Kimai is a free, open source and online time-tracking software designed for small businesses and freelancers. It is built with modern technologies such as Symfony, Bootstrap, RESTful API, Doctrine, AdminLTE, Webpack, ES6 and many more. In this step by step guide I will show you how to install Kimai on your Synology NAS using Docker and Portainer.

💡Note: This guide works perfectly with the latest Kimai v2.5.0 release.

• 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

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 Kimai. After that, add the following instructions:

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

Check Enable HSTS

Destination:
Protocol: HTTP
Hostname: localhost
Port: 9805

• 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 kimai. Follow the instructions in the image below.
Note: Be careful to enter only lowercase, not uppercase letters.

• STEP 11

Now create three new folders inside the kimai folder that you created at STEP 10 and name them db, public, var. Follow the instructions in the image below.
Note: Be careful to enter only lowercase, not uppercase letters.

• STEP 12

Download (click on the blue link below) and upload the my.cnf file below in the db folder that you have previously created at STEP 11. Follow the instructions in the image below. 🔒Note: Support my work to unlock the password. You can use this password to download any file on mariushosting forever!

👉🏻Download my.cnf

• STEP 13

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 14

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 15

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

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

version: "3.9"
services:
  db:
    image: mariadb:jammy
    container_name: Kimai-DB
    hostname: kimai-db
    security_opt:
      - no-new-privileges:true
    environment:
      - TZ=Europe/Bucharest
      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=rootpass
      - MYSQL_DATABASE=kimai
      - MYSQL_USER=kimaiuser
      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=kimaipass
    volumes:
      - /volume1/docker/kimai/db:/var/lib/mysql:rw
    restart: on-failure:5

  kimai:
    image: kimai/kimai2:latest
    container_name: Kimai
    hostname: kimai
    security_opt:
      - no-new-privileges:true
    healthcheck:
      test: stat /etc/passwd || exit 1
      start_period: 45s
    volumes:
      - /volume1/docker/kimai/var:/opt/kimai/var:rw
      - /volume1/docker/kimai/public:/opt/kimai/public:rw
    environment:
      - DATABASE_URL=mysql://kimaiuser:kimaipass@kimai-db/kimai?charset=utf8&serverVersion=mariadb-11.0.3
      - TRUSTED_HOSTS=192.168.1.18,kimai.yourname.synology.me
      - ADMINMAIL=yourown@email
      - ADMINPASS=mariushosting
      - MAILER_FROM=yourownGmailaddress
      - MAILER_URL=smtp://yourownGmailaddress:appassword@smtp.gmail.com:587?encryption=tls&auth_mode=plain
    restart: on-failure:5
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_started

  nginx:
    image: tobybatch/nginx-fpm-reverse-proxy
    container_name: Kimai-NGINX
    hostname: kimai-nginx
    security_opt:
      - no-new-privileges:true
    healthcheck:
      test: wget --spider http://nginx/health || exit 1
      interval: 20s
      start_period: 10s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
    ports:
      - 9805:80
    volumes:
      - /volume1/docker/kimai/public:/opt/kimai/public:ro
    restart: on-failure:5
    depends_on:
      kimai:
        condition: service_healthy

Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for TZ. (Select your current Time Zone from this list.)
Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for TRUSTED_HOSTS and type in your own local NAS IP and your own synology.me DDNS without https:// at the beginning that you have previously created at STEP 6. The local NAS IP and DDNS are separated by a comma.
Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for ADMINMAIL and type in your own email. You will need this email later at STEP 19.
Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for ADMINPASS and type in your own password. You will need this password later at STEP 19.
Note: On the MAILER_URL area, type in your own Gmail address. STEP 13.
Note: On the MAILER_URL area, type in your own Gmail App Password. STEP 13.

• STEP 16

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 17

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

• STEP 18

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

• STEP 19

Please wait approximately 2-3 minutes for the installation to be completed or you will get a blank bad gateway error page if you try to connect too soon. Now open your browser and type in your HTTPS/SSL certificate like this https://kimai.yourname.synology.me that you have previously created at STEP 6. In my case it’s https://kimai.mariushosting.synology.me If everything goes right, you will see the main Kimai login page. Type in your own Username and Password that you have previously created at STEP 14. Click Log in. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 20

Click Next. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 21

Choose your Language, Timezone and Theme then click Next. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 22

Click Next. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 23

Your Kimai Dashboard at a glance!

Enjoy Kimai – Time Tracking Dashboard!

🆘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 Kimai container with the latest image.
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 Monday / December 4th, 2023 at 7:31 AM