Alexandrie is a fast, open-source, self-hostable Markdown note-taking app ideal for students and creators. It offers a clean interface with live preview, folder organization, search, and tagging, all while keeping your data private and under your control. Easily deployable via Docker, it’s a lightweight alternative to tools like Notion. In this step by step guide I will show you how to install Alexandrie on your Synology NAS using Docker & Portainer.
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 Control Panel / Network / Connectivity tab/ Check Enable HTTP/2 then click Apply. Follow the instructions in the image below.
STEP 4
Go to Control Panel / Security / Advanced tab/ Check Enable HTTP Compression then click Apply. Follow the instructions in the image below.
STEP 5
Go to Control Panel / Login Portal / Advanced Tab / click Reverse Proxy. 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 Alexandrie. After that, add the following instructions:
Source:
Protocol: HTTPS
Hostname: alexandrie.yourname.synology.me
Port: 443
Check Enable HSTS
Destination:
Protocol: HTTP
Hostname: localhost
Port: 8482
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 / Login Portal / Advanced Tab / click Reverse Proxy. Follow the instructions in the image below.
STEP 9
Now click the “Create” button. Follow the instructions in the image below.
STEP 10
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 Alexandrie-API. After that, add the following instructions:
Source:
Protocol: HTTPS
Hostname: alexandrieapi.yourname.synology.me
Port: 443
Check Enable HSTS
Destination:
Protocol: HTTP
Hostname: localhost
Port: 8225
STEP 11
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 12
Go to Control Panel / Login Portal / Advanced Tab / click Reverse Proxy. Follow the instructions in the image below.
STEP 13
Now click the “Create” button. Follow the instructions in the image below.
STEP 14
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 Alexandrie-RUSTFS. After that, add the following instructions:
Source:
Protocol: HTTPS
Hostname: alexandrierustfs.yourname.synology.me
Port: 443
Check Enable HSTS
Destination:
Protocol: HTTP
Hostname: localhost
Port: 9015
STEP 15
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 16
Go to File Station and open the docker folder. Inside the docker folder, create one new folder and name it alexandrie. Follow the instructions in the image below.
Note: Be careful to enter only lowercase, not uppercase letters.
STEP 17
Now create two new folders inside the alexandrie folder that you created at STEP 16 and name them db and rustfs. Follow the instructions in the image below.
Note: Be careful to enter only lowercase, not uppercase letters.
STEP 18
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 19
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 20
In the Name field type in alexandrie. Follow the instructions in the image below.
services:
mysql:
image: mysql:8
container_name: Alexandrie-DB
healthcheck:
test: mysqladmin -p$$MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD ping -h localhost
interval: 20s
start_period: 10s
timeout: 10s
retries: 3
environment:
MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: rootpassword
MYSQL_DATABASE: alexandrie
MYSQL_USER: alexandrieuser
MYSQL_PASSWORD: alexandriepass
volumes:
- /volume1/docker/alexandrie/db:/var/lib/mysql:rw
restart: on-failure:5
rustfs:
image: rustfs/rustfs:latest
container_name: Alexandrie-RUSTFS
healthcheck:
test: ["CMD-SHELL", "nc -z 127.0.0.1 9000 || exit 1"]
interval: 10s
timeout: 5s
retries: 3
start_period: 90s
user: 0:0
environment:
RUSTFS_ACCESS_KEY: marius
RUSTFS_SECRET_KEY: mariushosting
RUSTFS_CONSOLE_ENABLE: 'false' # Disable web console
RUSTFS_LOG_LEVEL: info
ports:
- 9015:9000
volumes:
- /volume1/docker/alexandrie/rustfs:/data:rw
- /volume1/docker/alexandrie/rustfs:/logs:rw
restart: on-failure:5
backend:
image: ghcr.io/smaug6739/alexandrie-backend:latest
container_name: Alexandrie-BACK
environment:
DATABASE_HOST: mysql
DATABASE_PORT: 3306
DATABASE_NAME: alexandrie
DATABASE_USER: alexandrieuser
DATABASE_PASSWORD: alexandriepass
JWT_SECRET: dOxZYTTZgXKMHkqLBIQVImayQXAVWdzGBPuFJKggzcgvgPJPXpWzqzKaUOIOGGIr
DOMAIN_CLIENT: alexandrie.yourname.synology.me #Your own synology.me DDNS STEP 6
#COOKIE_DOMAIN: synology.me
MINIO_ENDPOINT: rustfs:9000
MINIO_ACCESSKEY: marius
MINIO_SECRETKEY: mariushosting
MINIO_BUCKET: alexandrie
SMTP_HOST: smtp.gmail.com
SMTP_PORT: 587
SMTP_MAIL: Your-own-gmail-address
SMTP_PASSWORD: Your-own-app-password
BACKEND_PORT: 8225
CPWD: /app/
GIN_MODE: release
ports:
- 8225:8225
depends_on:
mysql:
condition: service_healthy
rustfs:
condition: service_started
restart: on-failure:5
frontend:
image: ghcr.io/smaug6739/alexandrie-frontend:latest
container_name: Alexandrie-FRONT
healthcheck:
test: ["CMD-SHELL", "nc -z 127.0.0.1 8200 || exit 1"]
interval: 10s
timeout: 5s
retries: 3
start_period: 90s
environment:
PORT: 8200
NUXT_PUBLIC_BASE_API: https://alexandrieapi.yourname.synology.me #Your own synology.me DDNS STEP 10
NUXT_PUBLIC_BASE_CDN: https://alexandrierustfs.yourname.synology.me/alexandrie #Your own synology.me DDNS STEP 15
NUXT_PUBLIC_BASE_URL: https://alexandrie.yourname.synology.me #Your own synlogy.me DDNS STEP 6
ports:
- 8482:8200
depends_on:
- backend
restart: on-failure:5
Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for RUSTFS_ACCESS_KEY and MINIO_ACCESSKEY. marius is an example for ACCESSKEY. You should add the same value (marius in my case) to both environments.
Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for RUSTFS_SECRET_KEY and MINIO_SECRETKEY. mariushosting is an example for SECRETKEY. You should add the same value (mariushosting in my case) to both environments.
Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for JWT_SECRET. (Generate your free Random 32 byte base 64 JWT_SECRET.)
Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for DOMAIN_CLIENT and type in your own synology.me DDNS without 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 SMTP_MAIL and type in your own Gmail address. STEP 19.
Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for SMTP_PASSWORD and type in your own Gmail app password. STEP 19.
Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for NUXT_PUBLIC_BASE_API and type in your own synology.me DDNS with https:// at the beginning that you have previously created at STEP 10.
Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for NUXT_PUBLIC_BASE_CDN and type in your own synology.me DDNS with https:// at the beginning that you have previously created at STEP 14 and /alexandrie at the end.
Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for NUXT_PUBLIC_BASE_URL and type in your own synology.me DDNS without https:// at the beginning that you have previously created at STEP 6.
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
🟢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 24
Now open your browser and type in your HTTPS/SSL certificate like this https://alexandrie.yourname.synology.me In my case it’s https://alexandrie.mariushosting.synology.me If everything goes right, you will see the Alexandrie main page. Click Get Started. Follow the instructions in the image below.
STEP 25
Click Need an account? Sign up to create your own administrator account. Follow the instructions in the image below.
STEP 26
Type in your own Username, Email and Password. Click Sign up. Follow the instructions in the image below.
STEP 27
At the top right of the page, switch the theme to Dark. On the left sidebar, click on the gear icon to access the settings. Follow the instructions in the image below.
STEP 28
On the left sidebar, click CDN to upload your files. Follow the instructions in the image below.
Enjoy Alexandrie!
If you encounter issues by using this container, make sure to check out the Common Docker issues article.
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 Alexandrie 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 Container
This post was updated on Monday / December 15th, 2025 at 12:10 AM