From c9dbc79f756e4f8f1a7edc26cd725ed6d2e5ca8f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Julien Nahum <julien@nahum.net>
Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2025 15:55:50 +0800
Subject: [PATCH] Add Docker environment variables documentation

- Update environment-variables.mdx with Docker-specific environment variable guidance
- Add environment variable sections to docker-development.mdx and docker.mdx
- Provide instructions for updating environment variables in Docker containers
- Include a warning about properly recreating containers when changing environment variables
---
 docs/configuration/environment-variables.mdx | 26 +++++++++++++++++++-
 docs/deployment/docker-development.mdx       |  6 ++++-
 docs/deployment/docker.mdx                   |  4 +++
 3 files changed, 34 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/docs/configuration/environment-variables.mdx b/docs/configuration/environment-variables.mdx
index 6b82eb46..f42f2bf8 100644
--- a/docs/configuration/environment-variables.mdx
+++ b/docs/configuration/environment-variables.mdx
@@ -65,4 +65,28 @@ There are dedicated configuration pages available for more detailed setup instru
 
 import CloudVersion from "/snippets/cloud-version.mdx";
 
-<CloudVersion/>
\ No newline at end of file
+<CloudVersion/>
+
+## Docker Environment Variables
+
+When running OpnForm with Docker, there are some important considerations for handling environment variables:
+
+### Updating Environment Variables
+
+When changing environment variables in your `.env` files, you need to recreate the containers for the changes to take effect. Simply restarting the containers is not sufficient as Docker only loads environment variables when containers are created.
+
+To apply new environment variable changes:
+
+```bash
+# For a specific service (e.g., ui)
+docker compose down ui
+docker compose up -d ui
+
+# For all services
+docker compose down
+docker compose up -d
+```
+
+<Warning>
+A simple `docker compose restart` will not reload environment variables from your `.env` files. You must use `down` and `up` commands to recreate the containers.
+</Warning>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docs/deployment/docker-development.mdx b/docs/deployment/docker-development.mdx
index bb473d60..37650aa1 100644
--- a/docs/deployment/docker-development.mdx
+++ b/docs/deployment/docker-development.mdx
@@ -183,4 +183,8 @@ If hot reload isn't working:
 3. Try restarting the UI container:
    ```bash
    docker compose -f docker-compose.dev.yml restart ui
-   ```
\ No newline at end of file
+   ```
+
+## Environment Variables
+
+For detailed information about environment variables and how to update them in Docker, see our [Environment Variables](/configuration/environment-variables#docker-environment-variables) documentation.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docs/deployment/docker.mdx b/docs/deployment/docker.mdx
index da15ddd0..f5df0ccf 100644
--- a/docs/deployment/docker.mdx
+++ b/docs/deployment/docker.mdx
@@ -135,6 +135,10 @@ services:
       - ./custom-nginx.conf:/etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf
 ```
 
+## Environment Variables
+
+For detailed information about environment variables and how to update them in Docker, see our [Environment Variables](/configuration/environment-variables#docker-environment-variables) documentation.
+
 ## Maintenance
 
 ### Updates