Minimal Compose Deployment

Two-container AIS cluster (one proxy, one target) via Docker Compose or Podman Compose.

Prerequisites

• Docker or Podman, with Compose
• AIS CLI (make cli from repo root)

Quick Start

Pull the pre-built image from DockerHub and start:

$ make up
$ export AIS_ENDPOINT="http://localhost:51080"
$ ais show cluster

Building from Source

Build locally if you need to test source changes:

$ make up-build

Cloud Backends

AWS

Using environment variables:

$ AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=<key> \
  AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=<secret> \
  make up

Or using an AWS config directory (containing config and/or credentials files):

$ AWS_CREDENTIALS_PATH=~/.aws \
  make up

GCP

GCP requires mounting a service account JSON file:

$ GCP_CREDENTIALS_PATH=/path/to/gcp-creds.json \
  make up

GCP_CREDENTIALS_PATH is the path on the host. It is mounted read-only into the container at /credentials/gcp.json.

Multiple Backends

$ AWS_CREDENTIALS_PATH=~/.aws \
  GCP_CREDENTIALS_PATH=/path/to/gcp-creds.json \
  make up

Makefile Targets

Target	Description
make up	Start the cluster (pulls image if needed)
make up-build	Build from source, then start
make build	Build the image from source only
make down	Stop the cluster
make clean	Stop and remove data volumes
make logs	Tail container logs
make status	Show container status

The Makefile auto-detects podman or docker. Override with COMPOSE="docker compose".

Environment Variables

All environment variables set in the shell will pass through make targets to the docker-compose.yml

Variable	Default	Description
AIS_BACKEND_PROVIDERS	"aws gcp"	Space-separated list: aws, gcp, azure, oci
AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID		AWS access key
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY		AWS secret key
AWS_REGION		AWS region
AWS_PROFILE		Named AWS profile from config/credentials files
S3_ENDPOINT		Custom S3 endpoint for non-AWS providers
AWS_CREDENTIALS_PATH		Directory for S3 config/credential files on the host (mounted read-only to /root/.aws internally)
GCP_CREDENTIALS_PATH		Host path to GCP service account JSON
AIS_PORT	51080	Host port for the proxy
AIS_TARGET_PORT	51081	Host port for the target
AIS_FS_LABEL	container-local	Filesystem label for mountpaths. Must be set to any value to indicate a volume without direct disk resolution. See /docs/configuration.md for context.
IMAGE_REPO	aistorage/cluster-minimal	Image repository (Makefile only)
IMAGE_TAG	latest	Image tag (Makefile only)

Shutting Down

$ ais cluster shutdown
$ make down

To also remove the target's data volume:

$ make clean

Limitations

• Single target only. Scaling to multiple targets requires additional compose services with distinct ports, hostnames, and volumes.
• Local access only. The proxy and target advertise 127.0.0.1. Remote clients cannot connect without modifying HOSTNAME_LIST.
• Single disk per target. Additional disks require editing the compose file to add volumes and updating AIS_FS_PATHS.
• No HTTPS. TLS is not configured.
• No authentication. AuthN is disabled.