Journiv is a self-hosted private journal. It features comprehensive journaling capabilities including mood tracking, prompt-based journaling, media uploads, analytics, and advanced search with a clean and minimal UI. In this step by step guide I will show you how to install Journiv on your Synology NAS using Docker & Portainer.

💡Note: This guide works perfectly with the latest version of Journiv v0.1.0

• STEP 1

Please Support My work by Making a Donation.

• STEP 2

Install Portainer using my step by step guide. If you already have Portainer installed on your Synology NAS, skip this STEP. Attention: Make sure you have installed the latest Portainer version.

• STEP 3

Go to File Station and open the docker folder. Inside the docker folder, create one new folder and name it journiv. Follow the instructions in the image below.
Note: Be careful to enter only lowercase, not uppercase letters.

• STEP 4

Log into Portainer using your username and password. On the left sidebar in Portainer, click on Home then Live connect. Follow the instructions in the image below.

On the left sidebar in Portainer, click on Stacks then + Add stack. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 5

In the Name field type in journiv. Follow the instructions in the image below.

Note: Copy Paste the code below in the Portainer Stacks Web editor.

services:
  journiv:
    image: swalabtech/journiv-app:latest
    container_name: Journiv
    user: 0:0
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "nc -z 127.0.0.1 8000 || exit 1"]
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 90s
    ports:
      - 4577:8000
    environment:
      SECRET_KEY: dOxZYTTZgXKMHkqLBIQVImayQXAVWdzGBPuFJKggzcgvgPJPXpWzqzKaUOIOGGIr
      DOMAIN_NAME: 192.168.1.18 #or your synology.me DDNS or domain name
    volumes:
      - /volume1/docker/journiv:/data:rw
    restart: on-failure:5

Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for SECRET_KEY. (Generate your own Random 64 length SECRET_KEY.)
Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for DOMAIN_NAME. Type in your own NAS local IP. 192.168.1.18 is my own local NAS IP. You should add your own local NAS IP.

• STEP 6

Scroll down on the page until you see a button named Deploy the stack. Click on it. Follow the instructions in the image below. The installation process can take up to a few minutes. It will depend on your Internet speed connection.

• STEP 7

If everything goes right, you will see the following message at the top right of your screen: “Success Stack successfully deployed“.

• STEP 8

🟢Please Support My work by Making a Donation. Almost 99,9% of the people that install something using my guides forget to support my work, or just ignore STEP 1. I’ve been very honest about this aspect of my work since the beginning: I don’t run any ADS, I don’t require subscriptions, paid or otherwise, I don’t collect IPs, emails, and I don’t have any referral links from Amazon or other merchants. I also don’t have any POP-UPs or COOKIES. I have repeatedly been told over the years how much I have contributed to the community. It’s something I love doing and have been honest about my passion since the beginning. But I also Need The Community to Support me Back to be able to continue doing this work.

• STEP 9

The installation process can take up to a few seconds/minutes. It will depend on your Internet speed connection. Now open your browser and type in http://Synology-ip-address:4577 Click Sign Up. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 10

In the Server URL field, type in your local NAS IP followed by :4577 with http:// at the beginning. Type in your own Name, Email address and Password. Click Sign Up. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 11

On the left sidebar, click Settings. Click Appearance then Theme. Switch the theme to Dark. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 12

On the left sidebar, click Journals. Click New Entry to add your first Journal entry. Add the information that you want, then click Create Journal. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 13

Click on the Journal entry that you have previously created at STEP 12. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 14

Start adding information to your Journal!

Enjoy Journiv!

🆘TROUBLESHOOTING

If you encounter issues by using this container, make sure to check out the Common Docker issues article.

Note: If you want to run the Journiv container over HTTPS, check How to Run Docker Containers Over HTTPS. In order to make Journiv work via HTTPS, it’s mandatory to activate WebSocket. ⚠️Note: At STEP 5, remember to change the value of the DOMAIN_NAME by adding your synology.me DDNS instead of your local NAS IP.

Note: Can I run Docker on my Synology NAS? See the supported models.
Note: How to Back Up Docker Containers on your Synology NAS.
Note: Find out how to update the Journiv container with the latest image.
Note: How to Free Disk Space on Your NAS if You Run Docker.
Note: How to Schedule Start & Stop For Docker Containers.
Note: How to Activate Email Notifications.
Note: How to Add Access Control Profile on Your NAS.
Note: How to Change Docker Containers Restart Policy.
Note: How to Use Docker Containers With VPN.
Note: Convert Docker Run Into Docker Compose.
Note: How to Clean Docker.
Note: How to Clean Docker Automatically.
Note: Best Practices When Using Docker and DDNS.
Note: Some Docker Containers Need WebSocket.
Note: Find out the Best NAS Models For Docker.
Note: Activate Gmail SMTP For Docker Containers.

This post was updated on Wednesday / December 3rd, 2025 at 11:38 AM