OpenLDAP Container Image

A privately-maintained OpenLDAP container image.

Maintainer: Mario Enrico Ragucci (ghmer) - openldap@r5i.xyz

Repository: https://github.com/ghmer/openldap-container Image: ghcr.io/ghmer/openldap:v2.6

⚠️ WORK IN PROGRESS

This image is under development and definitely lacks reviews. Some functionality is still missing. Use at your own risk.

Its aim is to provide a container image that is kept up to date: ghcr.io/ghmer/openldap:v2.6

Quick Start

docker run -d \
  --name openldap \
  -p 1389:1389 \
  -e LDAP_BASE_DN="dc=example,dc=com" \
  -e LDAP_ADMIN_USER="cn=admin" \
  -e LDAP_ADMIN_PW="admin_password" \
  -e LDAP_CONFIG_ADMIN_PW="config_password" \
  ghcr.io/ghmer/openldap:v2.6

Test connection:

ldapsearch -x -H ldap://localhost:1389 -b "dc=example,dc=com" \
  -D "cn=admin,dc=example,dc=com" -w admin_password

What's Included

• Base: Debian Trixie (slim)
• User: Non-root (UID 1001)
• Ports: 1389 (LDAP), 1636 (LDAPS)
• Architectures: amd64, arm64, arm/v7

Configuration

Required Environment Variables

Variable	Example
LDAP_BASE_DN	dc=example,dc=com
LDAP_ADMIN_USER	cn=admin
LDAP_ADMIN_PW	admin_password
LDAP_CONFIG_ADMIN_PW	config_password

Optional Variables

Variable	Default	Purpose
LDAP_ALLOW_ANON_BINDING	false	Allow anonymous binds
LDAP_ENABLE_TLS	false	Enable LDAPS
LDAP_TLS_CERT_FILE	-	Path to TLS cert - required if LDAP_ENABLE_TLS is true
LDAP_TLS_KEY_FILE	-	Path to TLS key - required if LDAP_ENABLE_TLS is true
LDAP_TLS_CA_FILE	-	Path to CA cert - required if LDAP_ENABLE_TLS is true
LDAPS_PORT	1636	LDAPS port - required if LDAP_ENABLE_TLS is true
LDAP_PORT	1389	LDAP port

Docker Compose

Basic Setup

services:
  openldap:
    image: ghcr.io/ghmer/openldap:v2.6
    container_name: openldap
    environment:
      LDAP_BASE_DN: "dc=example,dc=com"
      LDAP_ADMIN_USER: "cn=admin"
      LDAP_ADMIN_PW: "admin_password"
      LDAP_CONFIG_ADMIN_PW: "config_password"
    ports:
      - "1389:1389"
    volumes:
      - ldap_data:/var/lib/ldap
      - ldap_config:/etc/ldap/slapd.d
    user: "1001:1001"
    ulimits:
      nofile: 1024
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  ldap_data:
  ldap_config:

Advanced Setup with TLS and Initial Data

services:
  openldap:
    image: ghcr.io/ghmer/openldap:v2.6
    container_name: openldap
    environment:
      LDAP_BASE_DN: "dc=example,dc=com"
      LDAP_ADMIN_USER: "cn=admin"
      LDAP_ADMIN_PW: "admin_password"
      LDAP_CONFIG_ADMIN_PW: "config_password"
      LDAP_ENABLE_TLS: "true"
      LDAP_TLS_CERT_FILE: "/import/certs/server.crt"
      LDAP_TLS_KEY_FILE: "/import/certs/server.key"
      LDAP_TLS_CA_FILE: "/import/certs/ca.crt"
      LDAP_ALLOW_ANON_BINDING: "false"
    ports:
      - "1389:1389"
      - "1636:1636"
    volumes:
      - ldap_data:/var/lib/ldap
      - ldap_config:/etc/ldap/slapd.d
      - ./ldif:/import/ldif:ro
      - ./schema:/import/schema:ro
      - ./certs:/import/certs:ro
    user: "1001:1001"
    ulimits:
      nofile: 1024
    restart: unless-stopped
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "ldapsearch", "-x", "-H", "ldap://localhost:1389", "-b", "dc=example,dc=com", "-LLL"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 40s

volumes:
  ldap_data:
  ldap_config:

Volumes

Path	Purpose
/var/lib/ldap	Database files
/etc/ldap/slapd.d	Configuration
/import/ldif	Initial LDIF files (optional)
/import/schema	Custom schemas (optional)
/import/certs	TLS certificates (optional)

Volumes must be writable by UID 1001:

sudo chown -R 1001:1001 /path/to/volumes

TLS/LDAPS

docker run -d \
  -p 1636:1636 \
  -e LDAP_ENABLE_TLS="true" \
  -e LDAP_TLS_CERT_FILE="/import/certs/server.crt" \
  -e LDAP_TLS_KEY_FILE="/import/certs/server.key" \
  -e LDAP_TLS_CA_FILE="/import/certs/ca.crt" \
  -v ./certs:/import/certs:ro \
  # ... other config

Initial Data

Place LDIF files in /import/ldif - they're imported automatically on first run:

docker run -d \
  -v ./ldif:/import/ldif:ro \
  # ... other config

Migration Steps

1. Backup from existing server:

• Get an ldif export of your data. Exported operational attributes will be imported, too.
• Get rid of the baseDN entry.
• Place the exported file into a folder import-ldif
• Place any schema extensions into a folder import-schema

2. Configure your container with same base DN

• Mount folders into place:
  • ./import-schema:/import/schema:ro
  • ./import-ldif:/import/ldif:ro

3. Start the container

Watch for log entries.

Troubleshooting

Permission errors: Ensure volumes owned by UID 1001

sudo chown -R 1001:1001 /path/to/volumes

TLS errors: Check cert permissions (readable by UID 1001)

chmod 444 server.crt ca.crt
chmod 400 server.key

Connection refused: Check logs

docker logs openldap

Support

This is a private project without commercial support. Report issues on GitHub.

Maintainer Contact:

• GitHub: @ghmer
• Email: openldap@r5i.xyz
• Repository: https://github.com/ghmer/openldap-container

We Need Your Help! 🙋

Looking for volunteers to validate this OpenLDAP image.

As this project is still in development, I am looking for community members to:

• Test the image in various environments and use cases
• Validate functionality against your specific LDAP requirements
• Report bugs and issues you encounter during testing
• Share feedback on configuration, documentation, and usability
• Contribute improvements through pull requests

How to Help:

1. Try the image in your development/testing environment
2. Test different configurations (TLS, custom schemas, LDIF imports, etc.)
3. Validate migration scenarios
4. Document your findings and report issues on GitHub
5. Share your use case and any missing features you identify

Your testing and feedback are much appreciated. Every contribution, whether it's a bug report, documentation improvement, or feature suggestion, helps the entire community.

Get Started: Pull the image, follow the Quick Start guide, and let us know how it works for you!