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Deploy with Docker

The repo ships a docker-compose.yml at the root that runs qkt + mt5-gateway together. This is the recommended production deployment for live MT5 trading.

Prerequisites

  • Docker + Docker Compose v2
  • The published MT5 gateway image: elitekaycy/mt5-gateway-api:0.3.2 (or elitekaycy/mt5-gateway-api:latest, which tracks the newest release)
  • .env populated with broker credentials (copy from .env.example)
  • qkt.config.yaml with at least one broker profile (copy from qkt.config.yaml.example)

Stack layout

docker compose up -d
   │
   ├─ mt5-gateway   (Wine + MT5 + Flask)
   │     • port 3000 → VNC, log in to MT5 GUI on first start
   │     • port 5001 → HTTP API for qkt to talk to
   │
   └─ qkt           (daemon)
         • depends_on: mt5-gateway healthy
         • mounts: ./strategies:/strategies, ./qkt.config.yaml:/etc/qkt/qkt.config.yaml
         • loopback-only control and per-strategy observability inside the container

First run

  1. Bring up the stack:

    docker compose up -d

  2. Wait for the headless MT5 login: the gateway uses the broker credentials in .env. VNC is only a diagnostic fallback.

  3. Verify:

    curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $MT5_API_KEY" http://localhost:5001/health/ready
docker compose exec qkt qkt brokers list

  4. Deploy a strategy: drop a .qkt file into ./strategies/ — the daemon's --load-dir /strategies auto-deploys it on next restart. For hot-deploy:

    docker compose exec qkt qkt deploy /strategies/momentum.qkt --as momentum

    For a later edit to the same running name, validate and replace it with resync instead of stopping the daemon:

    docker compose exec qkt qkt resync /strategies/momentum.qkt --as momentum --dry-run
docker compose exec qkt qkt resync /strategies/momentum.qkt --as momentum

    A failed parse, promotion gate, or reconciliation check leaves the previous momentum session registered and keeps other strategies running.

Persistence

The compose file declares a named volume qkt-state mounted at /var/lib/qkt. Logs land at qkt-state:/logs/<name>.log; the control port + state files live there too.

To inspect logs from outside the container:

docker run --rm -v qkt-state:/data alpine cat /data/logs/momentum.log

Healthchecks + restart

qkt declares restart: unless-stopped and depends_on: mt5-gateway: condition: service_healthy. If the gateway dies, qkt waits for its healthcheck to recover before restarting.

Tearing down

docker compose down            # keeps qkt-state volume
docker compose down -v         # also wipes the volume (state + logs lost)

Common issues

  • qkt brokers list shows the profile but gateway: down. MT5 isn't logged in. VNC at :3000 and log in.
  • Compose can't pull the gateway image. Verify Docker Hub access to elitekaycy/mt5-gateway-api:0.3.2, or override MT5_GATEWAY_IMAGE with a digest-pinned/private-registry image.
  • Symbol not found errors. Verify the broker's actual symbol via the MT5 market watch. The default exness profile assumes the m suffix; other brokers vary.
  • Container loses ports on restart. Add restart: unless-stopped to both services (already in the shipped compose file).

See also