Docker

TIDAL can be used by installing the TIDAL Docker image and launching the R Shiny application locally (rather than using and uploading data to the tool online).

Installation

1. Install Docker. Before you can run the app, you need to have Docker Desktop installed on your computer (macOS, Windows or Linux). Docker allows you to run the app in an isolated container without needing any extra setup.
2. Pull the Docker image. Once Docker is installed and running, open your Command Line Interface (Command Prompt on Windows, Terminal on macOS/Linux), and run the following command to download the TIDAL R Shiny app image:

   docker pull ameliaes/tidal:1.0
   

   An alternative step to this is to use the Docker Desktop GUI. Please refer to the Docker Desktop documentation for further information.

3. Run the Docker container. After the image is downloaded, start the container by running this command in your Command Line Interface (Command Prompt on Windows, Terminal on macOS/Linux):

   docker run -d -p 3838:3838 ameliaes/tidal:1.0   
   

   This may take a while to run. It will start the app inside Docker and map port 3838 on your computer to the app’s port inside the container. An alternative step to this is to use the Docker Desktop GUI. Please refer to the Docker Desktop documentation for further information.

4. Access the TIDAL app. Open your web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.). Go to http://localhost:3838 to open the TIDAL R Shiny app.
5. Close docker When you are finished stop the docker container running on the port:

   docker ps
   docker stop <CONTAINER ID>
   

Troubleshooting

1. “docker: command not found”

You may need to add docker to your executable path, eg. on a mac:

   export PATH="$PATH:/Applications/Docker.app/Contents/Resources/bin/"

2. Port Already in Use:

If you get an error about port 3838 being in use, try this instead:

   docker run -d -p 8080:3838 tidal-modelling/tidal-app:latest

Then access the app at http://localhost:8080.

Alternatively, check if a docker container is already running on port 3838 and stop it:

   docker ps
   docker stop <CONTAINER ID>

3. Connection Refused:

If you can’t access the app, check if the container is running with:

   docker ps

If it’s not listed, run the docker run command again.