# Bitnami Secure Image for Kibana

> Kibana is an open source, browser based analytics and search dashboard for Elasticsearch. Kibana strives to be easy to get started with, while also being flexible and powerful.

[Overview of Kibana](https://www.elastic.co/products/kibana)
Trademarks: This software listing is packaged by Bitnami. The respective trademarks mentioned in the offering are owned by the respective companies, and use of them does not imply any affiliation or endorsement.

## TL;DR

### Docker Compose

```console
docker run --name kibana bitnami/kibana:latest
```

## Why use Bitnami Secure Images?

Those are hardened, minimal CVE images built and maintained by Bitnami. Bitnami Secure Images are based on the cloud-optimized, security-hardened enterprise [OS Photon Linux](https://vmware.github.io/photon/). Why choose BSI images?

- Hardened secure images of popular open source software with Near-Zero Vulnerabilities
- Vulnerability Triage & Prioritization with VEX Statements, KEV and EPSS Scores
- Compliance focus with FIPS, STIG, and air-gap options, including secure bill of materials (SBOM)
- Software supply chain provenance attestation through in-toto
- First class support for the internet’s favorite Helm charts

Each image comes with valuable security metadata. You can view the metadata in [our public catalog here](https://app-catalog.vmware.com/bitnami/apps). Note: Some data is only available with [commercial subscriptions to BSI](https://bitnami.com/).

![Alt text](https://github.com/bitnami/containers/blob/main/BSI%20UI%201.png?raw=true "Application details")
![Alt text](https://github.com/bitnami/containers/blob/main/BSI%20UI%202.png?raw=true "Packaging report")

If you are looking for our previous generation of images based on Debian Linux, please see the [Bitnami Legacy registry](https://hub.docker.com/u/bitnamilegacy).

## Why use a non-root container?

Non-root container images add an extra layer of security and are generally recommended for production environments. However, because they run as a non-root user, privileged tasks are typically off-limits. Learn more about non-root containers [in our docs](https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-tanzu/application-catalog/tanzu-application-catalog/services/tac-doc/apps-tutorials-work-with-non-root-containers-index.html).

## Supported tags and respective `Dockerfile` links

Learn more about the Bitnami tagging policy and the difference between rolling tags and immutable tags [in our documentation page](https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-tanzu/application-catalog/tanzu-application-catalog/services/tac-doc/apps-tutorials-understand-rolling-tags-containers-index.html).

## Get this image

The recommended way to get the Bitnami Kibana Docker Image is to pull the prebuilt image from the [Docker Hub Registry](https://hub.docker.com/r/bitnami/kibana).

```console
docker pull bitnami/kibana:latest
```

To use a specific version, you can pull a versioned tag. You can view the [list of available versions](https://hub.docker.com/r/bitnami/kibana/tags/) in the Docker Hub Registry.

```console
docker pull bitnami/kibana:[TAG]
```

If you wish, you can also build the image yourself by cloning the repository, changing to the directory containing the Dockerfile and executing the `docker build` command. Remember to replace the `APP`, `VERSION` and `OPERATING-SYSTEM` path placeholders in the example command below with the correct values.

```console
git clone https://github.com/bitnami/containers.git
cd bitnami/APP/VERSION/OPERATING-SYSTEM
docker build -t bitnami/APP:latest .
```

## How to use this image

### Run the application manually

If you want to run the application manually instead of using the chart, these are the basic steps you need to run:

1. Create a new network for the application and the database:

   ```console
   docker network create kibana_network
   ```

2. Run the Elasticsearch container:

    ```console
    docker run -d -p 9200:9200 --name elasticsearch --net=kibana_network bitnami/elasticsearch
    ```

3. Run the Kibana container:

    ```console
    docker run -d -p 5601:5601 --name kibana --net=kibana_network \
      -e KIBANA_ELASTICSEARCH_URL=elasticsearch \
      bitnami/kibana
    ```

  Then you can access your application at `http://your-ip:5601/`

## Persisting your application

If you remove the container all your data and configurations will be lost, and the next time you run the image the application will be reinitialized. To avoid this loss of data, you should mount a volume that will persist even after the container is removed.

For persistence you should mount a volume at the `/bitnami` path. Additionally you should mount a volume for [persistence of the Elasticsearch data](https://github.com/bitnami/containers/blob/main/bitnami/elasticsearch#persisting-your-application).

The above examples define docker volumes namely `elasticsearch_data` and `kibana_data`. The Kibana application state will persist as long as these volumes are not removed.

To avoid inadvertent removal of these volumes you can [mount host directories as data volumes](https://docs.docker.com/engine/tutorials/dockervolumes/). Alternatively you can make use of volume plugins to host the volume data.

```console
docker run -v /path/to/kibana-persistence:/bitnami/kibana bitnami/kibana:latest
```

> **NOTE** As this is a non-root container, the mounted files and directories must have the proper permissions for the UID `1001`.

## Connecting to other containers

Using [Docker container networking](https://docs.docker.com/engine/userguide/networking/), a Kibana server running inside a container can easily be accessed by your application containers.

Containers attached to the same network can communicate with each other using the container name as the hostname.

### Using the Command Line

#### Step 1: Create a network

```console
docker network create app-tier --driver bridge
```

#### Step 2: Launch the Kibana server instance

Use the `--network app-tier` argument to the `docker run` command to attach the Kibana container to the `app-tier` network.

```console
docker run -d --name kibana-server \
    --network app-tier \
    bitnami/kibana:latest
```

#### Step 3: Launch your application container

```console
docker run -d --name myapp \
    --network app-tier \
    YOUR_APPLICATION_IMAGE
```

> **IMPORTANT**:
>
> 1. Please update the **YOUR_APPLICATION_IMAGE** placeholder in the above snippet with your application image
> 2. In your application container, use the hostname `kibana-server` to connect to the Kibana server

## Configuration

The following section describes the supported environment variables

### Environment variables

The following tables list the main variables you can set.

#### Customizable environment variables

| Name                                         | Description                                                                                        | Default Value                                                    |
|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------|
| `KIBANA_ELASTICSEARCH_URL`                   | Elasticsearch URL. Provide Client node url in the case of a cluster                                | `elasticsearch`                                                  |
| `KIBANA_ELASTICSEARCH_PORT_NUMBER`           | Elasticsearch port                                                                                 | `9200`                                                           |
| `KIBANA_HOST`                                | Kibana host                                                                                        | `0.0.0.0`                                                        |
| `KIBANA_PORT_NUMBER`                         | Kibana port                                                                                        | `5601`                                                           |
| `KIBANA_WAIT_READY_MAX_RETRIES`              | Max retries to wait for Kibana to be ready                                                         | `30`                                                             |
| `KIBANA_INITSCRIPTS_START_SERVER`            | Whether to start the Kibana server before executing the init scripts                               | `yes`                                                            |
| `KIBANA_FORCE_INITSCRIPTS`                   | Whether to force the execution of the init scripts                                                 | `no`                                                             |
| `KIBANA_DISABLE_STRICT_CSP`                  | Disable strict Content Security Policy (CSP) for Kibana                                            | `no`                                                             |
| `KIBANA_CERTS_DIR`                           | Path to certificates folder.                                                                       | `${SERVER_CONF_DIR}/certs`                                       |
| `KIBANA_SERVER_ENABLE_TLS`                   | Enable TLS for inbound connections via HTTPS.                                                      | `false`                                                          |
| `KIBANA_SERVER_KEYSTORE_LOCATION`            | Path to Keystore                                                                                   | `${SERVER_CERTS_DIR}/server/kibana.keystore.p12`                 |
| `KIBANA_SERVER_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD`            | Password for the Elasticsearch keystore containing the certificates or password-protected PEM key. | `nil`                                                            |
| `KIBANA_SERVER_TLS_USE_PEM`                  | Configure Kibana server TLS settings using PEM certificates.                                       | `false`                                                          |
| `KIBANA_SERVER_CERT_LOCATION`                | Path to PEM node certificate.                                                                      | `${SERVER_CERTS_DIR}/server/tls.crt`                             |
| `KIBANA_SERVER_KEY_LOCATION`                 | Path to PEM node key.                                                                              | `${SERVER_CERTS_DIR}/server/tls.key`                             |
| `KIBANA_SERVER_KEY_PASSWORD`                 | Password for the Elasticsearch node PEM key.                                                       | `nil`                                                            |
| `KIBANA_PASSWORD`                            | Kibana password.                                                                                   | `nil`                                                            |
| `KIBANA_ELASTICSEARCH_ENABLE_TLS`            | Enable TLS for Elasticsearch communications.                                                       | `false`                                                          |
| `KIBANA_ELASTICSEARCH_TLS_VERIFICATION_MODE` | Elasticsearch TLS verification mode.                                                               | `full`                                                           |
| `KIBANA_ELASTICSEARCH_TRUSTSTORE_LOCATION`   | Path to Elasticsearch Truststore.                                                                  | `${SERVER_CERTS_DIR}/elasticsearch/elasticsearch.truststore.p12` |
| `KIBANA_ELASTICSEARCH_TRUSTSTORE_PASSWORD`   | Password for the Elasticsearch truststore.                                                         | `nil`                                                            |
| `KIBANA_ELASTICSEARCH_TLS_USE_PEM`           | Configure Elasticsearch TLS settings using PEM certificates.                                       | `false`                                                          |
| `KIBANA_ELASTICSEARCH_CA_CERT_LOCATION`      | Path to Elasticsearch CA certificate.                                                              | `${SERVER_CERTS_DIR}/elasticsearch/ca.crt`                       |
| `KIBANA_DISABLE_STRICT_CSP`                  | Disable strict Content Security Policy (CSP) for Kibana                                            | `no`                                                             |
| `KIBANA_CREATE_USER`                         | Enable the creation of the kibana_system user, if it doesnt exists                                 | `false`                                                          |
| `KIBANA_ELASTICSEARCH_PASSWORD`              | Password for the elastic superuser. Required if KIBANA_CREATE_USER is enabled                      | `nil`                                                            |
| `KIBANA_SERVER_PUBLICBASEURL`                | Publicly available URL that end-users access Kibana at                                             | `nil`                                                            |
| `KIBANA_XPACK_SECURITY_ENCRYPTIONKEY`        | Encryption key so that sessions are not invalidated                                                | `nil`                                                            |
| `KIBANA_XPACK_REPORTING_ENCRYPTIONKEY`       | Static encryption key for reporting                                                                | `nil`                                                            |
| `KIBANA_NEWSFEED_ENABLED`                    | Control whether to enable the newsfeed system for the Kibana UI notification center                | `true`                                                           |
| `KIBANA_ELASTICSEARCH_REQUESTTIMEOUT`        | Time in milliseconds to wait for responses from the back end or Elasticsearch                      | `30000`                                                          |

#### Read-only environment variables

| Name                         | Description                                                                                   | Value                                |
|------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|
| `SERVER_FLAVOR`              | Server flavor. Valid values: `kibana` or `opensearch-dashboards`.                             | `kibana`                             |
| `BITNAMI_VOLUME_DIR`         | Directory where to mount volumes                                                              | `/bitnami`                           |
| `KIBANA_VOLUME_DIR`          | Kibana persistence directory                                                                  | `${BITNAMI_VOLUME_DIR}/kibana`       |
| `KIBANA_BASE_DIR`            | Kibana installation directory                                                                 | `${BITNAMI_ROOT_DIR}/kibana`         |
| `KIBANA_CONF_DIR`            | Kibana configuration directory                                                                | `${SERVER_BASE_DIR}/config`          |
| `KIBANA_DEFAULT_CONF_DIR`    | Kibana default configuration directory                                                        | `${SERVER_BASE_DIR}/config.default`  |
| `KIBANA_LOGS_DIR`            | Kibana logs directory                                                                         | `${SERVER_BASE_DIR}/logs`            |
| `KIBANA_TMP_DIR`             | Kibana temporary directory                                                                    | `${SERVER_BASE_DIR}/tmp`             |
| `KIBANA_BIN_DIR`             | Kibana executable directory                                                                   | `${SERVER_BASE_DIR}/bin`             |
| `KIBANA_PLUGINS_DIR`         | Kibana plugins directory                                                                      | `${SERVER_BASE_DIR}/plugins`         |
| `KIBANA_DEFAULT_PLUGINS_DIR` | Kibana default plugins directory                                                              | `${SERVER_BASE_DIR}/plugins.default` |
| `KIBANA_DATA_DIR`            | Kibana data directory                                                                         | `${SERVER_VOLUME_DIR}/data`          |
| `KIBANA_MOUNTED_CONF_DIR`    | Directory for including custom configuration files (that override the default generated ones) | `${SERVER_VOLUME_DIR}/conf`          |
| `KIBANA_CONF_FILE`           | Path to Kibana configuration file                                                             | `${SERVER_CONF_DIR}/kibana.yml`      |
| `KIBANA_LOG_FILE`            | Path to the Kibana log file                                                                   | `${SERVER_LOGS_DIR}/kibana.log`      |
| `KIBANA_PID_FILE`            | Path to the Kibana pid file                                                                   | `${SERVER_TMP_DIR}/kibana.pid`       |
| `KIBANA_INITSCRIPTS_DIR`     | Path to the Kibana container init scripts directory                                           | `/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d`        |
| `KIBANA_DAEMON_USER`         | Kibana system user                                                                            | `kibana`                             |
| `KIBANA_DAEMON_GROUP`        | Kibana system group                                                                           | `kibana`                             |

When you start the kibana image, you can adjust the configuration of the instance by passing one or more environment variables on the `docker run` command line.

#### Specifying Environment Variables on the Docker command line

```console
docker run -d -e KIBANA_ELASTICSEARCH_URL=elasticsearch --name kibana bitnami/kibana:latest
```

### Initializing a new instance

When the container is executed for the first time, it will execute the files with extension `.sh`, located at `/docker-entrypoint-initdb.d`.

In order to have your custom files inside the docker image you can mount them as a volume.

### Configuration file

The image looks for configurations in `/bitnami/kibana/conf/`. As mentioned in [Persisting your application](#persisting-your-application) you can mount a volume at `/bitnami` and copy/edit the configurations in the `/path/to/kibana-persistence/kibana/conf/`. The default configurations will be populated to the `conf/` directory if it's empty.

#### Step 1: Run the Kibana image

Run the Kibana image, mounting a directory from your host.

```console
docker run --name kibana -v /path/to/kibana-persistence:/bitnami bitnami/kibana:latest
```

#### Step 2: Edit the configuration

Edit the configuration on your host using your favorite editor.

```console
vi /path/to/kibana-persistence/kibana/conf/kibana.conf
```

#### Step 3: Restart Kibana

After changing the configuration, restart your Kibana container for changes to take effect.

```console
docker restart kibana
```

Refer to the [configuration](https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/kibana/current/settings.html) manual for the complete list of configuration options.

### FIPS configuration in Bitnami Secure Images

The Bitnami Kibana Docker image from the [Bitnami Secure Images](https://go-vmware.broadcom.com/contact-us) catalog includes extra features and settings to configure the container with FIPS capabilities. You can configure the next environment variables:

- `OPENSSL_FIPS`: whether OpenSSL runs in FIPS mode or not. `yes` (default), `no`.

## Logging

The Bitnami Kibana Docker image sends the container logs to the `stdout`. To view the logs:

```console
docker logs kibana
```

You can configure the containers [logging driver](https://docs.docker.com/engine/admin/logging/overview/) using the `--log-driver` option if you wish to consume the container logs differently. In the default configuration docker uses the `json-file` driver.

## Notable Changes

### Starting January 16, 2024

- The `docker-compose.yaml` file has been removed, as it was solely intended for internal testing purposes.

### 6.8.15-debian-10-r12 & 7.10.2-debian-10-r62 & 7.12.0-debian-10-r0

- The size of the container image has been decreased.
- The configuration logic is now based on Bash scripts in the *rootfs/* folder.
- Kibana 7.12.0 version or later are licensed under the Elastic License that is not currently accepted as an Open Source license by the Open Source Initiative (OSI).
- Kibana 7.12.0 version or later are including x-pack plugin installed by default. Follow official documentation to use it.

### 6.5.1-r3 & 5.6.13-r20

- The Kibana container has been migrated to a non-root user approach. Previously the container ran as the `root` user and the Kibana daemon was started as the `kibana` user. From now on, both the container and the Kibana daemon run as user `1001`. As a consequence, the data directory must be writable by that user. You can revert this behavior by changing `USER 1001` to `USER root` in the Dockerfile.

### 4.5.4-r1

- `ELASTICSEARCH_URL` parameter has been renamed to `KIBANA_ELASTICSEARCH_URL`.
- `ELASTICSEARCH_PORT` parameter has been renamed to `KIBANA_ELASTICSEARCH_PORT`.

## License

Copyright &copy; 2026 Broadcom. The term "Broadcom" refers to Broadcom Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
You may obtain a copy of the License at

<http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0>

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
limitations under the License.
