# Run Actual Budget - Open Source Finance Management - in Docker
Author: i12bretro
Keywords: Browser Based,Docker Made Easy,Home Lab,Home Lab Ideas,Install Guide,Self-Hosted,Web Based,Web Based Tools,Accounting,Accounting Software,Debian,Expense Tracker,Expense Tracking,Homelab,Income Tracking,Linux,NodeJS,Ubuntu,Docker Container,Docker,Docker How To,Docker Made Simple,Docker Simplified,Docker Tutorial,How To,Tutorial,i12bretro

## What is Actual Budget?

> Actual is a local-first personal finance tool. It is 100% free and open-source, written in NodeJS, it has a synchronization element so that all your changes can move between devices without any heavy lifting. -https://github.com/actualbudget/actual

## Installing Docker

1. Log into the Linux based device
2. Run the following commands in the terminal
   # install prerequisites
   sudo apt install apt-transport-https ca-certificates git curl software-properties-common gnupg-agent -y
   # add docker gpg key
   curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/$(awk -F'=' '/^ID=/{ print $NF }' /etc/os-release)/gpg | sudo apt-key add -
   # add docker software repository
   sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture)] https://download.docker.com/linux/$(awk -F'=' '/^ID=/{ print $NF }' /etc/os-release) $(lsb_release -cs) stable"
   # install docker
   sudo apt install docker-ce docker-compose containerd.io -y
   # enable and start docker service
   sudo systemctl enable docker && sudo systemctl start docker
   # add the current user to the docker group
   sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
   # reauthenticate for the new group membership to take effect
   su - $USER

## Running Actual

1. Now that Docker is installed, run the following commands to setup the Actual Docker container and run it
   # create working directories
   mkdir ~/docker/actualbudget/data -p
   # create config.json
   touch ~/docker/actualbudget/config.json
   # write empty config file
   echo "{}" > ~/docker/actualbudget/config.json
   # set owner of working directories
   sudo chown "$USER":"$USER" ~/docker -R
   # allow the container to write to working directories
   sudo chmod a+rwx -R ~/docker/actualbudget
   # run actual budget container
   docker run -d --name actualbudget -p 5006:5006 -v ~/docker/actualbudget/config.json:/app/config.json -v ~/docker/actualbudget/data:/data --restart=unless-stopped actualbudget/actual-server
2. Open a web browser and navigate to http://DNSorIP:5006
3. Click on the Advanced Options link
4. Check the "I understand the risks" box > Click Open Actual
5. Enter and confirm an admin password
6. Click Start Fresh
7. Welcome to Actual running in Docker

Source: https://actualbudget.org/docs/install/docker/