Docker Compose Sample

The fastest way to exercise ChokaQ with SQL Server and The Deck is the root Docker Compose file. It starts:

• SQL Server 2022 Developer Edition;
• the Bus sample app;
• ChokaQ SQL storage with auto-provisioning enabled;
• The Deck dashboard at /chokaq;
• ASP.NET Core health checks at /health.

Run

From the repository root:

docker compose up --build

Open:

http://localhost:5299
http://localhost:5299/chokaq
http://localhost:5299/health

The launcher page can enqueue sample jobs into the emails, background, and critical queues. The Deck lets you inspect the Hot table, Archive, DLQ, queue-lag health, failure taxonomy, bulk operations, and queue controls.

SQL Server

The SQL container is exposed on host port 14333 to avoid clashing with a local SQL Server instance on 1433.

Server=localhost,14333;Database=ChokaQSample;User Id=sa;Password=<password>;Encrypt=True;TrustServerCertificate=True;

The compose file uses a clearly marked development password by default:

ChokaQ_dev_only_ChangeMe_2026!

Override it when needed:

$env:CHOKAQ_SQL_SA_PASSWORD = "Use_a_local_dev_password_123!"
docker compose up --build

This password is for local sample infrastructure only. Production applications should use normal secret management and should not keep SQL credentials in source-controlled appsettings files.

Reset

To stop the sample while preserving SQL data:

docker compose down

To remove the SQL volume and start from an empty database:

docker compose down -v

Why This Sample Exists

The compose sample is a smoke test for the real operator path:

1. the app reads runtime policy from configuration and environment variables;
2. SQL storage creates the schema idempotently;
3. workers fetch from SQL instead of in-memory channels;
4. The Deck reads the same storage as the workers;
5. health checks expose readiness through standard ASP.NET Core endpoints.

That makes the sample useful both for first-time users and for maintainers who want to verify that the end-to-end SQL experience still works after a change.