ghostfolio/docs/DATA-PERSISTENCE.md

Data Persistence Fix

Problem: You need to sign up each time because you're switching between databases.

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Root Cause

You have TWO sets of containers:

Old Containers	New Containers (docker-compose.yml)
gf-postgres-dev	ghostfolio-db
gf-redis-dev	ghostfolio-redis

Each set has its own database. When you switch between them, you get a fresh database with no user account.

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Quick Check

# See what's running
docker ps

# See what your app connects to
grep DATABASE_URL .env

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Solution: Choose ONE

Option A: Use Old Containers (Recommended if they have your data)

Don't run docker-compose up -d

Just start the app:

pnpm start

Why: Your old containers (gf-postgres-dev, gf-redis-dev) are already running and have your user account.

Pros:

• Keep existing data
• No setup needed

Cons:

• Not using your docker-compose.yml
• Different from production setup

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Option B: Use New Containers (Fresh start)

Stop old containers:

docker stop gf-postgres-dev gf-redis-dev

Start new ones:

docker-compose up -d

Run migrations:

pnpm nx run api:prisma:migrate

Create account ONCE:

1. Open http://localhost:4200
2. Sign up
3. Add holdings/seed money

Data will now persist even if you run:

docker-compose down  # Stops containers
docker-compose up -d  # Restarts with same data

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How Data Persistence Works

Docker volumes save your data:

volumes:
  postgres-data:  # Saves: users, holdings, activities
  redis-data:     # Saves: AI chat memory

When containers stop/restart:

• ✅ Data persists in volumes
• ✅ User accounts stay
• ✅ Holdings stay
• ✅ AI memory stays (for 24h)

When you docker-compose down:

• ✅ Containers removed
• ✅ Volumes stay (data safe)

When you remove volumes:

docker volume rm ghostfolio_postgres-data

• ❌ All data lost

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Seed Money Question

Q: Do I always have to add seed money?

A: Only ONCE per database

1. Sign up
2. Add initial deposit: $10,000 (or whatever)
3. Add holdings
4. Data persists forever (until you delete volumes)

To check if you have data:

# Connect to database
docker exec -it ghostfolio-db psql -U ghostfolio -d ghostfolio

# Check users
SELECT * FROM "User";

# Check activities
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM "Activity";

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Recommended Setup

Use your new containers (Option B):

# 1. Stop old ones
docker stop gf-postgres-dev gf-redis-dev

# 2. Start new ones
docker-compose up -d

# 3. Migrate
pnpm nx run api:prisma:migrate

# 4. Create account (ONE TIME)
# 5. Add seed money (ONE TIME)

# 6. From now on, just:
docker-compose up -d
pnpm start

# Data persists forever

This matches your production setup and prevents confusion.

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Summary

Question	Answer
Why sign up each time?	Switching between different databases
Do I have seed money?	Only if you added it (once per database)
Do containers persist data?	Yes, via Docker volumes
Which should I use?	Use ONE set consistently (recommend new)
How to keep data?	Don't delete volumes, use same containers

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Troubleshooting

Issue: Still losing data

Check:

# Are you using same containers each time?
docker ps -a | grep postgres

# Do volumes exist?
docker volume ls | grep postgres

# Is .env pointing to right database?
grep DATABASE_URL .env

Fix:

1. Stop all postgres containers
2. Remove orphaned containers: docker container prune
3. Start fresh: docker-compose up -d
4. Migrate: pnpm nx run api:prisma:migrate
5. Create account once

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Best Practice

Always use same startup sequence:

# First time setup
docker-compose up -d
pnpm nx run api:prisma:migrate
# Create account, add data

# Every time after that
docker-compose up -d
pnpm start

Never mix:

• Old containers + docker-compose
• Multiple docker-compose files
• Manual docker run + docker-compose

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Bottom line: Pick ONE set of containers, use it consistently, data will persist.