Joplin is a free, open source note taking and to-do application, which can handle a large number of notes organized into notebooks. The notes are searchable, can be copied, tagged and modified either from the applications directly or from your own text editor. The notes are in Markdown format. Notes exported from Evernote via .enex files can be imported into Joplin, including the formatted content (which is converted to Markdown), resources (images, attachments, etc.) and complete metadata (geolocation, updated time, created time, etc.). Plain Markdown files can also be imported. The notes can be synchronized with various cloud services including Nextcloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, WebDAV or the file system (for example with a network directory). When synchronizing the notes, notebooks, tags and other metadata are saved to plain text files which can be easily inspected, backed up and moved around. In this step by step guide I will show you how to install Joplin on your Synology NAS using Docker.

• STEP 1

Please Support My work by Making a Donation.

• STEP 2

Install Docker via Synology “Package Center”.

• STEP 3

Install Portainer using my step by step guide.
Note: If you already have Portainer installed on your Synology NAS, skip this STEP.

• STEP 4

Follow my step by step guide on how to activate your synology.me DDNS on DSM 7
Follow my step by step guide on how to activate your synology.me DDNS on DSM 6.2.4
Note: If you already own a synology.me DDNS, skip this STEP.

• STEP 5

Go to Control Panel / Security / Certificate then click the Add tab. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 6

After you click Add on STEP 5 a new pop up window will open. Select Add a new certificate then click Next. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 7

After you click Next, select a Description for your certificate. I choose “Joplin” because I will be using this certificate for my joplin container. Select Get a certificate from Let’s Encrypt then click Next. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 8

After you click Next, on the Domain name area, type in joplin.yourname.synology.me Type in your email in the Email area, then click Done. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 9

After you click Done, you will have to wait a few seconds for your new certificate to be created. If everything goes right, you will see your new certificate in the Certificate area.

Note: If you fail to create a new certificate try to create a new certificate using your http://yournasip:5000 instead using the https connection.

• STEP 10

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

• STEP 11

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

• STEP 12

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

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

version: '3'

services:
    db:
        image: postgres
        volumes:
            - /volume1/docker/joplin:/var/lib/postgresql/data
        ports:
            - "5435:5432"
        restart: always
        environment:
            - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=joplin
            - POSTGRES_USER=joplin
            - POSTGRES_DB=joplin
    app:
        image: joplin/server:2.5.2-beta
        depends_on:
            - db
        ports:
            - "22300:22300"
        restart: always
        environment:
            - APP_PORT=22300
            - APP_BASE_URL=https://joplin.mariushosting.synology.me
            - DB_CLIENT=pg
            - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=joplin
            - POSTGRES_DATABASE=joplin
            - POSTGRES_USER=joplin
            - POSTGRES_PORT=5432
            - POSTGRES_HOST=db

Note: After you paste the code in the Web editor, change the value for APP_BASE_URL= with your own synology.me DDNS address.
Note: https://joplin.mariushosting.synology.me is my own synology.me DDNS you should use your own synology.me DDNS address https://joplin.yourname.synology.me

• STEP 13

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 14

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

• STEP 15

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

• STEP 16

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

• STEP 17

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

On General area, set the Reverse Proxy Name description: type in Joplin or the Description you have already chosen at STEP 7. After that, add the following instructions:

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

Destination:
Protocol: HTTP
Hostname: localhost
Port: 22300

• STEP 18

Go to Control Panel / Security / Certificate / Select the certificate you have previously created at STEP 9, then click Settings. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 19

Your new certificate should be mirroring. Select your Certificate and, from the dropdown menu, select your Certificate again, then click OK. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 20

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

• STEP 21

Now open your browser and type in your HTTPS/SSL certificate https://joplin.yourname.synology.me in my case https://joplin.mariushosting.synology.me If everything goes right you will see the Joplin login page. Add Email and Password. Follow the instructions in the image below.

Warning: the default email is admin@localhost and the default password is admin

• STEP 22

You will be prompted to change email and admin password after the first Login. Enjoy Joplin Server!

• STEP 23

Don’t forget to Enable HTTP/2

Note: You have to use a Joplin Client on Desktop or Mobile. The Docker Joplin Server is only a Sync Target, no user GUI for not creating, editing, viewing (Expected for shared notes) or managment.
Note: Can I run Docker on my Synology NAS? See the supported models.
Note: Find out how to update Joplin container with the latest image.
Note: How to Free Disk Space on Your NAS if You Run Docker.
Note: Instead of the synology.me DDNS you can also use your own domain name.
Note: How to Schedule Start & Stop For Docker Containers.

This post was updated on Thursday / October 21st, 2021 at 8:29 PM