Install Home Assistant on Synology NAS with Docker

Die deutsche Version findest du hier: Home Assistant via Docker auf einer Synology NAS installieren

Home Assistant is the “hub” for many smart homes: local-first, extensible and backed by a huge ecosystem. If you already run a Synology NAS, it’s often a great platform to host Home Assistant in a container-no extra Raspberry Pi required.

This guide installs Home Assistant (latest stable) via Docker on Synology Container Manager with a setup that:

• keeps configuration persistent
• updates cleanly
• avoids common LAN discovery issues

TL;DR

• Open DSM Container Manager → Project → deploy from docker-compose.yml
• Run Home Assistant with network_mode: host
• Mount a persistent ./config folder
• Open http://<NAS-IP>:8123

Prerequisites

• Synology DSM 7.2+ (or a DSM version that includes “Container Manager”), e.g. Synology DS220+, DS720+, DS920+, etc.
• Optional RAM upgrade to at least 2GB (recommended for Home Assistant)
• Container Manager installed
• A static NAS IP is recommended (or a DHCP reservation)

Why host networking?

Home Assistant relies heavily on discovery protocols (mDNS/Bonjour, SSDP/UPnP, etc.). On NAS setups, the most reliable approach is often:

• network_mode: host

This attaches the container directly to the NAS network stack and prevents a lot of multicast/broadcast headaches.

Step 1: Create a persistent config folder

Create a folder on your NAS to persist Home Assistant data.

Recommended project folder layout on Synology:

• /volume1/docker/homeassistant/
  • docker-compose.yml
  • config/

Important: the folder must actually exist, otherwise the container won’t start.

If you see an error like:

Bind mount failed: '/volume1/docker/homeassistant/config' does not exist

… then the folder path is wrong or hasn’t been created (also double-check whether your NAS uses volume2 or a different volume name).

Step 2: Create docker-compose.yml

In your project folder (e.g. /volume1/docker/homeassistant/), create docker-compose.yml:

 1services:
 2  homeassistant:
 3    container_name: homeassistant
 4    image: ghcr.io/home-assistant/home-assistant:stable
 5    network_mode: host
 6    restart: unless-stopped
 7    environment:
 8      - TZ=Europe/Berlin
 9    volumes:
10      - /volume1/docker/homeassistant/config:/config
11      - /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro

Notes

• :stable tracks the latest stable Home Assistant release.
• With network_mode: host, you must not map ports like 8123:8123.

Step 3: Deploy in Synology Container Manager

1. Open Container Manager
2. Go to Project
3. Create → select the folder containing docker-compose.yml
4. Name it e.g. homeassistant
5. Deploy

Step 4: Open Home Assistant

Open:

• http://<NAS-IP>:8123

The first startup can take a few minutes.

Updates (simple & safe)

Using :stable means you update by pulling the latest image.

Update via Synology UI

• Container Manager → Images → update the Home Assistant image
• Re-deploy the project / restart the container (depends on DSM UI version)

Update via CLI (optional)

1docker compose pull
2
3docker compose up -d

Backup / Restore

Everything important lives in the mounted folder:

• ./config (relative to your project directory)

Back up that folder and you have your full Home Assistant setup.

Common pitfalls

1) Web UI not reachable

• Check if the container is running.
• Check DSM firewall rules and VLAN/network segmentation.
• With host networking, access is always http://<NAS-IP>:8123.

2) Discovery doesn’t work

• Ensure network_mode: host is enabled.
• Check whether your router/VLAN blocks multicast.

3) USB Zigbee/Z-Wave stick not detected

This depends on the device and DSM. Typically you need device mappings (e.g. /dev/ttyUSB0) and permissions.

If you tell me your stick model (e.g. Sonoff ZBDongle-E, ConBee II, SkyConnect), I can provide a Compose variant.

HTTPS (optional)

Home Assistant works perfectly fine over HTTP in your LAN. If you want clean HTTPS without browser warnings (and often a nicer setup for VPN access), a good approach for private networks is:

• create your own Root CA (trusted by your devices)
• issue a server certificate for a local domain like homeassistant.abt
• use Synology Reverse Proxy for HTTPS termination in front of Home Assistant

Full background guides:

• Create a Root CA: /blog/2025/10/13/create-custom-root-certificate-authority/
• Issue HTTPS certs from your Root CA: /blog/2025/10/15/create-self-signed-https-certificates-with-custom-root-ca/

Step 1: Point a local domain to your NAS

Create a DNS A record in your DNS (router, Pi-hole, AdGuard Home, UniFi, etc.):

1homeassistant.abt → 192.168.1.50

Step 2: Create certificates

• Create your Root CA once and install it as trusted on your client devices.
• Issue a server certificate for homeassistant.abt.

Recommended SAN entries:

• DNS.1 = homeassistant.abt
• Optional: IP.1 = 192.168.1.50

Note: If you use Apple devices (Safari/iOS), keep the certificate validity to 397 days (or less) for compatibility.

Step 3: Import the certificate into DSM

DSM:

1. Control Panel → Security → Certificate
2. Add → Import certificate
3. Import the certificate and private key (and chain/CA bundle if applicable)

Step 4: Configure Synology Reverse Proxy

DSM:

1. Control Panel → Login Portal → Advanced → Reverse Proxy
2. Create

Example:

• Source: HTTPS, host homeassistant.abt, port 443
• Destination: HTTP, host 127.0.0.1, port 8123

Enable WebSocket support.

Step 5: Tell Home Assistant you’re behind a proxy

Edit configuration.yaml inside your mounted config folder and add:

1http:
2  use_x_forwarded_for: true
3  trusted_proxies:
4    - 127.0.0.1
5    - ::1

Restart Home Assistant afterwards.

Access

• https://homeassistant.abt

If your Root CA is installed correctly on the client, you won’t see certificate warnings.