How to Install RomM on Your Synology NAS

How to Install RomM on Your Synology NAS

RomM is a self-hosted application for organizing and playing retro game collections through a clean, responsive web interface, ideal for emulator enthusiasts. It scans and enriches your game library with metadata from IGDB, Screenscraper, and MobyGames, supporting over 400 platforms, and fetches custom artwork from SteamGridDB. You can play games directly in the browser using EmulatorJS and RuffleRS, share your library with customizable permissions, and manage games (view, upload, update, delete) from any modern browser. RomM supports multi-disk games, DLCs, mods, patches, manuals, and custom tags for filtering. It integrates with Playnite and muOS, and displays RetroAchievements. In this step by step guide I will show you how to install RomM on your Synology NAS using Docker & Portainer.

šŸ’”Note: This guide works perfectly with the latest RomM v4.0.1 release.

  • STEP 1

Please Support My work by Making a Donation.

  • STEP 2

InstallĀ 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 toĀ File StationĀ and open the docker folder. Inside the docker folder, create one new folder and name itĀ romm. Follow the instructions in the image below.
Note: Be careful to enter only lowercase, not uppercase letters.

RomM Synology NAS Set up 1

  • STEP 4

Now create four new folders inside the rommĀ folder that you have previously created at STEP 3 and name them db, games, redis, resources. Follow the instructions in the image below.
Note: Be careful to enter only lowercase, not uppercase letters.

RomM Synology NAS Set up 2

  • STEP 5

Now create three new folders inside the gamesĀ folder that you have previously created at STEP 4 and name them assets, config, library. Follow the instructions in the image below.
Note: Be careful to enter only lowercase, not uppercase letters.

RomM Synology NAS Set up 3

  • STEP 6

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

1 Synology Portainer Add Stack

STEP 7

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

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

services:
  romm-db:
    image: mariadb:11.4-noble #LTS Long Time Support Until May 29, 2029.
    container_name: RomM-DB
    security_opt:
      - no-new-privileges:true
    hostname: romm-db
    environment:
      MYSQL_DATABASE: romm
      MYSQL_USER: rommuser
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: rommpass
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: rootpass
      TZ: Europe/Bucharest
    volumes:
      - /volume1/docker/romm/db:/var/lib/mysql:rw
    restart: on-failure:5

  romm:
    image: rommapp/romm:latest
    container_name: RomM
    healthcheck:
      test: timeout 10s bash -c ':> /dev/tcp/127.0.0.1/8080' || exit 1
      interval: 10s
      timeout: 5s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 90s  
    environment:
      DB_HOST: romm-db
      DB_NAME: romm
      DB_USER: rommuser
      DB_PASSWD: rommpass
      ROMM_AUTH_SECRET_KEY: c244ac32bb2c9f408ba3351c6ab9808195485e7be94695941b2b65a895183390
      #IGDB_CLIENT_ID: Generate an ID and SECRET in IGDB
      #IGDB_CLIENT_SECRET: https://api-docs.igdb.com/#account-creation
      #MOBYGAMES_API_KEY: https://www.mobygames.com/info/api/
      #STEAMGRIDDB_API_KEY: https://docs.romm.app/latest/Getting-Started/Metadata-Providers/#steamgriddb
      #RETROACHIEVEMENTS_API_KEY: https://api-docs.retroachievements.org/
    volumes:
      - /volume1/docker/romm/resources:/romm/resources:rw
      - /volume1/docker/romm/redis:/redis-data:rw
      - /volume1/docker/romm/games/library:/romm/library:rw
      - /volume1/docker/romm/games/assets:/romm/assets:rw
      - /volume1/docker/romm/games/config:/romm/config:rw
    ports:
      - 7676:8080
    depends_on:
      - romm-db
    restart: on-failure:5

Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, change the value for TZ.Ā (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 ROMM_AUTH_SECRET_KEY.
(🟢Click this Link to Generate Your Own Free SECRET KEY.) šŸ–¼ļøCheck Example Screenshot. (In the prompt, type in the following text: openssl rand -hex 32 then hit enter on your Keyboard). šŸ–¼ļøCheck Example Screenshot and copy your key.
Note: Before you paste the code above in the Web editor area below, remove the # in front of the IGDB_CLIENT_ID,Ā  IGDB_CLIENT_SECRET, MOBYGAMES_API_KEY, STEAMGRIDDB_API_KEY,Ā  RETROACHIEVEMENTS_API_KEY or leave it as it is if you don’t have the keys right away. You can add them later and update the Portainer stack when you have your keys. Check out the Meta Providers explanation.

RomM Synology NAS Set up 4

  • STEP 8

Scroll down on the page until you see a button namedĀ 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.

RomM Synology NAS Set up 5

  • STEP 9

If everything goes right, you will see the following message at the top right of your screen: ā€œSuccess Stack successfully deployedā€œ.

RomM Synology NAS Set up 6

  • STEP 10

🟢Please Support My work by Making a Donation. Almost 99,9% of the people that install something using my guidesĀ forget to support my work, or justĀ ignoreĀ 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 11

The installation process can take up to a few seconds/minutes. It will depend on your Internet speed connection. Now open your browser and type in http://Synology-ip-address:7676 Type in your own Username and Password. Click NEXT. Follow the instructions in the image below.

RomM Synology NAS Set up 9

  • STEP 12

Click FINISH. Follow the instructions in the image below.

RomM Synology NAS Set up 10

  • STEP 13

Type in your own Username and Password that you have previously added at STEP 11. Click LOGIN. Follow the instructions in the image below.

RomM Synology NAS Set up 11

  • STEP 14

At the bottom left, click on the user icon to access the Settings. Follow the instructions in the image below.

RomM Synology NAS Set up 12

  • STEP 15

Your RomM dashboard at a glance!

RomM Synology NAS Set up 13

Enjoy RomM!

šŸ†˜TROUBLESHOOTING

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

Note: If you want to run the RomM container over HTTPS, check How to Run Docker Containers Over HTTPS. In order to make RomM work via HTTPS, it’s mandatory to activate WebSocket.

Note: Can I run Docker on my Synology NAS?Ā See the supported models.
Note: How to Back Up Docker Containers on your Synology NAS.
Note: Find outĀ how to update the RomM 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 Thursday / August 14th, 2025 at 2:48 PM