Neo4j Example Docker Compose Setup

This is a minimal, generic Docker Compose configuration for running a single Neo4j instance. It can be customized for any database name and configuration.

Quick Start

1. Create data directories:

   mkdir -p neo4j-data/{data,logs,import,plugins,conf}
   sudo chown -R 7474:7474 neo4j-data
   

2. Create a .env file (optional, but recommended):

   cp .env.example .env
   # Edit .env with your settings
   ```  ```

3. Review the configuration options below and make any necessary changes to the .env file.

4. Start Neo4j:

   docker compose up -d

Configuration Options

You can configure Neo4j in two ways:

Option 1: Environment Variables (Recommended)

Create a .env file in this directory with your settings:

# Container and database name
NEO4J_CONTAINER_NAME=my-neo4j
NEO4J_DATABASE=mydatabase

# Ports
NEO4J_HTTP_PORT=7474
NEO4J_BOLT_PORT=7687

# Data directory (absolute or relative path)
NEO4J_DATA_DIR=./neo4j-data

# Authentication
NEO4J_AUTH=neo4j/YourSecurePassword

# Memory settings (adjust based on your system)
NEO4J_HEAP_INITIAL=2G
NEO4J_HEAP_MAX=4G
NEO4J_OFF_HEAP_MAX=1G
NEO4J_TX_MAX=1G
NEO4J_TX_TOTAL_MAX=1G

Option 2: Edit docker-compose.yml Directly

Edit the docker-compose.yml file and replace the environment variable references with your values.

What You Need to Change

1. Data Directory Paths (Required)

Set NEO4J_DATA_DIR in your .env file or edit docker-compose.yml:

volumes:
  - ${NEO4J_DATA_DIR:-./neo4j-data}/data:/data
  - ${NEO4J_DATA_DIR:-./neo4j-data}/logs:/logs
  - ${NEO4J_DATA_DIR:-./neo4j-data}/import:/import
  - ${NEO4J_DATA_DIR:-./neo4j-data}/plugins:/plugins
  - ${NEO4J_DATA_DIR:-./neo4j-data}/conf:/conf

Important: Make sure these directories exist and have proper permissions:

sudo mkdir -p ${NEO4J_DATA_DIR:-./neo4j-data}/{data,logs,import,plugins,conf}
sudo chown -R 7474:7474 ${NEO4J_DATA_DIR:-./neo4j-data}

2. Port Numbers (Optional)

If ports are already in use, change them in .env:

NEO4J_HTTP_PORT=8080
NEO4J_BOLT_PORT=8081

3. Password (Recommended)

Change the default password in .env:

NEO4J_AUTH=neo4j/YourSecurePasswordHere

4. Database Name (Optional)

Set the database name in .env:

NEO4J_DATABASE=mydatabase

5. Memory Settings (Optional)

Adjust memory settings based on your system resources in .env:

NEO4J_HEAP_INITIAL=2G   # Initial heap size
NEO4J_HEAP_MAX=4G       # Maximum heap size
NEO4J_OFF_HEAP_MAX=1G   # Off-heap memory

Where Neo4j Will Be Deployed

Access Points:

1. Neo4j Browser (Web UI):

   • URL: http://localhost:${NEO4J_HTTP_PORT:-7474}
   • Default credentials: neo4j / change-password (change this!)

2. Bolt Connection (for applications):

   • Connection string: bolt://localhost:${NEO4J_BOLT_PORT:-7687}
   • Username: neo4j
   • Password: (set in NEO4J_AUTH)

3. Data Storage:

   • Database files: ${NEO4J_DATA_DIR:-./neo4j-data}/data (on your host machine)
   • Logs: ${NEO4J_DATA_DIR:-./neo4j-data}/logs
   • Import directory: ${NEO4J_DATA_DIR:-./neo4j-data}/import (place .dump files here)
   • Plugins: ${NEO4J_DATA_DIR:-./neo4j-data}/plugins
   • Configuration: ${NEO4J_DATA_DIR:-./neo4j-data}/conf

How to Use

1. Start Neo4j:

   docker compose up -d

2. Stop Neo4j:

   docker compose stop

3. View Logs:

   docker compose logs -f

4. Remove Container (keeps data):

   docker compose down

5. Remove Container and Volumes (deletes data):

   docker compose down -v

Container Management

The container name is set by NEO4J_CONTAINER_NAME (default: neo4j). You can also manage it directly:

docker start ${NEO4J_CONTAINER_NAME:-neo4j}
docker stop ${NEO4J_CONTAINER_NAME:-neo4j}
docker logs ${NEO4J_CONTAINER_NAME:-neo4j}

Database Dump and Load

Use the provided graph-data.sh script to create and restore database dumps:

# Create a dump
./graph-data.sh dump mydatabase my-neo4j ./neo4j-data

# Load a dump
./graph-data.sh load mydatabase my-neo4j ./neo4j-data

Required arguments:

• DATABASE_NAME: Name of the Neo4j database
• CONTAINER_NAME: Name of the Neo4j container
• DATA_DIR: Path to the data directory (absolute or relative)

Important for loading dumps: Before loading a dump, make sure the dump file is placed in the import/ folder within your data directory. The script expects the dump file at ${DATA_DIR}/import/${DATABASE_NAME}.dump or in a directory structure at ${DATA_DIR}/import/${DATABASE_NAME}/.

See the script for more details.