ByteDesk FreeSWITCH Docker Image

FreeSWITCH 1.10.12 Docker image for ByteDesk Call Center System, based on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

📑 Table of Contents

Features
Comparison with "Official" Image
Installation
Configuration
Environment Variables
Ports
Server
Open Source Demo + SDK

Features

✅ FreeSWITCH 1.10.12 stable release
✅ Based on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
✅ mod_mariadb module included
✅ MySQL/MariaDB database support
✅ PostgreSQL database support
✅ WebRTC support via SIP.js + mod_sofia
✅ Video call support (VP8/VP9/H264)
✅ Basic audio files included (8kHz)
✅ SIP TLS encryption support
✅ Health check enabled
✅ Environment variable configuration
✅ Multi-architecture support (amd64/arm64)
✅ Baidu MRCP Server integrated by default (bundled in image and auto-started)
✅ MRCP client support available (mod_unimrcp, opt-in build)
❌ mod_verto disabled (use SIP over WebSocket instead)

Comparison with "Official" Image

safarov/freeswitch — supports amd64 only (see tags → https://hub.docker.com/r/safarov/freeswitch/tags)
bytedesk/freeswitch — supports both amd64 and arm64 (see tags → https://hub.docker.com/r/bytedesk/freeswitch/tags)

Tip: Multi-arch images run natively on x86_64 servers and ARM devices like Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) without manual image switching.

Installation

Method 1: Docker Run

# Pull from Docker Hub
docker pull bytedesk/freeswitch:latest

# Pull from Alibaba Cloud (recommended for China)
docker pull registry.cn-hangzhou.aliyuncs.com/bytedesk/freeswitch:latest

# Run container (adjust env/ports for your scenario)
docker run -d \
  --name freeswitch \
  -p 5060:5060/tcp -p 5060:5060/udp \
  -p 5080:5080/tcp -p 5080:5080/udp \
  -p 8021:8021 \
  -p 7443:7443 \
  -p 16384-32768:16384-32768/udp \
  -e FREESWITCH_ESL_PASSWORD='YOUR_ESL_PASSWORD' \
  -e FREESWITCH_DEFAULT_PASSWORD='YOUR_SIP_PASSWORD' \
  -e FREESWITCH_DOMAIN=sip.yourdomain.com \
  -e FREESWITCH_EXTERNAL_IP=YOUR_PUBLIC_IP \
  -e TZ=Asia/Shanghai \
  -v freeswitch_data:/usr/local/freeswitch \
  # Config directory - override container config with local files (actual runtime path: /usr/local/freeswitch/etc/freeswitch)
  -v ../../../../deploy/freeswitch/conf:/usr/local/freeswitch/etc/freeswitch \
  --restart=unless-stopped \
  bytedesk/freeswitch:latest

Method 2: Docker Compose

Single Example (Optional Custom Configuration)

Create a docker-compose.yml file (uncomment the mount line if you want to use local custom configs):

version: "3.9"

services:
  freeswitch:
    image: bytedesk/freeswitch:latest
    container_name: freeswitch-bytedesk
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "5060:5060/tcp"
      - "5060:5060/udp"
      - "5080:5080/tcp"
      - "5080:5080/udp"
      - "8021:8021"
      - "7443:7443"
      - "16384-32768:16384-32768/udp"
    environment:
      FREESWITCH_ESL_PASSWORD: ${ESL_PASSWORD}
      FREESWITCH_DEFAULT_PASSWORD: ${SIP_PASSWORD}
      FREESWITCH_DOMAIN: ${DOMAIN}
      FREESWITCH_EXTERNAL_IP: ${EXTERNAL_IP}
      TZ: Asia/Shanghai
      # Built-in Baidu MRCP Server configuration
      # BAIDU_MRCP_ENABLE: "1"
      # BAIDU_APPID: your_app_id
      # BAIDU_API_KEY: your_api_key
      # BAIDU_SECRET_KEY: your_secret_key
      # BAIDU_MRCP_SIP_PORT: "5070"
      # BAIDU_MRCP_CONTROL_PORT: "1544"
      # BAIDU_MRCP_SAVE_AUDIO: "1"
    volumes:
      # Optional: mount custom configuration directory (actual runtime path: /usr/local/freeswitch/etc/freeswitch)
      # - ./freeswitch-conf:/usr/local/freeswitch/etc/freeswitch
      # Or, per your project structure:
      # - ../../../../deploy/freeswitch/conf:/usr/local/freeswitch/etc/freeswitch
      # Data persistence
      - freeswitch-log:/usr/local/freeswitch/log
      - freeswitch-db:/usr/local/freeswitch/db
      - freeswitch-recordings:/usr/local/freeswitch/recordings
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "fs_cli", "-p", "${ESL_PASSWORD}", "-x", "status"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 5

volumes:
  freeswitch-log:
  freeswitch-db:
  freeswitch-recordings:

Note: When using local custom configuration, make sure the target path is /usr/local/freeswitch/etc/freeswitch, which is the actual configuration directory read by FreeSWITCH at runtime.

Create a .env file (copy from docker/.env.example):

ESL_PASSWORD=MyStr0ng#ESL!Pass2024
SIP_PASSWORD=MyStr0ng#SIP!Pass2024
DOMAIN=sip.company.com
EXTERNAL_IP=203.0.113.10

Start the container:

docker compose up -d

Configuration

Custom Configuration Files

Baidu MRCP Server (built-in)

The image downloads and bundles Baidu MRCP Server during build. On container start, it writes configs from env vars and starts the server in background.
FreeSWITCH connects to the built-in server via 127.0.0.1:5070 by default (mrcp_profiles/baidu.xml).
No port mapping is required for typical usage. If you want to expose the MRCP server for external clients, publish 5070/udp,tcp, 1544/tcp, and 1554/tcp.

Runtime environment variables:

BAIDU_MRCP_ENABLE: enable built-in MRCP server (default 1)
BAIDU_APPID: Baidu AppID
BAIDU_API_KEY: Baidu API Key (maps to AUTH_APPKEY in config)
BAIDU_SECRET_KEY: Baidu Secret Key (not used in current sample configs, reserved)
BAIDU_MRCP_SIP_PORT: MRCP server SIP port (default 5070 to avoid FS 5060 conflict)
BAIDU_MRCP_CONTROL_PORT: MRCPv2 control port (default 1544)
BAIDU_MRCP_SAVE_AUDIO: whether to save audio (1/0, default 1)

Build-time argument:

BAIDU_MRCP_URL: download URL of the Baidu MRCP Server tarball (default https://www.weiyuai.cn/download/mrcp_server_baidu.tar.gz)

Compose snippet (partial):

environment:
  - BAIDU_MRCP_ENABLE=1
  - BAIDU_APPID=your_app_id
  - BAIDU_API_KEY=your_api_key
  - BAIDU_SECRET_KEY=your_secret_key
  - BAIDU_MRCP_SIP_PORT=5070
  - BAIDU_MRCP_CONTROL_PORT=1544
  - BAIDU_MRCP_SAVE_AUDIO=1

Verify runtime:

# Check MRCP server output in container logs
docker logs -f freeswitch-bytedesk | tail -n 200
# Or inspect detailed log inside container
docker exec -it freeswitch-bytedesk bash -lc 'tail -n 200 /var/log/unimrcpserver.out'

FreeSWITCH default profile: conf/mrcp_profiles/baidu.xml

<profile name="baidu" version="2">
  <param name="server-ip" value="127.0.0.1"/>
  <param name="server-port" value="5070"/>
  <param name="sip-transport" value="udp"/>
  <recogparams>
    <param name="start-input-timers" value="false"/>
  </recogparams>
</profile>

MRCP (mod_unimrcp) Quick Notes (client)

The image includes loading config for mod_unimrcp. To use it as a client inside the image, enable UniMRCP build at image build time (--build-arg BUILD_UNIMRCP=1).
Default client profile file: conf/mrcp_profiles/baidu.xml (edit server-ip to your MRCP server).
UniMRCP client settings file: conf/autoload_configs/unimrcp.conf.xml (default-profile=baidu).
Verify module: fs_cli -x "show modules | grep unimrcp" should list mod_unimrcp.

Dialplan example:

<extension name="baidu_asr_test">
  <condition field="destination_number" expression="^9001$">
    <action application="answer"/>
    <action application="sleep" data="1000"/>
    <action application="speak" data="Please speak"/>
    <action application="play_and_detect_speech"
            data="silence_stream://2000 mrcp:baidu {start-input-timers=false}builtin:grammar/boolean grammar.xml"/>
    <action application="log" data="INFO ASR result: ${detect_speech_result}"/>
  </condition>
</extension>

Important: Configuration Path Information

FreeSWITCH actual configuration path: /usr/local/freeswitch/etc/freeswitch

The container contains two configuration directories:

/usr/local/freeswitch/etc/freeswitch - ✅ Actually used at runtime (correct mount path)
/usr/local/freeswitch/conf - ❌ Backup directory (not read by FreeSWITCH process)

Verification method:

# Verify the actual configuration path in the container
docker exec -it freeswitch-container fs_cli -p YOUR_ESL_PASSWORD -x 'global_getvar conf_dir'
# Output: /usr/local/freeswitch/etc/freeswitch

Steps to Configure Custom XML Files

Export default configuration:

mkdir -p ./freeswitch-conf
docker run --rm bytedesk/freeswitch:latest \
  tar -C /usr/local/freeswitch/etc/freeswitch -cf - . | tar -C ./freeswitch-conf -xf -

Edit XML files locally:
- vars.xml & sip_profiles/internal.xml - SIP domains, ports, codecs
- autoload_configs/switch.conf.xml - RTP port range, core database
- autoload_configs/db.conf.xml & autoload_configs/odbc.conf.xml - Database DSN
- autoload_configs/event_socket.conf.xml - ESL configuration

Mount custom configuration (use correct path):

docker run -d \
  --name freeswitch \
  -v $(pwd)/freeswitch-conf:/usr/local/freeswitch/etc/freeswitch \
  -p 5060:5060/tcp -p 5060:5060/udp \
  -p 8021:8021 \
  -e FREESWITCH_ESL_PASSWORD=password \
  bytedesk/freeswitch:latest

⚠️ Critical Notice:

You MUST mount to /usr/local/freeswitch/etc/freeswitch path, this is the actual configuration directory FreeSWITCH reads at runtime

If you mount to /usr/local/freeswitch/conf path, FreeSWITCH will not read the custom configuration, which may cause issues like ESL connection failure

Use fs_cli -x 'global_getvar conf_dir' command to verify the current configuration path

Environment Variables

Core Configuration

Variable	Description	Default	Required	Security Level
`FREESWITCH_ESL_PASSWORD`	ESL management password	-	✅ Yes	🔴 High
`FREESWITCH_DEFAULT_PASSWORD`	Default SIP user password	`1234`	⚠️ Strongly Recommended	🔴 High
`FREESWITCH_DOMAIN`	SIP domain or IP address	-	No	🟡 Medium
`FREESWITCH_EXTERNAL_IP`	External IP for NAT traversal	-	No	🟢 Low
`TZ`	Timezone	`Asia/Shanghai`	No	🟢 Low

RTP Media Configuration

Variable	Description	Default	Required
`FREESWITCH_RTP_START`	RTP start port	`16384`	No
`FREESWITCH_RTP_END`	RTP end port	`32768`	No

Database Configuration

The image enables FreeSWITCH core PostgreSQL support at build time (--enable-core-pgsql-support), so you can use PostgreSQL in addition to MySQL/MariaDB.

Variable	Description	Default	Required
`FREESWITCH_DB_HOST`	Database host	-	No
`FREESWITCH_DB_NAME`	Database name	-	No
`FREESWITCH_DB_USER`	Database user	`root`	No
`FREESWITCH_DB_PASSWORD`	Database password	-	No
`FREESWITCH_DB_PORT`	Database port	`3306`	No
`FREESWITCH_DB_CHARSET`	Database charset	`utf8mb4`	No
`FREESWITCH_DB_SCHEME`	Core DB connection scheme	`mariadb`	No
`FREESWITCH_DB_ODBC_DIALECT`	ODBC connection dialect	`mysql`	No

Configuration Examples

Development Environment:

docker run -d \
  -e FREESWITCH_ESL_PASSWORD=dev123 \
  -e FREESWITCH_DEFAULT_PASSWORD=test1234 \
  bytedesk/freeswitch:latest

Production with Database:

docker run -d \
  -e FREESWITCH_ESL_PASSWORD='MyStr0ng#ESL!Pass2024' \
  -e FREESWITCH_DEFAULT_PASSWORD='MyStr0ng#SIP!Pass2024' \
  -e FREESWITCH_DOMAIN=sip.company.com \
  -e FREESWITCH_EXTERNAL_IP=203.0.113.10 \
  -e FREESWITCH_DB_HOST=mysql.internal \
  -e FREESWITCH_DB_NAME=freeswitch \
  -e FREESWITCH_DB_USER=fsuser \
  -e FREESWITCH_DB_PASSWORD='db_secure_pass' \
  bytedesk/freeswitch:latest