Various feature flags used to control the web app, and API access, mainly around user and # account management. # # - enable-signup allows users to sign up via the web app, or API # - enable-login allows users to log in via the web app, or API # - enable-reservations allows users to reserve topics (if their tier allows it) # enable-signup: true enable-login: true enable-reservations: true # Server URL of a Firebase/APNS-connected ntfy server (likely "https://ntfy.sh"). # # iOS users: # If you use the iOS ntfy app, you MUST configure this to receive timely notifications. You'll like want this: # upstream-base-url: "https://ntfy.sh" # # If set, all incoming messages will publish a "poll_request" message to the configured upstream server, containing # the message ID of the original message, instructing the iOS app to poll this server for the actual message contents. # This is to prevent the upstream server and Firebase/APNS from being able to read the message. # upstream-base-url: "https://ntfy.sh" # Rate limiting: Total number of topics before the server rejects new topics. # # global-topic-limit: 15000 # Rate limiting: Number of subscriptions per visitor (IP address) # # visitor-subscription-limit: 30 # Rate limiting: Allowed GET/PUT/POST requests per second, per visitor: # - visitor-request-limit-burst is the initial bucket of requests each visitor has # - visitor-request-limit-replenish is the rate at which the bucket is refilled # - visitor-request-limit-exempt-hosts is a comma-separated list of hostnames, IPs or CIDRs to be # exempt from request rate limiting. Hostnames are resolved at the time the server is started. # Example: "1.2.3.4,ntfy.example.com,8.7.6.0/24" # # visitor-request-limit-burst: 60 # visitor-request-limit-replenish: "5s" # visitor-request-limit-exempt-hosts: "" # Rate limiting: Hard daily limit of messages per visitor and day. The limit is reset # every day at midnight UTC. If the limit is not set (or set to zero), the request # limit (see above) governs the upper limit. # # visitor-message-daily-limit: 0 # Rate limiting: Allowed emails per visitor: # - visitor-email-limit-burst is the initial bucket of emails each visitor has # - visitor-email-limit-replenish is the rate at which the bucket is refilled # # visitor-email-limit-burst: 16 # visitor-email-limit-replenish: "1h" # Rate limiting: Attachment size and bandwidth limits per visitor: # - visitor-attachment-total-size-limit is the total storage limit used for attachments per visitor # - visitor-attachment-daily-bandwidth-limit is the total daily attachment download/upload traffic limit per visitor # # visitor-attachment-total-size-limit: "100M" # visitor-attachment-daily-bandwidth-limit: "500M" # Payments integration via Stripe # # - stripe-secret-key is the key used for the Stripe API communication. Setting this values # enables payments in the ntfy web app (e.g. Upgrade dialog). See https://dashboard.stripe.com/apikeys. # - stripe-webhook-key is the key required to validate the authenticity of incoming webhooks from Stripe. # Webhooks are essential up keep the local database in sync with the payment provider. See https://dashboard.stripe.com/webhooks. # # stripe-secret-key: # stripe-webhook-key: # Logging options # # By default, ntfy logs to the console (stderr), with an "info" log level, and in a human-readable text format. # ntfy supports five different log levels, can also write to a file, log as JSON, and even supports granular # log level overrides for easier debugging. Some options (log-level and log-level-overrides) can be hot reloaded # by calling "kill -HUP $pid" or "systemctl reload ntfy". # # - log-format defines the output format, can be "text" (default) or "json" # - log-file is a filename to write logs to. If this is not set, ntfy logs to stderr. # - log-level defines the default log level, can be one of "trace", "debug", "info" (default), "warn" or "error". # Be aware that "debug" (and particularly "trace") can be VERY CHATTY. Only turn them on briefly for debugging purposes. # - log-level-overrides lets you override the log level if certain fields match. This is incredibly powerful # for debugging certain parts of the system (e.g. only the account management, or only a certain visitor). # This is an array of strings in the format: # - "field=value -> level" to match a value exactly, e.g. "tag=manager -> trace" # - "field -> level" to match any value, e.g. "time_taken_ms -> debug" # Warning: Using log-level-overrides has a performance penalty. Only use it for temporary debugging. # # Example (good for production): # log-level: info # log-format: json # log-file: /var/log/ntfy.log # # Example level overrides (for debugging, only use temporarily): # log-level-overrides: # - "tag=manager -> trace" # - "visitor_ip=1.2.3.4 -> debug" # - "time_taken_ms -> debug" # # log-level: info # log-level-overrides: # log-format: text # log-file: ```

BreizhHardware 2026-05-07 00:24:28 +02:00

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BreizhHardware commented 2026-05-07 00:24:29 +02:00

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@atomicangel commented on GitHub (Feb 23, 2023):

I am experiencing this issue as well. The only lines I have modified are base-url:, auth-file:, and auth-default-access:.

If anything can be done to assist in testing, let me know.

My configuration is Let's Encrypt certs through Nginx reverse proxy with a redirect set for non-HTTPS connections, if that makes a difference. I did notice I had to specify https:// when referring to my server instead of ntfy.sh, when posting via curl.

<!-- gh-comment-id:1441264421 --> @atomicangel commented on GitHub (Feb 23, 2023): I am experiencing this issue as well. The only lines I have modified are base-url:, auth-file:, and auth-default-access:. If anything can be done to assist in testing, let me know. My configuration is Let's Encrypt certs through Nginx reverse proxy with a redirect set for non-HTTPS connections, if that makes a difference. I did notice I had to specify https:// when referring to my server instead of ntfy.sh, when posting via curl.

BreizhHardware commented 2026-05-07 00:24:29 +02:00

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@atomicangel commented on GitHub (Feb 23, 2023):

Adding to this, I tried enabling the cache.db and that also failed with the following:
`2023/02/23 16:26:50 FATAL database is locked (exit_code=1)
database is locked

2023/02/23 16:26:56 FATAL database is locked (exit_code=1)
database is locked

2023/02/23 16:27:03 FATAL database is locked (exit_code=1)
database is locked

2023/02/23 16:27:09 FATAL database is locked (exit_code=1)
database is locked
Here are the relevant bits of the config:
cache-file: "/var/cache/ntfy/cache.db"
cache-duration: "12h"
# cache-startup-queries:
# cache-batch-size: 0
# cache-batch-timeout: 0ms

auth-file: "/var/lib/ntfy/user.db"
auth-default-access: "read-write"
# auth-startup-queries:
`

<!-- gh-comment-id:1442077684 --> @atomicangel commented on GitHub (Feb 23, 2023): Adding to this, I tried enabling the cache.db and that also failed with the following: `2023/02/23 16:26:50 FATAL database is locked (exit_code=1) database is locked 2023/02/23 16:26:56 FATAL database is locked (exit_code=1) database is locked 2023/02/23 16:27:03 FATAL database is locked (exit_code=1) database is locked 2023/02/23 16:27:09 FATAL database is locked (exit_code=1) database is locked ` Here are the relevant bits of the config: ` cache-file: "/var/cache/ntfy/cache.db" cache-duration: "12h" \# cache-startup-queries: \# cache-batch-size: 0 \# cache-batch-timeout: 0ms auth-file: "/var/lib/ntfy/user.db" auth-default-access: "read-write" \# auth-startup-queries: `

BreizhHardware commented 2026-05-07 00:24:29 +02:00

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@binwiederhier commented on GitHub (Feb 23, 2023):

This is likely a permissions issue. Be sure that the user that ntfy is running as can read and write the /var/cache/ntfy folder and the file /var/cache/ntfy/cache.db, and/or the user.db file and its folder as well.

<!-- gh-comment-id:1442169696 --> @binwiederhier commented on GitHub (Feb 23, 2023): This is likely a permissions issue. Be sure that the user that ntfy is running as can read and write the `/var/cache/ntfy` folder and the file `/var/cache/ntfy/cache.db`, and/or the `user.db` file and its folder as well.

BreizhHardware commented 2026-05-07 00:24:30 +02:00

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@atomicangel commented on GitHub (Feb 24, 2023):

A little more context for my situation: I'm mapping the /var and /etc folders to a mounted network share. However, I have confirmed that I am mounting them using the correct user UID and GID's for the shares. I tried adding the PUID and PGID variables without success.

I did open the console and I was able to successfully touch a file under both /etc/ntfy and /var/cache/ntfy that appeared in the external folder as expected.

<!-- gh-comment-id:1442656137 --> @atomicangel commented on GitHub (Feb 24, 2023): A little more context for my situation: I'm mapping the /var and /etc folders to a mounted network share. However, I have confirmed that I am mounting them using the correct user UID and GID's for the shares. I tried adding the PUID and PGID variables without success. I did open the console and I was able to successfully touch a file under both /etc/ntfy and /var/cache/ntfy that appeared in the external folder as expected.

BreizhHardware commented 2026-05-07 00:24:30 +02:00

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@binwiederhier commented on GitHub (Feb 28, 2023):

These sort of problems are easier to solve on Discord or Matrix. I cannot help you much here, without a lot of interactive back and forth.

<!-- gh-comment-id:1447336651 --> @binwiederhier commented on GitHub (Feb 28, 2023): These sort of problems are easier to solve on Discord or Matrix. I cannot help you much here, without a lot of interactive back and forth.

BreizhHardware commented 2026-05-07 00:24:30 +02:00

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@obxjames commented on GitHub (Mar 1, 2023):

These sort of problems are easier to solve on Discord or Matrix. I cannot help you much here, without a lot of interactive back and forth.

No worries, happy for you to message me on matrix. obxjames@obexus.co.uk

<!-- gh-comment-id:1450938607 --> @obxjames commented on GitHub (Mar 1, 2023): > These sort of problems are easier to solve on Discord or Matrix. I cannot help you much here, without a lot of interactive back and forth. > > > > No worries, happy for you to message me on matrix. obxjames@obexus.co.uk

BreizhHardware commented 2026-05-07 00:24:30 +02:00

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@binwiederhier commented on GitHub (Mar 3, 2023):

That's not what I meant. I meant for you to join the Matrix/Discord room and ask for help there. :-)

<!-- gh-comment-id:1452857112 --> @binwiederhier commented on GitHub (Mar 3, 2023): That's not what I meant. I meant for you to join the Matrix/Discord room and ask for help there. :-)

BreizhHardware commented 2026-05-07 00:24:30 +02:00

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@rounakdatta commented on GitHub (Apr 13, 2023):

@obxjames can you share what was the resolution for you?

<!-- gh-comment-id:1507504430 --> @rounakdatta commented on GitHub (Apr 13, 2023): @obxjames can you share what was the resolution for you?

BreizhHardware commented 2026-05-07 00:24:30 +02:00

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@bulburDE commented on GitHub (Oct 22, 2023):

I had this issue that I got the error message

FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1)
unable to open database file: no such file or directory

when setting auth-file: "/var/lib/ntfy/user.db"

I was using the docker-compose.yml from the documentation. I looked into the container and noticed that /var/lib/ntfy didn't exist which seems to be the reason for hte no such file or directory error.
After adding

    volumes:
      - ./lib:/var/lib/ntfy

to the docker-compose.yml it worked.
I rechecked the documentation but couldn't find such instructions.

<!-- gh-comment-id:1774164085 --> @bulburDE commented on GitHub (Oct 22, 2023): I had this issue that I got the error message ``` FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1) unable to open database file: no such file or directory ``` when setting `auth-file: "/var/lib/ntfy/user.db"` I was using the docker-compose.yml from the documentation. I looked into the container and noticed that /var/lib/ntfy didn't exist which seems to be the reason for hte `no such file or directory` error. After adding ``` volumes: - ./lib:/var/lib/ntfy ``` to the docker-compose.yml it worked. I rechecked the documentation but couldn't find such instructions.

BreizhHardware commented 2026-05-07 00:24:31 +02:00

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@ovizii commented on GitHub (Oct 31, 2023):

I had this issue that I got the error message

FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1)
unable to open database file: no such file or directory

when setting auth-file: "/var/lib/ntfy/user.db"

I was using the docker-compose.yml from the documentation. I looked into the container and noticed that /var/lib/ntfy didn't exist which seems to be the reason for hte no such file or directory error. After adding

    volumes:
      - ./lib:/var/lib/ntfy

to the docker-compose.yml it worked. I rechecked the documentation but couldn't find such instructions.

Thanks for sharing your solution to the problem it immediately fixed my issue too. This should be added to the documentation :-)

<!-- gh-comment-id:1787305466 --> @ovizii commented on GitHub (Oct 31, 2023): > I had this issue that I got the error message > > ``` > FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1) > unable to open database file: no such file or directory > ``` > > when setting `auth-file: "/var/lib/ntfy/user.db"` > > I was using the docker-compose.yml from the documentation. I looked into the container and noticed that /var/lib/ntfy didn't exist which seems to be the reason for hte `no such file or directory` error. After adding > > ``` > volumes: > - ./lib:/var/lib/ntfy > ``` > > to the docker-compose.yml it worked. I rechecked the documentation but couldn't find such instructions. Thanks for sharing your solution to the problem it immediately fixed my issue too. This should be added to the documentation :-)

BreizhHardware commented 2026-05-07 00:24:31 +02:00

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@DatadudeDev commented on GitHub (Nov 23, 2024):

I resolved my issue this way (Same problem, no user.db created on runtime).

1. Ensure your auth-file is set to somewhere mapped to the docker container (I used /var/cache/ntfy).
2. Uncomment the auth-file section in your server.yml and add the path you chose.
3. I had to manually create the database with a "sudo touch /var/cache/ntfy/user.db"
4. My "databsae not found" error was updated to a "read only database error" which was fixed with a user permissions update.

My docker compose file:

version: "2.3"

services:
ntfy:
image: binwiederhier/ntfy
container_name: ntfy
command:
- serve
environment:
- TZ=UTC # optional: set desired timezone
user: USER:USER ###update this part ###
volumes:
- /var/cache/ntfy:/var/cache/ntfy
- /etc/ntfy:/etc/ntfy
ports:
- 4547:80
healthcheck: # optional: remember to adapt the host:port to your environment
test: ["CMD-SHELL", "wget -q --tries=1 http://localhost:80/v1/health -O - | grep -Eo '"healthy"\s*:\s*true' || exit 1"]
interval: 60s
timeout: 10s
retries: 3
start_period: 40s
restart: unless-stopped

<!-- gh-comment-id:2495661831 --> @DatadudeDev commented on GitHub (Nov 23, 2024): I resolved my issue this way (Same problem, no user.db created on runtime). 1. Ensure your auth-file is set to somewhere mapped to the docker container (I used /var/cache/ntfy). 2. Uncomment the auth-file section in your server.yml and add the path you chose. 3. I had to manually create the database with a "sudo touch /var/cache/ntfy/user.db" 4. My "databsae not found" error was updated to a "read only database error" which was fixed with a user permissions update. My docker compose file: version: "2.3" services: ntfy: image: binwiederhier/ntfy container_name: ntfy command: - serve environment: - TZ=UTC # optional: set desired timezone user: USER:USER ###update this part ### volumes: - /var/cache/ntfy:/var/cache/ntfy - /etc/ntfy:/etc/ntfy ports: - 4547:80 healthcheck: # optional: remember to adapt the host:port to your environment test: ["CMD-SHELL", "wget -q --tries=1 http://localhost:80/v1/health -O - | grep -Eo '\"healthy\"\\s*:\\s*true' || exit 1"] interval: 60s timeout: 10s retries: 3 start_period: 40s restart: unless-stopped

BreizhHardware commented 2026-05-07 00:24:31 +02:00

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@vs4vijay commented on GitHub (Dec 9, 2024):

I am facing the same issue, I have mounted the directory from docker, here my config:

version: "3.8"

services:
  ntfy:
    image: binwiederhier/ntfy:v2.11.0
    container_name: ntfy
    command:
      - serve
    environment:
      - TZ=UTC
      - NTFY_BASE_URL=http://zzz.duckdns.com
      - NTFY_CACHE_FILE=/var/lib/ntfy/cache.db
      - NTFY_AUTH_FILE=/var/lib/ntfy/auth.db
      - NTFY_ATTACHMENT_CACHE_DIR=/var/lib/ntfy/attachments
      - NTFY_AUTH_DEFAULT_ACCESS=deny-all
      - NTFY_ENABLE_LOGIN=true
      - NTFY_BEHIND_PROXY=true
    volumes:
      - /var/lib/ntfy:/var/lib/ntfy
      - /etc/ntfy:/etc/ntfy
    ports:
      - 8780:80
    healthcheck:
      test:
        [
          "CMD-SHELL",
          "wget -q --tries=1 http://localhost:80/v1/health -O - | grep -Eo '\"healthy\"\\s*:\\s*true' || exit 1",
        ]
      interval: 60s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 40s
    restart: unless-stopped
    networks:
      - web

networks:
  web:
    name: web

I tried adding docker volume as well:

# In service section
    volumes:
      - ntfy:/var/lib/ntfy
      
volumes:
  ntfy:
    name: ntfy

Still same errors:

2024/12/09 16:56:19 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1)
unable to open database file: no such file or directory
2024/12/09 16:56:19 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1)
unable to open database file: no such file or directory
2024/12/09 16:56:20 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1)
unable to open database file: no such file or directory
2024/12/09 16:56:20 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1)
unable to open database file: no such file or directory
2024/12/09 16:56:21 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1)
unable to open database file: no such file or directory
2024/12/09 16:56:23 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1)
unable to open database file: no such file or directory
2024/12/09 16:56:27 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1)
unable to open database file: no such file or directory
2024/12/09 16:56:33 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1)
unable to open database file: no such file or directory
2024/12/09 16:56:47 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1)
unable to open database file: no such file or directory
2024/12/09 16:57:12 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1)
unable to open database file: no such file or directory
2024/12/09 16:58:04 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1)
unable to open database file: no such file or directory

<!-- gh-comment-id:2528993225 --> @vs4vijay commented on GitHub (Dec 9, 2024): I am facing the same issue, I have mounted the directory from docker, here my config: ``` version: "3.8" services: ntfy: image: binwiederhier/ntfy:v2.11.0 container_name: ntfy command: - serve environment: - TZ=UTC - NTFY_BASE_URL=http://zzz.duckdns.com - NTFY_CACHE_FILE=/var/lib/ntfy/cache.db - NTFY_AUTH_FILE=/var/lib/ntfy/auth.db - NTFY_ATTACHMENT_CACHE_DIR=/var/lib/ntfy/attachments - NTFY_AUTH_DEFAULT_ACCESS=deny-all - NTFY_ENABLE_LOGIN=true - NTFY_BEHIND_PROXY=true volumes: - /var/lib/ntfy:/var/lib/ntfy - /etc/ntfy:/etc/ntfy ports: - 8780:80 healthcheck: test: [ "CMD-SHELL", "wget -q --tries=1 http://localhost:80/v1/health -O - | grep -Eo '\"healthy\"\\s*:\\s*true' || exit 1", ] interval: 60s timeout: 10s retries: 3 start_period: 40s restart: unless-stopped networks: - web networks: web: name: web ``` I tried adding docker volume as well: ``` # In service section volumes: - ntfy:/var/lib/ntfy volumes: ntfy: name: ntfy ``` Still same errors: ``` 2024/12/09 16:56:19 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1) unable to open database file: no such file or directory 2024/12/09 16:56:19 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1) unable to open database file: no such file or directory 2024/12/09 16:56:20 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1) unable to open database file: no such file or directory 2024/12/09 16:56:20 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1) unable to open database file: no such file or directory 2024/12/09 16:56:21 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1) unable to open database file: no such file or directory 2024/12/09 16:56:23 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1) unable to open database file: no such file or directory 2024/12/09 16:56:27 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1) unable to open database file: no such file or directory 2024/12/09 16:56:33 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1) unable to open database file: no such file or directory 2024/12/09 16:56:47 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1) unable to open database file: no such file or directory 2024/12/09 16:57:12 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1) unable to open database file: no such file or directory 2024/12/09 16:58:04 FATAL unable to open database file: no such file or directory (exit_code=1) unable to open database file: no such file or directory ```

BreizhHardware commented 2026-05-07 00:24:31 +02:00

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@wunter8 commented on GitHub (Dec 9, 2024):

@vs4vijay are you on Discord? That generally works better for troubleshooting stuff like this. And it would avoid notifying everyone that's participated in this issue each time we send a message back and forth

<!-- gh-comment-id:2529380840 --> @wunter8 commented on GitHub (Dec 9, 2024): @vs4vijay are you on Discord? That generally works better for troubleshooting stuff like this. And it would avoid notifying everyone that's participated in this issue each time we send a message back and forth

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