Castopod is a free and open-source podcast hosting solution made for podcasters who want to engage and interact with their audience. In this step by step guide I will show you how to install Castopod on your Synology NAS using Docker and Portainer.

💡Note: This guide works perfectly with the latest Castopod v2.0.0 release.

• STEP 1

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• 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

Make sure you have a synology.me Wildcard Certificate. Follow my guide to get a Wildcard Certificate. If you already have a synology.me Wildcard certificate, skip this STEP.

• STEP 4

Go to Control Panel / Login Portal / Advanced Tab / click Reverse Proxy. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 5

Now click the “Create” button. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 6

After you click the Create button, the window below will open. Follow the instructions in the image below.

On the General area, set the Reverse Proxy Name description: type in Castopod. After that, add the following instructions:

Source:
Protocol: HTTPS
Hostname: castopod.yourname.synology.me
Port: 443

Check Enable HSTS

Destination:
Protocol: HTTP
Hostname: localhost
Port: 8848

• STEP 7

On the Reverse Proxy Rules click the Custom Header tab. Click Create and then, from the drop-down menu, click WebSocket. After you click on WebSocket, two Header Names and two Values will be automatically added. Click Save. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 8

Go to Control Panel / Network / Connectivity tab/ Check Enable HTTP/2 then click Apply. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 9

Go to Control Panel / Security / Advanced tab/ Check Enable HTTP Compression then click Apply. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 10

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

• STEP 11

Now create five new folders inside the castopod folder that you created at STEP 10 and name them app, db, media, redis, web. Follow the instructions in the image below.
Note: Be careful to enter only lowercase, not uppercase letters.

• STEP 13

Right click on the castopod folder that you have previously created at STEP 10 then click Properties. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 14

Go to the Permission tab then click Advanced options. From the drop-down menu choose “Make inherited permissions explicit“. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 15

Select Everyone then click the Edit tab. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 16

Check all Read and Write Permissions. Click Done. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 17

After you click Done on STEP 16, check “Apply to this folder, sub-folders and files“. Click Save. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 18

Follow my step by step guide on how to activate SMTP for your Gmail account. This step is mandatory. Note: If you don’t want to use the easiest way for SMTP with Google and you already have SMTP details from your own Mail Server, you can just skip this STEP and use your personalized email SMTP details instead.

• STEP 19

Log into Portainer using your username and password. On the left sidebar in Portainer, click on Stacks then + Add stack. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 20

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

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

services:
  app:
    image: castopod/app:latest
    container_name: Castopod-APP
    volumes:
      - /volume1/docker/castopod/app:/var/www/castopod/public/media:rw
    environment:
      CP_DATABASE_HOSTNAME: castopod-db
      CP_DATABASE_PREFIX: cp_
      CP_DATABASE_NAME: castopod
      CP_DATABASE_USERNAME: castopod
      CP_DATABASE_PASSWORD: castopodpass
      CP_BASEURL: https://castopod.yourname.synology.me
      CP_APP_HOSTNAME: https://castopod.yourname.synology.me
      CP_ANALYTICS_SALT: changeme
      CP_CACHE_HANDLER: redis
      CP_REDIS_HOST: redis
      CP_REDIS_PASSWORD: redispass
      CP_EMAIL_SMTP_HOST: smtp.gmail.com
      CP_EMAIL_FROM: Your-own-gmail-address
      CP_EMAIL_SMTP_USERNAME: Your-own-gmail-address
      CP_EMAIL_SMTP_PASSWORD: Your-own-app-password
      CP_EMAIL_SMTP_PORT: 587
      CP_EMAIL_SMTP_CRYPTO: tls
    networks:
      - castopod-app
      - castopod-db
    restart: on-failure:5

  web-server:
    image: castopod/web-server:latest
    container_name: Castopod-WEB-SERVER
    volumes:
      - /volume1/docker/castopod/app:/var/www/html/media:rw
    networks:
      - castopod-app
    ports:
      - 8848:80
    restart: on-failure:5

  castopod-db:
    image: mariadb:11.4-noble #LTS Long Time Support Until May 29, 2029.
    container_name: Castopod-DB
    hostname: castopod-db
    networks:
      - castopod-db
    volumes:
      - /volume1/docker/castopod/db:/var/lib/mysql:rw
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: castopodpass
      MYSQL_DATABASE: castopod
      MYSQL_USER: castopod
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: castopodpass
    restart: on-failure:5

  redis:
    image: redis
    container_name: Castopod-REDIS
    volumes:
      - /volume1/docker/castopod/redis:/data:rw
    user: 1026:100
    networks:
      - castopod-app
    command: --requirepass redispass
  video-clipper:
    image: castopod/video-clipper:latest
    container_name: Castopod-VIDEO
    volumes:
      - /volume1/docker/castopod/media:/opt/castopod/public/media:rw
    environment:
      MYSQL_DATABASE: castopod
      MYSQL_USER: castopod
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: castopodpass
    networks:
      - castopod-db
    restart: on-failure:5

networks:
  castopod-app:
  castopod-db:

Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for CP_BASEURL and type in your own synology.me DDNS with https:// at the beginning that you have previously created at STEP 6.
Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for CP_APP_HOSTNAME and type in your own synology.me DDNS with https:// at the beginning that you have previously created at STEP 6.
Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for CP_EMAIL_FROM and type in your own Gmail address. STEP 18.
Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for CP_EMAIL_SMTP_USERNAME and type in your own Gmail address. STEP 18.
Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for CP_EMAIL_SMTP_PASSWORD and type in your own Gmail app password. STEP 18.
Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value numbers for user with your own UID and GID values. (Follow my step by step guide on how to do this.) 1026 is my personal UID value and 100 is my personal GID value. You have to type in your own values.

• STEP 21

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 22

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

• STEP 23

Go back to STEP 1 or you will deal with karma 🙂.

• STEP 24

Now open your browser and type in your HTTPS/SSL certificate like this https://castopod.yourname.synology.me/cp-install In my case it’s https://castopod.mariushosting.synology.me/cp-install If everything goes right, you will see the Castopod installation page. Type in your own Username, Email and Password then click Finish install. Follow the instructions in the image below. Note: If you forget to add /cp-install after your synology.me DDNS, you will get an error message.

• STEP 25

Type in your own Email Address and Password that you have previously created at STEP 24. Click Login. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 26

You will be automatically redirected to the Castopod Admin dashboard.

• STEP 27

On the left sidebar you can create your first podcast. Click New podcast. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 28

Remember that everytime you need to access the admin dashboard, you will find it at https://castopod.yourname.synology.me/cp-admin Note: If you forget to add /cp-admin after your synology.me DDNS, you will get a page without the possibility to log in as admin.

Enjoy Castopod!

🆘TROUBLESHOOTING

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

Note: Find out how to update the Castopod container with the latest image.
Note: How to Back Up Docker Containers on your Synology NAS.
Note: Can I run Docker on my Synology NAS? See the supported models.
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 Friday / September 20th, 2024 at 12:52 PM