ardour

If you’re an audio producer, podcaster, or music enthusiast who’s looking to run a full-fledged Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) at home, then the Ardour Docker image from LinuxServer.io is a perfect place to start your self-hosted audio journey. Today’s post is all about getting you up and running with the Ardour Docker container, and most importantly—keeping things simple and contained in true self-hoster style!

What is Ardour?

Ardour is an open-source Digital Audio Workstation that you can use to record, edit, mix, and master audio and MIDI projects. Think of it like a self-hosted alternative to proprietary audio software—but fully customizable, and with the added benefit of containerized deployment using Docker.

Why Use Ardour in Docker?

There are a few major benefits to running Ardour in Docker:

• Isolation: Keeps your audio environment separate from your main system.
• Portability: Move your audio environment between machines easily.
• Simplicity: Updates, dependency management, and backups are easier to handle.

Getting Started

To start hosting Ardour in a Docker container, you’ll want to head over to the official documentation by LinuxServer.io here: https://docs.linuxserver.io/images/docker-ardour

The LinuxServer team provides a sample docker-compose file that you can use right out-of-the-box. Here’s a basic configuration example:

version: "2.1"
services:
  ardour:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/ardour:latest
    container_name: ardour
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=Europe/London
    volumes:
      - /path/to/your/config:/config
      - /path/to/your/audiofiles:/home/abc/Audio
    ports:
      - 3000:3000 # web VNC interface
    restart: unless-stopped

Note:

• Replace /path/to/your/config with a local directory to store your configuration data.
• Replace /path/to/your/audiofiles with your preferred storage volume for your audio projects.
• Port 3000 is exposed by default to provide access to the web-based VNC client GUI.

Once you’ve saved this into a docker-compose.yml file, you can start your container by running:

docker-compose up -d

Using Ardour

After the container is running, navigate to http://<your-server-ip>:3000 in your browser. This exposes the Ardour VNC interface directly in your web browser, letting you create and manage audio projects right away.

You can connect a MIDI keyboard or audio interface depending on your hardware support and host configuration. By mapping audio files from your shared volume, your work is persistent and ready to be backed up as needed.

Final Thoughts

Running Ardour in Docker is surprisingly easy thanks to the excellent work by LinuxServer.io. Whether you’re mixing podcasts or laying down tracks for your next hit song, containerizing your DAW setup is a powerful way to stay flexible and in control.

Happy selfhosting, and I will see you in the next post!