ArcGIS Experience Builder - Docker Setup

A Docker setup for running ArcGIS Experience Builder v1.17 using Bun runtime in a single container, following best practices from the community.

Overview

This setup includes:

• A single Docker container for the complete ArcGIS Experience Builder (client and server components)
• A docker-compose configuration for easy management
• Docker native volumes for data persistence
• Automatic dependency resolution using Bun runtime
• Built-in fallback handling for the fs-extra module issue

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose installed
• Downloaded and extracted ArcGIS Experience Builder v1.17
• ArcGIS Portal URL and App ID (register the app in your ArcGIS portal)

Download ArcGIS Experience Builder

ArcGIS Experience Builder requires authentication to download from Esri's website:

1. Go to ArcGIS Experience Builder Downloads
2. Log in with your ArcGIS developer account
3. Download the Experience Builder Developer Edition v1.17
4. Extract the zip file to a directory named arcgis-experience-builder in this project

# Create the arcgis-experience-builder directory
mkdir -p arcgis-experience-builder

# Extract the zip file you downloaded from Esri (avoids nested directories)
unzip arcgis-experience-builder-1.17.zip

Project Structure

experience-builder/
├── arcgis-experience-builder/  # Extracted Experience Builder files
│   ├── server/               # Mounted to container
│   └── client/               # Mounted to container
├── Dockerfile                # Container definition using Bun runtime
├── start.sh                  # Startup script
└── docker-compose.yml        # Docker Compose definition with native volumes

Quick Start

1. Create an .env file with your configuration:

EXB_PORT_HTTP=3000
EXB_PORT_HTTPS=3001
PORTAL_URL=https://www.arcgis.com
APP_ID=your_app_id_here

2. Start the container:

docker compose up -d

How It Works

The container:

• Uses Bun runtime for improved performance and dependency handling
• Mounts both the Experience Builder server and client files from your extracted download
• Automatically installs required dependencies
• Runs the server component on ports 3000 (HTTP) and 3001 (HTTPS)
• Uses Docker native volumes for data persistence

Why Bun?

This setup uses Bun instead of Node.js because:

1. Better dependency resolution - fixes the notorious fs-extra module issue
2. Faster startup and package installation
3. Improved compatibility with the Experience Builder codebase
4. Built-in fallback mechanism for missing modules

Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
EXB_PORT_HTTP	HTTP port	3000
EXB_PORT_HTTPS	HTTPS port	3001
PORTAL_URL	ArcGIS Portal URL	https://www.arcgis.com
APP_ID	Your registered app ID	-

Volumes

Mount Point	Description
./arcgis-experience-builder/server	REQUIRED: Experience Builder server files
./arcgis-experience-builder/client	REQUIRED: Experience Builder client files
exb-public-data	Server public files (Docker volume)
exb-config-data	Server configuration (Docker volume)
exb-logs-data	Server logs (Docker volume)

Production Considerations

• Use a reverse proxy like Nginx or Traefik for SSL termination
• Docker volumes are used for data persistence, which is better for production environments
• Monitor container health with the built-in healthcheck
• Ensure your APP_ID is properly configured in Esri Portal