<!--lint disable maximum-heading-length-->

---

title: 'Installation Guide'
linkTitle: 'Installation Guide'
weight: 1
description: 'A CVAT installation guide for different operating systems.'

---

<!--lint disable heading-style-->

# Quick installation guide

Before you can use CVAT, you’ll need to get it installed. The document below
contains instructions for the most popular operating systems. If your system is
not covered by the document it should be relatively straightforward to adapt
the instructions below for other systems.

Probably you need to modify the instructions below in case you are behind a proxy
server. Proxy is an advanced topic and it is not covered by the guide.

For access from China, read [sources for users from China](#sources-for-users-from-china) section.

## Ubuntu 22.04/20.04 (x86_64/amd64)

- Open a terminal window. If you don't know how to open a terminal window on
  Ubuntu please read [the answer](https://askubuntu.com/questions/183775/how-do-i-open-a-terminal).

- Type commands below into the terminal window to install Docker and Docker Compose. More
  instructions can be found [here](https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/ubuntu/).

  ```shell
  # Add Docker's official GPG key:
  sudo apt-get update
  sudo apt-get install ca-certificates curl
  sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
  sudo curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
  sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc

  # Add the repository to Apt sources:
  echo \
    "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \
    $(. /etc/os-release && echo "${UBUNTU_CODENAME:-$VERSION_CODENAME}") stable" | \
    sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null
  sudo apt-get update

  # Install the Docker packages.
  sudo apt-get install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin
  ```

- (Optional) To avoid prefacing Docker commands with `sudo`,
  you can perform the [post-installation steps](https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/linux-postinstall/).
  This involves creating a Unix group named `docker` and
  adding your current user to this group.

  ```shell
  sudo groupadd docker
  sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
  ```

  Log out and log back in (or reboot) so that your group membership is
  re-evaluated. You can type `groups` command in a terminal window after
  that and check if `docker` group is in its output.

- Clone _CVAT_ source code from the
  [GitHub repository](https://github.com/cvat-ai/cvat) with Git.

  Following command will clone the latest develop branch:

  ```shell
  git clone https://github.com/cvat-ai/cvat
  cd cvat
  ```

  See [alternatives](#how-to-get-cvat-source-code) if you want to download one of the release
  versions or use the `wget` or `curl` tools.

- To access CVAT over a network or through a different system, export `CVAT_HOST` environment variable

  ```shell
  export CVAT_HOST=FQDN_or_YOUR-IP-ADDRESS
  ```

- Run docker containers. It will take some time to download the latest CVAT
  and other required images like postgres, redis, and start containers.

  ```shell
  docker compose up -d
  ```

- (Optional) Use `CVAT_VERSION` environment variable to specify the version of CVAT you want to
  install specific version (e.g `v2.1.0`, `dev`).
  Default behavior: `dev` images will be pulled for develop branch,
  and corresponding release images for release versions.

  ```shell
  CVAT_VERSION=dev docker compose up -d
  ```

- Alternative: if you want to build the images locally with unreleased changes
  see [How to pull/build/update CVAT images section](#how-to-pullbuildupdate-cvat-images)

- You can register a user but by default, it will not have rights even to view
  the list of tasks. Thus you should create a superuser. The superuser can use an
  admin panel to assign the correct groups to the user. Please use the command
  below:

  ```shell
  docker exec -it cvat_server bash -ic 'python3 ~/manage.py createsuperuser'
  ```

  Choose a username and a password for your admin account. For more information
  please read [Django documentation](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/2.2/ref/django-admin/#createsuperuser).

- Google Chrome is the only browser that is supported by CVAT. You need to
  install it as well. Type commands below in a terminal window:

  ```shell
  sudo curl https://dl-ssl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub -o /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/google.asc
  sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64] http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list'
  sudo apt-get update
  sudo apt-get --no-install-recommends install -y google-chrome-stable
  ```

- Open the installed Google Chrome browser and go to [localhost:8080](http://localhost:8080).
  Type your login/password for the superuser on the login page and press the _Login_
  button. Now you should be able to create a new annotation task. Please read the
  {{< ilink "/docs/manual" "CVAT manual" >}} for more details.

## Windows 10

- Install WSL2 (Windows subsystem for Linux) refer to [this official guide](https://docs.microsoft.com/windows/wsl/install-win10).
  WSL2 requires Windows 10, version 2004 or higher. After installing WSL2, install a Linux Distribution of your choice.

- Download and install [Docker Desktop for Windows](https://desktop.docker.com/win/main/amd64/Docker%20Desktop%20Installer.exe).
  Double-click `Docker for Windows Installer` to run the installer.
  More instructions can be found [here](https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-windows/install/).
  Official guide for docker WSL2 backend can be found
  [here](https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-windows/wsl/). Note: Check that you are specifically using WSL2 backend
  for Docker.

- In Docker Desktop, go to `Settings >> Resources >> WSL Integration`, and
  enable integration with the Linux Distribution that you chose.

- Download and install
  [Git for Windows](https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/releases/download/v2.21.0.windows.1/Git-2.21.0-64-bit.exe).
  When installing the package please keep all options by default.
  More information about the package can be found [here](https://gitforwindows.org).

- Download and install [Google Chrome](https://www.google.com/chrome/). It is the only browser
  which is supported by CVAT.

- Go to windows menu, find the Linux distribution you installed and run it. You should see a terminal window.

- Clone _CVAT_ source code from the
  [GitHub repository](https://github.com/cvat-ai/cvat).

  The following command will clone the latest develop branch:

  ```shell
  git clone https://github.com/cvat-ai/cvat
  cd cvat
  ```

  See [alternatives](#how-to-get-cvat-source-code) if you want to download one of the release
  versions.

- Run docker containers. It will take some time to download the latest CVAT
  release and other required images like postgres, redis, etc. from DockerHub and create containers.

  ```shell
  docker compose up -d
  ```

- (Optional) Use `CVAT_VERSION` environment variable to specify the version of CVAT you want to
  install specific version (e.g `v2.1.0`, `dev`).
  Default behavior: `dev` images will be pulled for develop branch,
  and corresponding release images for release versions.

  ```shell
  CVAT_VERSION=dev docker compose up -d
  ```

- Alternative: if you want to build the images locally with unreleased changes
  see [How to pull/build/update CVAT images section](#how-to-pullbuildupdate-cvat-images)

- You can register a user but by default, it will not have rights even to view
  the list of tasks. Thus you should create a superuser. A superuser can use an
  admin panel to assign correct groups to other users. Please use the command
  below:

  ```shell
  sudo docker exec -it cvat_server bash -ic 'python3 ~/manage.py createsuperuser'
  ```

  If you don't have winpty installed or the above command does not work, you may also try the following:

  ```shell
  # enter docker image first
  docker exec -it cvat_server /bin/bash
  # then run
  python3 ~/manage.py createsuperuser
  ```

  Choose a username and a password for your admin account. For more information
  please read [Django documentation](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/2.2/ref/django-admin/#createsuperuser).

- Open the installed Google Chrome browser and go to [localhost:8080](http://localhost:8080).
  Type your login/password for the superuser on the login page and press the _Login_
  button. Now you should be able to create a new annotation task. Please read the
  {{< ilink "/docs/manual" "CVAT manual" >}} for more details.

## Mac OS Mojave

- Download [Docker for Mac](https://download.docker.com/mac/stable/Docker.dmg).
  Double-click Docker.dmg to open the installer, then drag Moby the whale
  to the Applications folder. Double-click Docker.app in the Applications
  folder to start Docker. More instructions can be found
  [here](https://docs.docker.com/v17.12/docker-for-mac/install/#install-and-run-docker-for-mac).

- There are several ways to install Git on a Mac. The easiest is probably to
  install the Xcode Command Line Tools. On Mavericks (10.9) or above you can
  do this simply by trying to run git from the Terminal the very first time.

  ```shell
  git --version
  ```

  If you don’t have it installed already, it will prompt you to install it.
  More instructions can be found [here](https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Getting-Started-Installing-Git).

- Download and install [Google Chrome](https://www.google.com/chrome/). It
  is the only browser which is supported by CVAT.

- Open a terminal window. The terminal app is in the Utilities folder in
  Applications. To open it, either open your Applications folder, then open
  Utilities and double-click on Terminal, or press Command - spacebar to
  launch Spotlight and type "Terminal," then double-click the search result.

- Clone _CVAT_ source code from the
  [GitHub repository](https://github.com/cvat-ai/cvat) with Git.

  The following command will clone the latest develop branch:

  ```shell
  git clone https://github.com/cvat-ai/cvat
  cd cvat
  ```

  See [alternatives](#how-to-get-cvat-source-code) if you want to download one of the release
  versions or use the `wget` or `curl` tools.

- Run docker containers. It will take some time to download the latest CVAT
  release and other required images like postgres, redis, etc. from DockerHub and create containers.

  ```shell
  docker compose up -d
  ```

- (Optional) Use `CVAT_VERSION` environment variable to specify the version of CVAT you want to
  install specific version (e.g `v2.1.0`, `dev`).
  Default behavior: `dev` images will be pulled for develop branch,
  and corresponding release images for release versions.

  ```shell
  CVAT_VERSION=dev docker compose up -d
  ```

- Alternative: if you want to build the images locally with unreleased changes
  see [How to pull/build/update CVAT images section](#how-to-pullbuildupdate-cvat-images)

- You can register a user but by default, it will not have rights even to view
  the list of tasks. Thus you should create a superuser. A superuser can use an
  admin panel to assign correct groups to other users. Please use the command
  below:

  ```shell
  docker exec -it cvat_server bash -ic 'python3 ~/manage.py createsuperuser'
  ```

  Choose a username and a password for your admin account. For more information
  please read [Django documentation](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/2.2/ref/django-admin/#createsuperuser).

- Open the installed Google Chrome browser and go to [localhost:8080](http://localhost:8080).
  Type your login/password for the superuser on the login page and press the _Login_
  button. Now you should be able to create a new annotation task. Please read the
  {{< ilink "/docs/manual" "CVAT manual" >}} for more details.

## Advanced Topics

### How to get CVAT source code

#### Git (Linux, Mac, Windows)

1. Install Git on your system if it's not already installed

   - Ubuntu:

   ```shell
   sudo apt-get --no-install-recommends install -y git
   ```

   - Windows:
     Follow instructions from [https://git-scm.com/download/win](https://git-scm.com/download/win)

2. Clone _CVAT_ source code from the
   [GitHub repository](https://github.com/cvat-ai/cvat).

   The command below will clone the default branch (develop):

   ```shell
   git clone https://github.com/cvat-ai/cvat
   cd cvat
   ```

   To clone specific tag, e.g. v2.1.0:

   ```shell
   git clone -b v2.1.0 https://github.com/cvat-ai/cvat
   cd cvat
   ```

#### Wget (Linux, Mac)

To download latest develop branch:

```shell
wget https://github.com/cvat-ai/cvat/archive/refs/heads/develop.zip
unzip develop.zip && mv cvat-develop cvat
cd cvat
```

To download specific tag:

```shell
wget https://github.com/cvat-ai/cvat/archive/refs/tags/v1.7.0.zip
unzip v1.7.0.zip && mv cvat-1.7.0 cvat
cd cvat
```

#### Curl (Linux, Mac)

To download the latest develop branch:

```shell
curl -LO https://github.com/cvat-ai/cvat/archive/refs/heads/develop.zip
unzip develop.zip && mv cvat-develop cvat
cd cvat
```

To download specific tag:

```shell
curl -LO https://github.com/cvat-ai/cvat/archive/refs/tags/v1.7.0.zip
unzip v1.7.0.zip && mv cvat-1.7.0 cvat
cd cvat
```

### CVAT healthcheck command

The following command allows testing the CVAT container to make sure it works.

```shell
docker exec -t cvat_server python manage.py health_check
```

The expected output of a healthy CVAT container:

```shell
Cache backend: default   ... working
DatabaseBackend          ... working
DiskUsage                ... working
MemoryUsage              ... working
MigrationsHealthCheck    ... working
OPAHealthCheck           ... working
```

### Deploying CVAT behind a proxy

If you deploy CVAT behind a proxy and do not plan to use any of [serverless functions](#semi-automatic-and-automatic-annotation)
for automatic annotation, the exported environment variables
`http_proxy`, `https_proxy` and `no_proxy` should be enough to build images.
Otherwise please create or edit the file `~/.docker/config.json` in the home directory of the user
which starts containers and add JSON such as the following:

```json
{
  "proxies": {
    "default": {
      "httpProxy": "http://proxy_server:port",
      "httpsProxy": "http://proxy_server:port",
      "noProxy": "*.test.example.com,.example2.com"
    }
  }
}
```

These environment variables are set automatically within any container.
Please see the [Docker documentation](https://docs.docker.com/network/proxy/) for more details.

### Using the Traefik dashboard

If you are customizing the docker compose files and you come upon some unexpected issues, using the Traefik
dashboard might be very useful to see if the problem is with Traefik configuration, or with some of the services.

You can enable the Traefik dashboard by uncommenting the following lines from `docker-compose.yml`

```yml
services:
  traefik:
    # Uncomment to get Traefik dashboard
    #   - "--entryPoints.dashboard.address=:8090"
    #   - "--api.dashboard=true"
    # labels:
    #   - traefik.enable=true
    #   - traefik.http.routers.dashboard.entrypoints=dashboard
    #   - traefik.http.routers.dashboard.service=api@internal
    #   - traefik.http.routers.dashboard.rule=Host(`${CVAT_HOST:-localhost}`)
```

and if you are using `docker-compose.https.yml`, also uncomment these lines

```yml
services:
  traefik:
    command:
      # Uncomment to get Traefik dashboard
      # - "--entryPoints.dashboard.address=:8090"
      # - "--api.dashboard=true"
```

Note that this "insecure" dashboard is not recommended in production (and if your instance is publicly available);
if you want to keep the dashboard in production you should read Traefik's
[documentation](https://doc.traefik.io/traefik/operations/dashboard/) on how to properly secure it.

### Additional components

#### Semi-automatic and automatic annotation

Please follow this {{< ilink "/docs/administration/advanced/installation_automatic_annotation" "guide" >}}.

### Stop all containers

The command below stops and removes containers and networks created by `up`.

```shell
docker compose down
```

### Use your own domain

If you want to access your instance of CVAT outside of your localhost (on another domain),
you should specify the `CVAT_HOST` environment variable, like this:

```shell
export CVAT_HOST=<YOUR_DOMAIN>
```

### Share path

You can use shared storage for uploading data when you create a task.
To do that, you need to mount the shared storage to the CVAT docker container. Example of
docker-compose.override.yml for this purpose:

```yml
services:
  cvat_server:
    volumes:
      - cvat_share:/home/django/share:ro
  cvat_worker_import:
    volumes:
      - cvat_share:/home/django/share:ro
  cvat_worker_export:
    volumes:
      - cvat_share:/home/django/share:ro
  cvat_worker_annotation:
    volumes:
      - cvat_share:/home/django/share:ro
  cvat_worker_chunks:
    volumes:
      - cvat_share:/home/django/share:ro

volumes:
  cvat_share:
    driver_opts:
      type: none
      device: /mnt/share
      o: bind
```

You can change the share device path to your actual share.

You can {{< ilink "/docs/administration/advanced/mounting_cloud_storages" "mount" >}}
your cloud storage as a FUSE and use it later as a share.

### Email verification

You can enable email verification for newly registered users.
Specify these options in the
[settings file](https://github.com/cvat-ai/cvat/blob/develop/cvat/settings/base.py) to configure Django allauth
to enable email verification (ACCOUNT_EMAIL_VERIFICATION = 'mandatory').
Access is denied until the user's email address is verified.

```python
ACCOUNT_AUTHENTICATION_METHOD = 'username_email'
ACCOUNT_CONFIRM_EMAIL_ON_GET = True
ACCOUNT_EMAIL_REQUIRED = True
ACCOUNT_EMAIL_VERIFICATION = 'mandatory'

# Email backend settings for Django
EMAIL_BACKEND = 'django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend'
```

Also, you need to configure the Django email backend to send emails.
This depends on the email server you are using and is not covered in this tutorial, please see
[Django SMTP backend configuration](https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/3.1/topics/email/#django.core.mail.backends.smtp.EmailBackend)
for details.

### Deploy CVAT on the Scaleway public cloud

Please follow
[this tutorial](https://blog.scaleway.com/smart-data-annotation-for-your-computer-vision-projects-cvat-on-scaleway/)
to install and set up remote access to CVAT on a Scaleway cloud instance with data in a mounted object storage bucket.

### Deploy secure CVAT instance with HTTPS

Using Traefik, you can automatically obtain a TLS certificate for your domain from Let's Encrypt,
enabling you to use HTTPS protocol to access your website.

To enable this, first set the `CVAT_HOST` (the domain of your website) and `ACME_EMAIL`
(contact email for Let's Encrypt) environment variables:

```shell
export CVAT_HOST=<YOUR_DOMAIN>
export ACME_EMAIL=<YOUR_EMAIL>
```

Then, use the `docker-compose.https.yml` file to override the base `docker-compose.yml` file:

```shell
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.https.yml up -d
```

{{% alert title="Note" color="primary" %}}
In the firewall, ports 80 and 443 must be open for inbound connections from any
{{% /alert %}}

Then, the CVAT instance will be available at your domain on ports 443 (HTTPS) and 80 (HTTP, redirects to 443).

### Deploy CVAT with an external database

By default, `docker compose up` will start a PostgreSQL database server,
which will be used to store CVAT's data.
If you'd like to use your own PostgreSQL instance instead, you can do so as follows.
Note that CVAT only supports the same major version of PostgreSQL
as is used in `docker-compose.yml`.

First, define environment variables with database connection settings:

```shell
export CVAT_POSTGRES_HOST=<PostgreSQL hostname> # mandatory
export CVAT_POSTGRES_PORT=<PostgreSQL port> # defaults to 5432
export CVAT_POSTGRES_DBNAME=<PostgreSQL database name> # defaults to "cvat"
export CVAT_POSTGRES_USER=<PostgreSQL role name> # defaults to "root"
export CVAT_POSTGRES_PASSWORD=<PostgreSQL role password> # mandatory
```

Then, add the `docker-compose.external_db.yml` file to your `docker compose up` command:

```shell
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.external_db.yml up -d
```

### How to pull/build/update CVAT images

- **For a CVAT version lower or equal to 2.1.0**, you need to pull images using docker because
  the compose configuration always points to the latest image tag, e.g.

  ```shell
  docker pull cvat/server:v1.7.0
  docker tag cvat/server:v1.7.0 openvino/cvat_server:latest

  docker pull cvat/ui:v1.7.0
  docker tag cvat/ui:v1.7.0 openvino/cvat_ui:latest
  ```

  **For CVAT version more than v2.1.0** it's possible to pull specific version of
  prebuilt images from DockerHub using `CVAT_VERSION` environment variable to specify
  the version (e.g. `dev`):

  ```shell
  CVAT_VERSION=dev docker compose pull
  ```

- To build images yourself include `docker-compose.dev.yml` compose config file to `docker compose` command.
  This can be useful if you want to build a CVAT with some source code changes.
  ```shell
  docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.dev.yml build
  ```
- To update local images to `latest` or `dev` tags run:
  ```shell
  CVAT_VERSION=dev docker compose pull
  ```
  or
  ```shell
  CVAT_VERSION=latest docker compose pull
  ```

## Troubleshooting

### Sources for users from China

If you stay in China, for installation you need to override the following sources.

- For use `apt update` using:

  [Ubuntu mirroring help](https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/help/ubuntu/)

  Pre-compiled packages:

  ```shell
  deb https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/ubuntu/ focal main restricted universe multiverse
  deb https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/ubuntu/ focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
  deb https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/ubuntu/ focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
  deb https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
  ```

  Or source packages:

  ```shell
  deb-src https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/ubuntu/ focal main restricted universe multiverse
  deb-src https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/ubuntu/ focal-updates main restricted universe multiverse
  deb-src https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/ubuntu/ focal-backports main restricted universe multiverse
  deb-src https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/ubuntu/ focal-security main restricted universe multiverse
  ```

- [Docker mirror station](https://www.daocloud.io/mirror)

  Add registry mirrors into `daemon.json` file:

  ```json
  {
    "registry-mirrors": [
      "http://f1361db2.m.daocloud.io",
      "https://docker.mirrors.ustc.edu.cn",
      "https://hub-mirror.c.163.com",
      "https://mirror.ccs.tencentyun.com"
    ]
  }
  ```

- For using `pip`:

  [PyPI mirroring help](https://mirrors.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/help/pypi/)

  ```shell
  pip config set global.index-url https://pypi.tuna.tsinghua.edu.cn/simple
  ```

- For using `npm`:

  [npm mirroring help](https://npmmirror.com/)

  ```shell
  npm config set registry https://registry.npm.taobao.org/
  ```

- Instead of `git` using [`gitee`](https://gitee.com/):

  [CVAT repository on gitee.com](https://gitee.com/monkeycc/cvat)

- For replace acceleration source `docker.com` run:

  ```shell
  curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo apt-key add -
  sudo add-apt-repository \
    "deb [arch=amd64] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu \
    $(lsb_release -cs) \
  ```

- For replace acceleration source `google.com` run:
  ```shell
  curl https://dl-ssl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub | sudo apt-key add -
  ```

### HTTPS is not working because of a certificate

If you're having trouble with an SSL connection, to find the cause,
you'll need to get the logs from traefik by running:

```shell
docker logs traefik
```

The logs will help you find out the problem.

If the error is related to a firewall, then:

- Open ports 80 and 443 for inbound connections from any.
- Delete `acme.json`.
  The location should be something like: `/var/lib/docker/volumes/cvat_cvat_letsencrypt/_data/acme.json`.

After `acme.json` is removed, stop all cvat docker containers:

```shell
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.https.yml down
```

Make sure variables set (with your values):

```shell
export CVAT_HOST=<YOUR_DOMAIN>
export ACME_EMAIL=<YOUR_EMAIL>
```

and restart docker:

```shell
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.https.yml up -d
```