Running PrairieLearn Locally with Docker

Use these instructions to launch PrairieLearn on your local machine using Docker.

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Prerequisites

1. Install Docker Desktop
   • Download from: https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop
   • After installation, start the Docker app and ensure the whale 🐳 icon is running in your menu bar.
2. Sign in to Docker

   docker login
   

3. Clone your course repo

   git clone https://github.com/YOUR-ORG/YOUR-COURSE-REPO.git
   cd YOUR-COURSE-REPO
   

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Run PrairieLearn

Use the following command to run PrairieLearn using your local course directory:

docker run -it --rm -p 3000:3000 -v `pwd`:/course prairielearn/prairielearn

Example:

docker run -it --rm -p 3000:3000 -v ~/iCloudDrive/PL/pl-ucsb-cmpsc5a:/course prairielearn/prairielearn

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Access PrairieLearn in Browser

Once you see this message:

info: PrairieLearn server ready, press Control-C to quit
info: Go to http://localhost:3000

→ Open your browser and go to http://localhost:3000

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Common Error: Docker Daemon Not Running

If you see this error:

Cannot connect to the Docker daemon at unix:///Users/.../.docker/run/docker.sock

Solution:

• Open Docker Desktop from Applications or Launchpad
• Wait for it to fully start (🐳 whale icon turns green)
• Then retry the docker run command

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Note About External Graders

You may see:

Running PrairieLearn without support for external graders and workspaces.

This is fine for most local testing. To enable full support (e.g., for custom Docker grader images), follow:

https://prairielearn.readthedocs.io/en/latest/installing/#support-for-external-graders-and-workspaces