Setting Up Sitecore 10.4 with Docker: Complete Developer Guide

Introduction

Modern Sitecore development has moved far beyond manual installations. Configuring IIS, SQL Server, and Solr individually is time-consuming, error-prone, and difficult to standardize across teams.

With Docker, you can spin up a full Sitecore environment in minutes - consistent, scalable, and ready for enterprise-grade development.

This guide walks you through setting up Sitecore 10.4 using Docker, along with architecture insights and best practices

Why Docker for Sitecore?

Traditional setup challenges:

• Manual IIS + SQL Server configuration
• Solr and Identity Server dependency issues
• Environment mismatch between developers

Docker solves this by:

• ✅ One-command environment setup
• ✅ Consistent environments across teams
• ✅ Faster onboarding
• ✅ Cloud-ready architecture

Sitecore Docker Architecture Overview

A standard Sitecore Docker setup includes:

ServicePurposeCM (Content Management)Authoring environmentCD (Content Delivery)Public website deliverySQL ServerData storageSolrSearch & indexingIdentity ServerAuthenticationRendering HostHeadless frontend (Next.js, React)

Each service runs in its own container, communicating over Docker's internal network - mimicking real enterprise deployments .

Prerequisites

Before starting:

1. Install Docker Desktop

• Enable WSL2 backend
• Allocate 8–12 GB RAM
• Restart system

Verify:

 docker --version

2. Switch to Windows Containers (Critical)

Sitecore does NOT work on Linux containers.

Steps:

1. Right-click Docker icon
2. Click Switch to Windows Containers
3. Restart Docker

Verify:

docker version

Look for:

OSType: windows

Step 1: Download Sitecore Docker Resources

1. Go to Sitecore Developer Portal
2. Download:

• Sitecore Experience Platform 10.4
• Container Deployment Package

Step 2: Open and Prepare Project

Open the extracted repo in VS Code (Admin mode).

Navigate to:

\compose\ltsc2022\xp0

Your structure will look like:

docker/
├── docker-compose.yml
├── .env
├── build/
└── traefik/

Step 3: Initialize Environment

Run:

.\compose-init.ps1 -LicenseXmlPath {local path}\license.xml

This step:

• Configures environment
• Validates license
• Prepares containers

Step 4: Configure Environment Variables

Update .env file:

SITECORE_ADMIN_PASSWORD=YourStrongPassword
SITECORE_LICENSE=./license.xml
SQL_SA_PASSWORD=YourSQLPassword

This ensures:

• Secure configuration
• Environment portability
• No hardcoding (best practice)

Step 5: Start Sitecore Containers

Run:

docker-compose up -d

This will:

• Pull Sitecore images
• Build containers
• Start all services

Check status:

docker ps

Step 6: Access Sitecore

Once containers are ready:

• CM: https://xp0cm.localhost/sitecore
• Website: https://xp0cm.localhost

Credentials:

Username: admin
Password: (from .env)

Your local Sitecore 10.4 instance is now running !

Troubleshooting Common Issues

• Containers not starting
  Check container logs using:

  docker logs <container_name>

• Memory issues
   Increase RAM allocation in Docker Desktop (recommended: 8–12 GB)
• Port conflicts
   Ensure IIS, SQL Server, or other services are not using the same ports
• Reset environment
   Remove containers and volumes using:

 docker-compose down -v

Dhara Teli

Software Developer – Sitecore & .NET

Dhara is a Sitecore and .NET developer at Addact, specializing in Sitecore XM Cloud, Sitecore XP, SXA, ASP.NET MVC, C#, Web APIs, and GraphQL. She builds scalable, CMS-driven applications, develops Sitecore components, and delivers efficient, performance-focused digital solutions.