---
title: "Overview"
space: "MQTT and Sparkplug B"
url: "https://docs.modbee.org/mqtt/docker-examples/overview"
updated: "2026-10-25"
---

# Running modbee in production

Pick the folder that matches your server, copy its four files (`compose.yml`,
`modbee.yaml`, `.env.example`, `README.md`) anywhere, and follow its README.
Each one runs the published image and needs nothing else from this repository.

| Your server | Without Kafka | With Kafka |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Your own network** - a LAN, a VPN or a private cloud network; plain MQTT | [`broker`](https://github.com/mod-bee/modbee-mqtt/tree/main/docker/examples/broker) | [`broker-kafka`](https://github.com/mod-bee/modbee-mqtt/tree/main/docker/examples/broker-kafka) |
| **On the internet, nothing else running** - Traefik gets a free certificate | [`traefik`](https://github.com/mod-bee/modbee-mqtt/tree/main/docker/examples/traefik) | [`traefik-kafka`](https://github.com/mod-bee/modbee-mqtt/tree/main/docker/examples/traefik-kafka) |
| **On the internet, Nginx Proxy Manager already running** - it does the TLS | [`npm`](https://github.com/mod-bee/modbee-mqtt/tree/main/docker/examples/npm) | [`npm-kafka`](https://github.com/mod-bee/modbee-mqtt/tree/main/docker/examples/npm-kafka) |

**With Kafka** means every MQTT message lands in Kafka, Kafka apps (a SCADA, a
historian) send commands back to devices, and Kafka hears which devices are
online. The ModBee platform needs this.

## The same in all six

- **Every device has its own login**, and may use only the topics you give it
  - nothing is open by default. The admin login is in `.env`.
- **Logins and retained messages survive** restarts and upgrades (volumes).
- **Upgrade** with `docker compose pull && docker compose up -d`.
- **Every setting** is in `modbee.yaml`, explained line by line;
  `docker compose exec modbee modbee check` validates it.

## Download one folder with curl

```bash
mkdir modbee && cd modbee
for f in compose.yml modbee.yaml .env.example README.md; do
  curl -fsSL -o "$f" "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mod-bee/modbee-mqtt/main/docker/examples/npm-kafka/$f"
done
```

Change `npm-kafka` to the folder you picked. Running it again downloads the
newest files over the old ones; your `.env` is never touched.

Just trying modbee on your own computer? [`../compose.yml`](https://github.com/mod-bee/modbee-mqtt/blob/main/docker/compose.yml) starts
modbee and Kafka with no logins, for a first look - not for production.