Failure to run the backend NodeJS server when mounting `config.toml` as a volume

[rohittanwar]

Describe the bug
Mounting config.toml in volumes in docker-compose.yaml gives an error when running the backend NodeJS server.

- ./config.toml:/home/perplexica/config.toml

What happens in my opinion is - when docker-compose.yaml mounts the config.toml in a volume as above, the docker container treats the config.toml as a directory instead of a file and thus the Object.readFileSync function fails with the error as below.

Full error text -

perplexica-backend-1 |
perplexica-backend-1 | [i] No changes detected
perplexica-backend-1 | node:internal/fs/utils:356
perplexica-backend-1 | throw err;
perplexica-backend-1 | ^
perplexica-backend-1 |
perplexica-backend-1 | Error: EISDIR: illegal operation on a directory, read
perplexica-backend-1 | at Object.readSync (node:fs:744:3)
perplexica-backend-1 | at tryReadSync (node:fs:444:20)
perplexica-backend-1 | at Object.readFileSync (node:fs:490:19)
perplexica-backend-1 | at loadConfig (/home/perplexica/dist/config.js:11:60)
perplexica-backend-1 | at getPort (/home/perplexica/dist/config.js:12:23)
perplexica-backend-1 | at Object. (/home/perplexica/dist/app.js:13:35)
perplexica-backend-1 | at Module._compile (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1364:14)
perplexica-backend-1 | at Module._extensions..js (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1422:10)
perplexica-backend-1 | at Module.load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1203:32)
perplexica-backend-1 | at Module._load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1019:12) {
perplexica-backend-1 | errno: -21,
perplexica-backend-1 | syscall: 'read',
perplexica-backend-1 | code: 'EISDIR'
perplexica-backend-1 | }
perplexica-backend-1 |
perplexica-backend-1 | Node.js v18.20.7
perplexica-backend-1 | error Command failed with exit code 1.
perplexica-backend-1 | info Visit https://yarnpkg.com/en/docs/cli/run for documentation about this command.
perplexica-backend-1 exited with code 0

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Clone the perplexica repo.
2. Follow the readme steps to rename the sample.config.toml to config.toml and run the docker containers using docker compose up --build.
3. The backend container, throw an error and is not able to run.

Expected behavior
Running perplexica locally without any changes in the docker-compose file should work fine.
The alternative solution which worked for me is to -

1. Modify backend.dockerfile and also add COPY config.toml /home/perplexica/ to copy this file.
2. Remove the - ./config.toml:/home/perplexica/config.toml from the docker-compose.yaml file.

Screenshots

Additional context
Add any other context about the problem here.

[ItzCrazyKns]

I think you probably didn't configure config.toml when you first ran the container because Docker can also mount files as a single file volume (and not a directory), copying it directly into the container will make it so it cannot be edited manually from outside the container (except for certain parameters that can be edited with the settings menu)

[moshotande]

I'm getting the same error. I have configured config.toml prior to composing the docker containers

[GENERAL]
PORT = 3001 # Port to run the server on
SIMILARITY_MEASURE = "cosine" # "cosine" or "dot"
KEEP_ALIVE = "5m" # How long to keep Ollama models loaded into memory. (Instead of using -1 use "-1m")

[MODELS.OPENAI]
API_KEY = "MY_KEY"

[API_ENDPOINTS]
SEARXNG = "http://localhost:32768" # SearxNG API URL

[thedunston]

I'm suddenly running into this problem with a newer version of Perplexica (v 1.10.2)

I'm running version 1.10.1 on one machine and it works fine.

The main difference I notice is that config.toml on my working instance is a file. On the version not working (version 1.10.2), config.toml is a directory and then I put the file config.toml inside of the directory config.toml.

Version 1.10.1 (working) within the container;

root@c08e8c830ee2:/home/perplexica# ls -lrt
total 36
-rw-rw-r-- 1 node node 886 Mar 23 22:59 config.toml

-rw-rw-r-- 1 root root 1868 Apr 6 03:27 package.json

drwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Apr 6 03:27 node_modules

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 6115 Apr 6 03:27 server.js

drwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Apr 6 03:27 public

drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 6 03:27 uploads

drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 15 17:24 data

Version 1.10.2 (not working) within the container:
root@79c3e4da1f2b:/home/perplexica# ls -lrt
total 36
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1868 Apr 12 06:32 package.json

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 6115 Apr 12 06:32 server.js

drwxr-xr-x 32 root root 4096 Apr 12 06:32 node_modules

drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 12 06:32 uploads

drwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Apr 12 06:32 public

drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 16 21:52 data

drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 16 23:23 config.toml

Startup on Version 1.10.2 (not working):
[+] Running 2/2
✔ Container perplexica-app-1 Created 0.0s
✔ Container perplexica-searxng-1 Created 0.0s
Attaching to app-1, searxng-1
searxng-1 | SearXNG version 2025.4.16+b84ae3997
searxng-1 | Use existing /etc/searxng/uwsgi.ini
searxng-1 | Use existing /etc/searxng/settings.yml
searxng-1 | Listen on [::]:8080
searxng-1 | [uWSGI] getting INI configuration from /etc/searxng/uwsgi.ini
searxng-1 | [uwsgi-static] added mapping for /static => /usr/local/searxng/searx/static
searxng-1 | *** Starting uWSGI 2.0.25.1 (64bit) on [Wed Apr 16 23:29:22 2025] ***
searxng-1 | compiled with version: 13.2.1 20240309 on 17 May 2024 06:11:37
searxng-1 | os: Linux-5.15.0-130-generic #140-Ubuntu SMP Wed Dec 18 17:59:53 UTC 2024
searxng-1 | nodename: 064e1fa1e5f0
searxng-1 | machine: x86_64
searxng-1 | clock source: unix
searxng-1 | pcre jit disabled
searxng-1 | detected number of CPU cores: 8
searxng-1 | current working directory: /usr/local/searxng
searxng-1 | detected binary path: /usr/sbin/uwsgi
searxng-1 | setgid() to 977
searxng-1 | setuid() to 977
searxng-1 | chdir() to /usr/local/searxng/searx/
searxng-1 | your memory page size is 4096 bytes
searxng-1 | detected max file descriptor number: 1048576
searxng-1 | building mime-types dictionary from file /etc/mime.types...1390 entry found
searxng-1 | lock engine: pthread robust mutexes
searxng-1 | thunder lock: disabled (you can enable it with --thunder-lock)
searxng-1 | uwsgi socket 0 bound to TCP6 address [::]:8080 fd 3
searxng-1 | Python version: 3.12.10 (main, Apr 9 2025, 07:23:41) [GCC 13.2.1 20240309]
searxng-1 | Python main interpreter initialized at 0x7f3f775ebc70
searxng-1 | python threads support enabled
searxng-1 | your server socket listen backlog is limited to 100 connections
searxng-1 | your mercy for graceful operations on workers is 60 seconds
searxng-1 | mapped 1086048 bytes (1060 KB) for 32 cores
searxng-1 | *** Operational MODE: preforking+threaded ***
searxng-1 | added /usr/local/searxng/ to pythonpath.
searxng-1 | spawned uWSGI master process (pid: 7)
searxng-1 | spawned uWSGI worker 1 (pid: 10, cores: 4)
searxng-1 | spawned uWSGI worker 2 (pid: 12, cores: 4)
searxng-1 | spawned 4 offload threads for uWSGI worker 1
searxng-1 | spawned uWSGI worker 3 (pid: 17, cores: 4)
searxng-1 | spawned 4 offload threads for uWSGI worker 2
searxng-1 | spawned uWSGI worker 4 (pid: 21, cores: 4)
searxng-1 | spawned 4 offload threads for uWSGI worker 3
searxng-1 | spawned uWSGI worker 5 (pid: 25, cores: 4)
searxng-1 | spawned uWSGI worker 6 (pid: 27, cores: 4)
searxng-1 | spawned uWSGI worker 7 (pid: 30, cores: 4)
searxng-1 | spawned 4 offload threads for uWSGI worker 6
searxng-1 | spawned uWSGI worker 8 (pid: 33, cores: 4)
searxng-1 | spawned 4 offload threads for uWSGI worker 4
searxng-1 | spawned 4 offload threads for uWSGI worker 8
searxng-1 | spawned 4 offload threads for uWSGI worker 7
searxng-1 | spawned 4 offload threads for uWSGI worker 5
app-1 | ▲ Next.js 15.2.2
app-1 | - Local: http://79c3e4da1f2b:3000
app-1 | - Network: http://79c3e4da1f2b:3000
app-1 |
app-1 | ✓ Starting...
app-1 | ✓ Ready in 356ms
searxng-1 | WSGI app 0 (mountpoint='') ready in 4 seconds on interpreter 0x7f3f775ebc70 pid: 17 (default app)
searxng-1 | WSGI app 0 (mountpoint='') ready in 4 seconds on interpreter 0x7f3f775ebc70 pid: 25 (default app)
searxng-1 | WSGI app 0 (mountpoint='') ready in 4 seconds on interpreter 0x7f3f775ebc70 pid: 21 (default app)
searxng-1 | WSGI app 0 (mountpoint='') ready in 4 seconds on interpreter 0x7f3f775ebc70 pid: 10 (default app)
searxng-1 | WSGI app 0 (mountpoint='') ready in 4 seconds on interpreter 0x7f3f775ebc70 pid: 27 (default app)
searxng-1 | WSGI app 0 (mountpoint='') ready in 4 seconds on interpreter 0x7f3f775ebc70 pid: 33 (default app)
searxng-1 | WSGI app 0 (mountpoint='') ready in 4 seconds on interpreter 0x7f3f775ebc70 pid: 12 (default app)
searxng-1 | WSGI app 0 (mountpoint='') ready in 4 seconds on interpreter 0x7f3f775ebc70 pid: 30 (default app)
app-1 | An error occurred while fetching models Error: EISDIR: illegal operation on a directory, read
app-1 | at s (.next/server/chunks/584.js:1:8739)
app-1 | at d (.next/server/chunks/584.js:1:8863)
app-1 | at Object.s [as openai] (.next/server/chunks/584.js:1:526)
app-1 | at G (.next/server/chunks/584.js:1:8150)
app-1 | at u (.next/server/app/api/models/route.js:1:538) {
app-1 | errno: -21,
app-1 | code: 'EISDIR',
app-1 | syscall: 'read'
app-1 | }

[ItzCrazyKns]

I'm suddenly running into this problem with a newer version of Perplexica (v 1.10.2)

I'm running version 1.10.1 on one machine and it works fine.

The main difference I notice is that config.toml on my working instance is a file. On the version not working (version 1.10.2), config.toml is a directory and then I put the file config.toml inside of the directory config.toml.

Version 1.10.1 (working) within the container;

root@c08e8c830ee2:/home/perplexica# ls -lrt total 36 -rw-rw-r-- 1 node node 886 Mar 23 22:59 config.toml

-rw-rw-r-- 1 root root 1868 Apr 6 03:27 package.json

drwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Apr 6 03:27 node_modules

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 6115 Apr 6 03:27 server.js

drwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Apr 6 03:27 public

drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 6 03:27 uploads

drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 15 17:24 data

Version 1.10.2 (not working) within the container: root@79c3e4da1f2b:/home/perplexica# ls -lrt total 36 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1868 Apr 12 06:32 package.json

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 6115 Apr 12 06:32 server.js

drwxr-xr-x 32 root root 4096 Apr 12 06:32 node_modules

drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 12 06:32 uploads

drwxr-xr-x 1 root root 4096 Apr 12 06:32 public

drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 16 21:52 data

drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Apr 16 23:23 config.toml

Startup on Version 1.10.2 (not working): [+] Running 2/2 ✔ Container perplexica-app-1 Created 0.0s ✔ Container perplexica-searxng-1 Created 0.0s Attaching to app-1, searxng-1 searxng-1 | SearXNG version 2025.4.16+b84ae3997 searxng-1 | Use existing /etc/searxng/uwsgi.ini searxng-1 | Use existing /etc/searxng/settings.yml searxng-1 | Listen on [::]:8080 searxng-1 | [uWSGI] getting INI configuration from /etc/searxng/uwsgi.ini searxng-1 | [uwsgi-static] added mapping for /static => /usr/local/searxng/searx/static searxng-1 | *** Starting uWSGI 2.0.25.1 (64bit) on [Wed Apr 16 23:29:22 2025] *** searxng-1 | compiled with version: 13.2.1 20240309 on 17 May 2024 06:11:37 searxng-1 | os: Linux-5.15.0-130-generic #140-Ubuntu SMP Wed Dec 18 17:59:53 UTC 2024 searxng-1 | nodename: 064e1fa1e5f0 searxng-1 | machine: x86_64 searxng-1 | clock source: unix searxng-1 | pcre jit disabled searxng-1 | detected number of CPU cores: 8 searxng-1 | current working directory: /usr/local/searxng searxng-1 | detected binary path: /usr/sbin/uwsgi searxng-1 | setgid() to 977 searxng-1 | setuid() to 977 searxng-1 | chdir() to /usr/local/searxng/searx/ searxng-1 | your memory page size is 4096 bytes searxng-1 | detected max file descriptor number: 1048576 searxng-1 | building mime-types dictionary from file /etc/mime.types...1390 entry found searxng-1 | lock engine: pthread robust mutexes searxng-1 | thunder lock: disabled (you can enable it with --thunder-lock) searxng-1 | uwsgi socket 0 bound to TCP6 address [::]:8080 fd 3 searxng-1 | Python version: 3.12.10 (main, Apr 9 2025, 07:23:41) [GCC 13.2.1 20240309] searxng-1 | Python main interpreter initialized at 0x7f3f775ebc70 searxng-1 | python threads support enabled searxng-1 | your server socket listen backlog is limited to 100 connections searxng-1 | your mercy for graceful operations on workers is 60 seconds searxng-1 | mapped 1086048 bytes (1060 KB) for 32 cores searxng-1 | *** Operational MODE: preforking+threaded *** searxng-1 | added /usr/local/searxng/ to pythonpath. searxng-1 | spawned uWSGI master process (pid: 7) searxng-1 | spawned uWSGI worker 1 (pid: 10, cores: 4) searxng-1 | spawned uWSGI worker 2 (pid: 12, cores: 4) searxng-1 | spawned 4 offload threads for uWSGI worker 1 searxng-1 | spawned uWSGI worker 3 (pid: 17, cores: 4) searxng-1 | spawned 4 offload threads for uWSGI worker 2 searxng-1 | spawned uWSGI worker 4 (pid: 21, cores: 4) searxng-1 | spawned 4 offload threads for uWSGI worker 3 searxng-1 | spawned uWSGI worker 5 (pid: 25, cores: 4) searxng-1 | spawned uWSGI worker 6 (pid: 27, cores: 4) searxng-1 | spawned uWSGI worker 7 (pid: 30, cores: 4) searxng-1 | spawned 4 offload threads for uWSGI worker 6 searxng-1 | spawned uWSGI worker 8 (pid: 33, cores: 4) searxng-1 | spawned 4 offload threads for uWSGI worker 4 searxng-1 | spawned 4 offload threads for uWSGI worker 8 searxng-1 | spawned 4 offload threads for uWSGI worker 7 searxng-1 | spawned 4 offload threads for uWSGI worker 5 app-1 | ▲ Next.js 15.2.2 app-1 | - Local: http://79c3e4da1f2b:3000 app-1 | - Network: http://79c3e4da1f2b:3000 app-1 | app-1 | ✓ Starting... app-1 | ✓ Ready in 356ms searxng-1 | WSGI app 0 (mountpoint='') ready in 4 seconds on interpreter 0x7f3f775ebc70 pid: 17 (default app) searxng-1 | WSGI app 0 (mountpoint='') ready in 4 seconds on interpreter 0x7f3f775ebc70 pid: 25 (default app) searxng-1 | WSGI app 0 (mountpoint='') ready in 4 seconds on interpreter 0x7f3f775ebc70 pid: 21 (default app) searxng-1 | WSGI app 0 (mountpoint='') ready in 4 seconds on interpreter 0x7f3f775ebc70 pid: 10 (default app) searxng-1 | WSGI app 0 (mountpoint='') ready in 4 seconds on interpreter 0x7f3f775ebc70 pid: 27 (default app) searxng-1 | WSGI app 0 (mountpoint='') ready in 4 seconds on interpreter 0x7f3f775ebc70 pid: 33 (default app) searxng-1 | WSGI app 0 (mountpoint='') ready in 4 seconds on interpreter 0x7f3f775ebc70 pid: 12 (default app) searxng-1 | WSGI app 0 (mountpoint='') ready in 4 seconds on interpreter 0x7f3f775ebc70 pid: 30 (default app) app-1 | An error occurred while fetching models Error: EISDIR: illegal operation on a directory, read app-1 | at s (.next/server/chunks/584.js:1:8739) app-1 | at d (.next/server/chunks/584.js:1:8863) app-1 | at Object.s [as openai] (.next/server/chunks/584.js:1:526) app-1 | at G (.next/server/chunks/584.js:1:8150) app-1 | at u (.next/server/app/api/models/route.js:1:538) { app-1 | errno: -21, app-1 | code: 'EISDIR', app-1 | syscall: 'read' app-1 | }

Delete the directory named config.toml and copy the config.toml file into the root directory of the project