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+# Docker Deployment Guide
+
+## Quick Start
+
+### Prerequisites
+- Docker Engine 20.10+
+- Docker Compose 2.0+
+- API keys for OpenAI, Alpha Vantage, and Jina AI
+
+### First-Time Setup
+
+1. **Clone repository:**
+   ```bash
+   git clone https://github.com/Xe138/AI-Trader-Server.git
+   cd AI-Trader-Server
+   ```
+
+2. **Configure environment:**
+   ```bash
+   cp .env.example .env
+   # Edit .env and add your API keys
+   ```
+
+3. **Run with Docker Compose:**
+   ```bash
+   docker-compose up
+   ```
+
+That's it! The container will:
+- Fetch latest price data from Alpha Vantage
+- Start all MCP services
+- Run the trading agent with default configuration
+
+## Configuration
+
+### Environment Variables
+
+Edit `.env` file with your credentials:
+
+```bash
+# Required
+OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
+ALPHAADVANTAGE_API_KEY=...
+JINA_API_KEY=...
+
+# Optional (defaults shown)
+MATH_HTTP_PORT=8000
+SEARCH_HTTP_PORT=8001
+TRADE_HTTP_PORT=8002
+GETPRICE_HTTP_PORT=8003
+AGENT_MAX_STEP=30
+```
+
+### Custom Trading Configuration
+
+**Simple Method (Recommended):**
+
+Create a `configs/custom_config.json` file - it will be automatically used:
+
+```bash
+# Copy default config as starting point
+cp configs/default_config.json configs/custom_config.json
+
+# Edit your custom config
+nano configs/custom_config.json
+
+# Run normally - custom_config.json is automatically detected!
+docker-compose up
+```
+
+**Priority order:**
+1. `configs/custom_config.json` (if exists) - **Highest priority**
+2. Command-line argument: `docker-compose run ai-trader-server configs/other.json`
+3. `configs/default_config.json` (fallback)
+
+**Advanced: Use a different config file name:**
+
+```bash
+docker-compose run ai-trader-server configs/my_special_config.json
+```
+
+### Custom Configuration via Volume Mount
+
+The Docker image includes a default configuration at `configs/default_config.json`. You can override sections of this config by mounting a custom config file.
+
+**Volume mount:**
+```yaml
+volumes:
+  - ./my-configs:/app/user-configs  # Contains config.json
+```
+
+**Custom config example** (`./my-configs/config.json`):
+```json
+{
+  "models": [
+    {
+      "name": "gpt-5",
+      "basemodel": "openai/gpt-5",
+      "signature": "gpt-5",
+      "enabled": true
+    }
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+This overrides only the `models` section. All other settings (`agent_config`, `log_config`, etc.) are inherited from the default config.
+
+**Validation:** Config is validated at container startup. Invalid configs cause immediate exit with detailed error messages.
+
+**Complete config:** You can also provide a complete config that replaces all default values:
+```json
+{
+  "agent_type": "BaseAgent",
+  "date_range": {
+    "init_date": "2025-10-01",
+    "end_date": "2025-10-31"
+  },
+  "models": [...],
+  "agent_config": {...},
+  "log_config": {...}
+}
+```
+
+## Usage Examples
+
+### Run in foreground with logs
+```bash
+docker-compose up
+```
+
+### Run in background (detached)
+```bash
+docker-compose up -d
+docker-compose logs -f  # Follow logs
+```
+
+### Run with custom config
+```bash
+docker-compose run ai-trader-server configs/custom_config.json
+```
+
+### Stop containers
+```bash
+docker-compose down
+```
+
+### Rebuild after code changes
+```bash
+docker-compose build
+docker-compose up
+```
+
+## Data Persistence
+
+### Volume Mounts
+
+Docker Compose mounts three volumes for persistent data. By default, these are stored in the project directory:
+
+- `./data:/app/data` - Price data and trading records
+- `./logs:/app/logs` - MCP service logs
+- `./configs:/app/configs` - Configuration files (allows editing configs without rebuilding)
+
+### Custom Volume Location
+
+You can change where data is stored by setting `VOLUME_PATH` in your `.env` file:
+
+```bash
+# Store data in a different location
+VOLUME_PATH=/home/user/trading-data
+
+# Or use a relative path
+VOLUME_PATH=./volumes
+```
+
+This will store data in:
+- `/home/user/trading-data/data/`
+- `/home/user/trading-data/logs/`
+- `/home/user/trading-data/configs/`
+
+**Note:** The directory structure is automatically created. You'll need to copy your existing configs:
+```bash
+# After changing VOLUME_PATH
+mkdir -p /home/user/trading-data/configs
+cp configs/custom_config.json /home/user/trading-data/configs/
+```
+
+### Reset Data
+
+To reset all trading data:
+
+```bash
+docker-compose down
+rm -rf ${VOLUME_PATH:-.}/data/agent_data/* ${VOLUME_PATH:-.}/logs/*
+docker-compose up
+```
+
+### Backup Trading Data
+
+```bash
+# Backup
+tar -czf ai-trader-server-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz data/agent_data/
+
+# Restore
+tar -xzf ai-trader-server-backup-YYYYMMDD.tar.gz
+```
+
+## Using Pre-built Images
+
+### Pull from GitHub Container Registry
+
+```bash
+docker pull ghcr.io/xe138/ai-trader-server:latest
+```
+
+### Run without Docker Compose
+
+```bash
+docker run --env-file .env \
+  -v $(pwd)/data:/app/data \
+  -v $(pwd)/logs:/app/logs \
+  -p 8000-8003:8000-8003 \
+  ghcr.io/xe138/ai-trader-server:latest
+```
+
+### Specific version
+```bash
+docker pull ghcr.io/xe138/ai-trader-server:v1.0.0
+```
+
+## Troubleshooting
+
+### MCP Services Not Starting
+
+**Symptom:** Container exits immediately or errors about ports
+
+**Solutions:**
+- Check ports 8000-8003 not already in use: `lsof -i :8000-8003`
+- View container logs: `docker-compose logs`
+- Check MCP service logs: `cat logs/math.log`
+
+### Missing API Keys
+
+**Symptom:** Errors about missing environment variables
+
+**Solutions:**
+- Verify `.env` file exists: `ls -la .env`
+- Check required variables set: `grep OPENAI_API_KEY .env`
+- Ensure `.env` in same directory as docker-compose.yml
+
+### Data Fetch Failures
+
+**Symptom:** Container exits during data preparation step
+
+**Solutions:**
+- Verify Alpha Vantage API key valid
+- Check API rate limits (5 requests/minute for free tier)
+- View logs: `docker-compose logs | grep "Fetching and merging"`
+
+### Permission Issues
+
+**Symptom:** Cannot write to data or logs directories
+
+**Solutions:**
+- Ensure directories writable: `chmod -R 755 data logs`
+- Check volume mount permissions
+- May need to create directories first: `mkdir -p data logs`
+
+### Container Keeps Restarting
+
+**Symptom:** Container restarts repeatedly
+
+**Solutions:**
+- View logs to identify error: `docker-compose logs --tail=50`
+- Disable auto-restart: Comment out `restart: unless-stopped` in docker-compose.yml
+- Check if main.py exits with error
+
+## Advanced Usage
+
+### Override Entrypoint
+
+Run bash inside container for debugging:
+
+```bash
+docker-compose run --entrypoint /bin/bash ai-trader-server
+```
+
+### Build Multi-platform Images
+
+For ARM64 (Apple Silicon) and AMD64:
+
+```bash
+docker buildx build --platform linux/amd64,linux/arm64 -t ai-trader-server .
+```
+
+### View Container Resource Usage
+
+```bash
+docker stats ai-trader-server
+```
+
+### Access MCP Services Directly
+
+Services exposed on host:
+- Math: http://localhost:8000
+- Search: http://localhost:8001
+- Trade: http://localhost:8002
+- Price: http://localhost:8003
+
+## Development Workflow
+
+### Local Code Changes
+
+1. Edit code in project root
+2. Rebuild image: `docker-compose build`
+3. Run updated container: `docker-compose up`
+
+### Test Different Configurations
+
+**Method 1: Use the standard custom_config.json**
+
+```bash
+# Create and edit your config
+cp configs/default_config.json configs/custom_config.json
+nano configs/custom_config.json
+
+# Run - automatically uses custom_config.json
+docker-compose up
+```
+
+**Method 2: Test multiple configs with different names**
+
+```bash
+# Create multiple test configs
+cp configs/default_config.json configs/conservative.json
+cp configs/default_config.json configs/aggressive.json
+
+# Edit each config...
+
+# Test conservative strategy
+docker-compose run ai-trader-server configs/conservative.json
+
+# Test aggressive strategy
+docker-compose run ai-trader-server configs/aggressive.json
+```
+
+**Method 3: Temporarily switch configs**
+
+```bash
+# Temporarily rename your custom config
+mv configs/custom_config.json configs/custom_config.json.backup
+cp configs/test_strategy.json configs/custom_config.json
+
+# Run with test strategy
+docker-compose up
+
+# Restore original
+mv configs/custom_config.json.backup configs/custom_config.json
+```
+
+## Production Deployment
+
+For production use, consider:
+
+1. **Use specific version tags** instead of `latest`
+2. **External secrets management** (AWS Secrets Manager, etc.)
+3. **Health checks** in docker-compose.yml
+4. **Resource limits** (CPU/memory)
+5. **Log aggregation** (ELK stack, CloudWatch)
+6. **Orchestration** (Kubernetes, Docker Swarm)
+
+See design document in `docs/plans/2025-10-30-docker-deployment-design.md` for architecture details.