Setup Guide

Installation, updating, and optional configuration.

⚡ Switch to the Native Mac App

RespectASO is now available as a native Mac app — no Docker required. It's faster, simpler, and updates with a single drag-and-drop.

Download .dmg Migration guide ↓

🐳 Getting Started (Docker)

RespectASO runs as a Docker container on your machine. Three commands to get started:

# Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/respectlytics/respectaso.git

cd respectaso

# Start the container

docker compose up -d

That's it. Open your browser and go to:

http://localhost

🔄 Updating to a New Version (Docker)

cd respectaso

git pull

docker compose down

docker compose build --no-cache

docker compose up -d

Database migrations run automatically on container start. Your existing data is preserved.

💾 Data & Persistence (Docker)

Your data is stored in a Docker volume (aso_data). This means:

Container restarts — your data survives
Image rebuilds — your data survives
docker compose down -v — this deletes the volume and all your data

📦 Migrating from Docker to Native App

Your existing keywords and search history carry over. Run this one-time migration:

# Download and run the migration script

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/respectlytics/respectaso/main/desktop/migrate-from-docker.sh | bash

This copies your SQLite database from the Docker volume to the native app's data folder.

After migrating

Install the native app, launch it, and verify your data is intact. Once confirmed, you can remove the Docker container:

docker compose down

# To also remove the volume (only after confirming native app works):

docker compose down -v

🌐 Custom Domain Name

Instead of http://localhost, you can access RespectASO with a clean custom domain like http://respectaso.private. This just requires adding one line to your hosts file.

macOS / Linux

# Open your hosts file

sudo nano /etc/hosts

# Add this line at the end

127.0.0.1 respectaso.private

# Save and exit (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X)

Windows

# Open Notepad as Administrator, then open this file:

C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts

# Add this line at the end

127.0.0.1 respectaso.private

# Save the file

After saving, open your browser and go to http://respectaso.private. No restart needed — it works immediately.

Why .private?

We recommend the .private TLD because it's reserved for private use and won't conflict with real domains or macOS mDNS resolution (.local can cause slowdowns on macOS because it triggers Bonjour lookups). You can use any name you want — aso.test, respectaso.dev, etc. — but .private is the safest choice.

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