# Running Your Dockerized Voting App (Without Docker Compose)

### **Prerequisites**

Before we begin, ensure you have the following installed on your machine:

* **Docker Desktop:** This includes the Docker Engine and Docker CLI. You can download it from [Docker's official website](https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop).
    
* **Git:** To clone the project repository.
    

---

### **Step 1: Clone the GitHub Repository**

First, you need to get the application code and Dockerfiles onto your local machine. Replace `<`https://github.com/dockersamples/example-voting-app.git`>` with the actual URL of your GitHub repository.

```plaintext
git clone https://github.com/dockersamples/example-voting-app.git
cd example-voting-app # Navigate into the cloned project directory
```

Now, your current terminal directory should be the **root of your cloned repository**, where you'll find the `vote/`, `worker/`, `result/` directories, and potentially a `docker-compose.yml` (though we won't be using that file for these instructions).

### **Step 2: Build Docker Images for Each Service**

Navigate into each service's directory from your repository root and build its Docker image.

1. **Build** `vote` app image:
    
    ```plaintext
    cd vote
    docker build -t voting-app .
    cd ..
    ```
    
2. **Build** `worker` app image:
    
    ```plaintext
    cd worker
    docker build -t worker-app .
    cd ..
    ```
    
3. **Build** `result` app image:
    
    ```plaintext
    cd result
    docker build -t result-app .
    cd ..
    ```
    

### **Step 3: Run Docker Containers (Order Matters!)**

Now, we'll run each container. It's crucial to start the database and Redis first, as the `worker` and `result` apps depend on them.

1. Run redis container:
    
    This uses the official redis image
    
    ```plaintext
    docker run -d --name=redis redis
    ```
    
2. Run db (PostgreSQL) container:
    
    This uses the official postgres image, sets up the database name and credentials.
    
    ```plaintext
    docker run -d --name=db -e POSTGRES_USER=postgres -e POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres postgres
    ```
    
    *(Note: Docker will automatically create the* `db-data` *volume if it doesn't exist.)*
    
3. Run worker container:
    
    This uses the worker-app image we built and passes the necessary environment variables for connecting to Redis and PostgreSQL.
    
    ```plaintext
    docker run -d --link redis:redis --link db:db worker-app
    ```
    
4. Run vote container:
    
    This uses the vote-app image and maps host port 5000 to container port 80 for web access.
    
    ```plaintext
    docker run -d --link redis:redis -p 5000:80 voting-app
    ```
    
5. Run result container:
    
    This uses the result-app image, maps host port 5001 to container port 80, and passes environment variables for PostgreSQL connection.
    
    ```plaintext
    docker run -d -p 5001:80 --link db:db result-app
    ```
    

### **Step 4: Verify and Access Your Application**

After running all the commands, you can check if all containers are running:

```plaintext
docker ps
```

You should see `redis`, `db`, `worker`, `vote`, and `result` listed with `Up` status.

Now, open your web browser to access the applications:

* **Voting App:** `http://localhost:5000`
    
* **Result App:** `http://localhost:5001`
    

### **Step 5: Clean Up (Stop and Remove Containers/Network)**

When you're done, it's good practice to stop and remove the containers and the custom network to free up resources.

1. **Stop all containers:**
    
    ```plaintext
    docker stop vote result worker db redis
    ```
    
2. **Remove all containers:**
    
    ```plaintext
    docker rm vote result worker db redis
    ```
    

This detailed sequence of `docker` commands will get your multi-service voting application up and running without relying on Docker Compose.