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MCP server built inHow that works

Quick start

The fastest way to a running installation is the Docker Compose stack. It starts every service, generates the secrets on first run, and configures the Keycloak realm by itself.

On this page

Prerequisites

  • Docker Desktop, running — the whale icon in the menu bar must be steady.
  • openssl, curl and jq for the helper scripts. On macOS everything but jq is preinstalled (brew install jq).

Starting up

  1. Change into the compose directory and start

    On first run up.sh creates .env with random secrets, builds the console and agent images, starts the stack, and waits for the realm setup to finish.

    cd deploy/compose
    ./up.sh
  2. Wait out the first run

    It pulls images and builds two applications, which takes a few minutes. These two commands show the progress.

    docker compose ps
    docker compose logs -f keycloak-init
  3. Open the console

    Everything sits behind one address. Login goes through Keycloak and returns to the console afterwards.

    http://localhost:8080/

localhost, not 127.0.0.1

Open the configured address http://localhost:8080/. PKCE requires a browser secure context and an address matching the configured token issuer and redirect URLs. Configure HTTPS for publicly reachable installations.

Accounts in the local stack

UserPasswordRole
flaky-adminDEMO_ADMIN_PASSWORD in deploy/compose/.envPlatform administrator — may set policies, users and the AI backend
flaky-tester (optional)DEMO_TESTER_PASSWORD in deploy/compose/.envOrdinary user — useful for checking what a policy actually does

For the local stack only

The first start generates random passwords in deploy/compose/.env; there are no fixed default passwords. The test account is created only when demo accounts are enabled. New administrator accounts configure a second factor on first sign-in. Existing accounts keep their passwords.

What sits behind the single address

URLServes
http://localhost:8080/Console
http://localhost:8080/api/agentAgent backend
http://localhost:8080/authKeycloak (login)

What works right away — and what does not

Login, the SQL worksheet, the data browser, import, governance and search work immediately. Search needs no key: the embedding model ships with the platform. The chat, however, needs a language model, and none is bundled — without a backend it replies that none is configured. Setting one up is covered under Configuring the AI backend.

From quick start to operation

The reference installation also uses Docker Compose. An Ansible playbook supports installation and updates on Debian/Ubuntu. “Operating Compose” covers backups, Iceberg maintenance, workload classes and outstanding acceptance checks. The Helm path for Kubernetes is documented separately.

Managing and shutting down

Running the stack
docker compose ps              # status
docker compose logs -f agent   # follow one service's log
docker compose down            # stop, keep the data
docker compose down -v         # stop and wipe all data

If a docker command answers “Cannot connect to the Docker daemon”, Docker is off — that is not a fault of the platform.

Applies to: This page describes lavalake 0.201.0. Product and documentation live in separate repositories — when in doubt, what the console shows is authoritative.

Something missing?

If these pages do not answer your question, we will walk through the platform against your own case in half an hour.

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