Listmonk is a self-hosted, high performance mailing list and newsletter manager. It comes as a standalone binary and the only dependency is a Postgres database. You can easily manage millions of subscribers across many single and double opt-in lists. In this step by step guide I will show you how to install Listmonk on your Synology NAS using Docker & Portainer.

💡Note: This guide works perfectly with the latest version of Listmonk v4.1.0

• 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

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 Listmonk. After that, add the following instructions:

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

Check Enable HSTS

Destination:
Protocol: HTTP
Hostname: localhost
Port: 9192

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

• STEP 11

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

• STEP 12

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 13

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

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

services:
  db:
    image: postgres:17
    container_name: Listmonk-DB
    hostname: listmonk-db
    security_opt:
      - no-new-privileges:true
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "pg_isready", "-q", "-d", "listmonk", "-U", "listmonkuser"]
      timeout: 10s
      interval: 5s
      retries: 6
    volumes:
      - /volume1/docker/listmonk/db:/var/lib/postgresql/data:rw
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: listmonk
      POSTGRES_USER: listmonkuser
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: listmonkpass
    restart: on-failure:5

  listmonk:
    image: listmonk/listmonk:latest
    command: [sh, -c, "yes | ./listmonk --install"] # only first startup ! or the db wipe every time
    container_name: Listmonk
    hostname: listmonk
    security_opt:
      - no-new-privileges:true
    user: 1026:100
    healthcheck:
      test: wget --no-verbose --tries=1 --spider http://localhost:9000/
    ports:
      - 9192:9000
    volumes:
      - /volume1/docker/listmonk/uploads:/listmonk/uploads:rw
    environment:
      TZ: Europe/Bucharest
      LISTMONK_app__address: 0.0.0.0:9000
      LISTMONK_db__host: listmonk-db
      LISTMONK_db__port: 5432
      LISTMONK_db__user: listmonkuser
      LISTMONK_db__password: listmonkpass
      LISTMONK_db__database: listmonk
      LISTMONK_db__ssl_mode: disable
    restart: on-failure:5
    depends_on:
      db:
        condition: service_healthy

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.
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.)

• STEP 14

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 15

If everything goes right, you will see the following message at the top right of your screen: “Success Stack successfully deployed“. Click listmonk. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 16

Click on the Editor tab. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 17

Add an # before command then click Update the stack. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 18

Click Update. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 19

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

• STEP 20

Now open your browser and type in your HTTPS/SSL certificate like this https://listmonk.yourname.synology.me In my case it’s https://listmonk.mariushosting.synology.me Click Login. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 21

Create the administrator user. Type in your own Email, Username and Password then click Continue. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 22

On the left sidebar click Settings then Settings. On the General tab change the Site name and the Root URL. On the Root URL area type in your own synology.me DDNS instead of http://localhost:9000 – Add your own email address then click Save to save the settings.

• STEP 23

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 24

Click the SMTP tab. Click Gmail, add the details below, then click Save. Follow the instructions in the image below.

Host: smtp.gmail.com
Port: 465
Auth Protocol: Login.
SMTP host: smtp.gmail.com
Username: Type in your own Gmail address / STEP 23.
Password: Type in your own Gmail App Password / STEP 23.
TLS: SSL/TLS.

• STEP 25

Create a New Campaign list. On the left sidebar click All lists. Click +New. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 26

Give a name to your Email Campaign. Set it to Public. Choose between Single opt-in or Double opt-in. Add a Description then click Save. Follow the instructions in the image below.

• STEP 27

Your newsletter subscription form will be at https://listmonk.yourname.synology.me/subscription/form

Enjoy Listmonk!

🆘TROUBLESHOOTING

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 Listmonk 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 Friday / November 15th, 2024 at 4:29 PM