Oracle APEX with Docker Compose

This project provides a simple way to run Oracle APEX 24.2 using Docker Compose with an Oracle Free database and Oracle REST Data Services (ORDS).

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🚀 Getting Started

1. Download APEX

First, download the file apex_24.2.zip from the Oracle APEX Downloads page.

Extract the contents into the ./apex folder of this project:

unzip apex_24.1.zip -d ./apex

Your folder structure should now look like this:

.
├── apex
│   ├── apexins.sql
│   ├── builder
│   └── ...
├── docker-compose.yml
└── ...

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2. Start the Oracle Database container

Run the following command to start the Oracle database container:

docker-compose up -d oracle-db

This will start the Oracle database (container name: oracle-db) and initialize the environment.

⚠️ Important: This step only starts the database. The APEX installation must complete before starting the ords container.

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3. Wait for APEX Installation

After the oracle-db container is running, APEX will begin installing automatically into the Oracle database.

This process can take several minutes. You can monitor the logs using:

docker logs -f oracle-db

Wait until the logs show a message similar to:

APEX installation completed successfully

Then create the admin user for your instance:

docker exec -it oracle-db bash
cd /opt/oracle/apex
sqlplus / as sysdba
ALTER SESSION SET CONTAINER=FREEPDB1;
@apxchpwd.sql

Only then proceed to the next step.

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4. Start the ORDS container

Once APEX has been installed, start the ORDS container:

docker-compose up -d ords

ORDS (container name: ords) will now connect to the database and serve the APEX web interface.

Access Oracle APEX at:

http://localhost:8080/ords/

the apex instace admin will be:

• workspace: INTERNAL
• user: ADMIN
• password: MySecret123!

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💾 Data Persistence

This setup uses Docker volumes for data storage:

• oracle-data: stores database files for Oracle Free
• ords-config: stores ORDS configuration files

You can inspect or manage volumes with:

docker volume ls
docker volume inspect oracle-data

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♻️ Restarting Services

To restart the containers:

docker-compose restart oracle-db
docker-compose restart ords

If ORDS fails to start on the first run, this is expected. Just wait for APEX installation to finish and try again.

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🎁 Extra

If you want to host your workspace on cloudflared, fisrt create a tunel pointing to the apex service on:

  http://host.docker.internal:8080

Then on ords/config/global/settings.xml add the following entries:

  <!-- Reverse proxy / Cloudflare -->
  <entry key="standalone.proxy.forwarded">true</entry>

  <!-- Security / HTTPS -->
  <entry key="security.forceHTTPS">true</entry>

  <!-- CORS -->
  <entry key="security.allowedOrigins"> https://yoursite.com.br </entry>
  <entry key="security.externalSessionTrustedOrigins"> https://yoursite.com.br </entry>

apex.selfhost.site

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📜 License

This project uses the official Oracle container images:

• gvenzl/oracle-free:23.6-full
• [container-registry.oracle.com/database/ords:25.1.0 + custom ORDS setup]

Oracle APEX and ORDS are free to use under the Oracle Free Use Terms and Conditions.