> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://self-hosted-docs.relai.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Pulling the images

> Authenticate to Docker Hub so Docker Compose can pull the RELAI images.

The RELAI backend and dashboard are distributed as private images on Docker
Hub (`relaiai/backend` and `relaiai/dashboard`), so you'll need Docker Hub
credentials before you can pull them.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Get a Docker Hub access token">
    RELAI will provide you with a Docker Hub access token scoped to your
    account. Treat it like any other credential — don't commit it to a
    repository or paste it somewhere shared.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the token as an environment variable">
    ```sh theme={"system"}
    export DOCKER_HUB_TOKEN="dckr_oat_..."
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Log in to Docker Hub">
    ```sh theme={"system"}
    echo $DOCKER_HUB_TOKEN | docker login -u relaiai --password-stdin
    ```
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Info>
  You don't need to run `docker pull` yourself. The Compose file is
  configured to pull each image the first time it's needed
  (`pull_policy: missing`), so this happens automatically the first time you
  run `docker compose up` — see [Starting the services](/starting-the-services).
</Info>