Skip to content

Deploying DSX-Connect with Docker Compose🔗

This guide walks you through running DSXA, DSX-Connect Core, and a Filesystem Connector locally using Docker Compose.

By the end, you will:

  • See the DSX-Connect Console running
  • Complete your first scan

Prerequisites🔗

  • Docker installed (Docker Install Reference)
  • DSXA scanner token from Deep Instinct
  • The DSX-Connect compose bundle downloaded

1) Download and Extract the Bundle🔗

Download the latest release bundle from the DSX-Connect releases page.

Grab the asset named:

dsx-connect-compose-bundle-<version>.tar.gz

Extract it:

tar -xzf dsx-connect-compose-bundle-<version>.tar.gz

cd dsx-connect-<version>

You should now see:

docker-compose-dsxa.yaml
docker-compose-dsx-connect-all-services.yaml
sample.core.env
sample.dsxa.env
filesystem-connector-<version>/
...

2) Prepare the Shared Docker Network🔗

Create the shared bridge network (only needed once):

docker network create dsx-connect-network

Verify:

docker network ls

You should see:

dsx-connect-network   bridge

3) Start DSXA (Scanner)🔗

Copy the sample environment file🔗

cp sample.dsxa.env .dsxa.env

Edit .dsxa.env and set:

DSXA_IMAGE=<location of dsxa image repo>
APPLIANCE_URL=<your-DI-appliance>.deepinstinctweb.com
TOKEN=<your-DI-appliance-token>
SCANNER_ID=<your-scanner-id>
#HOST_PORT=5000

APPLIANCE_URL

The URL should be in the format: <your-DI-appliance>.deepinstinctweb.com No "https://"!

Tip

Environment files may contain sensitive values. Never commit them to source control.

Launch DSXA🔗

docker compose --env-file .dsxa.env -f docker-compose-dsxa.yaml up -d

Troubleshooting Tip

To see DSXA logs on the stdout, run without -d (detached). This is useful for troubleshooting DSXA launch issues, as you can see the logs immediately. Once you ctrl-c out of the logs, the container will stop.

Verify DSXA Started🔗

docker ps

You should see a container similar to:

CONTAINER ID   IMAGE                              COMMAND                  CREATED          STATUS          PORTS                                       NAMES
393391645b43   dsxconnect/dpa-rocky9:4.1.1.2020   "/bin/bash -c 'sourc…"   16 minutes ago   Up 16 minutes   0.0.0.0:5000->5000/tcp, :::5000->5000/tcp   dsx-connect-0375-dsxa_scanner-1

Check logs - copy the container name or use the container ID from above:

docker logs <container name/id>

Look for:

Classifier initialized. Result: true

✅ If you see this, DSXA is ready.

4) Start DSX-Connect Core🔗

Copy the core environment file🔗

cp sample.core.env .core.env

Edit .core.env if needed (image tag, optional auth settings).

Launch Core🔗

docker compose --env-file .core.env -f docker-compose-dsx-connect-all-services.yaml up -d

5) Verify the Console🔗

Check services:

docker compose -f docker-compose-dsx-connect-all-services.yaml ps

Open your browser:

http://localhost:8586

You should see the DSX-Connect Console.

DSX-Connect Console

Look for the “Connected” status indicating DSXA is reachable.

✅ If connected, Core and DSXA are working together.

6) Add the Filesystem Connector🔗

Now we’ll scan a local folder.

Create a test folder🔗

mkdir -p ~/Documents/dsx-connect-test

Optionally drop a few files into the folder.

Configure the connector🔗

cd filesystem-connector-<version>
cp sample.filesystem.env .filesystem.env

Edit .filesystem.env:

DSXCONNECTOR_ASSET=</path/to/scan/directory>
DSXCONNECTOR_ITEM_ACTION_MOVE_METAINFO=</path/to/scan/directory>/dsxconnect-quarantine
#DSXCONNECTOR_ITEM_ACTION=move

If move is enabled, detected files will be placed in the quarantine folder.

Start the connector🔗

docker compose \
  --env-file .filesystem.env \
  -f docker-compose-filesystem-connector.yaml \
  up -d

Within seconds, the connector registers automatically.

7) Run Your First Scan🔗

  1. Open http://localhost:8586
  2. Go to Connectors
  3. Select the Filesystem connector

  4. Click:

    • Preview (confirm files detected)
    • Sample Scan or Full Scan

Filesystem scan results

You should see scan results populate.

✅ If results appear, your local stack is fully operational.

Success 🎉🔗

You now have:

  • DSXA running
  • DSX-Connect Core running
  • A Connector registered
  • A completed scan

Next Steps🔗

Tear Down (Optional)🔗

docker compose -f docker-compose-dsx-connect-all-services.yaml down
docker compose -f docker-compose-dsxa.yaml down
docker compose -f filesystem-connector-<version>/docker-compose-filesystem-connector.yaml down