Overview

The easiest way to serve SiYuan on a server is to deploy it through Docker.

• Image name b3log/siyuan
• Image URL

File structure

The overall program is located under /opt/siyuan/, which is basically the structure under the resources folder of the Electron installation package:

• appearance: icon, theme, languages
• guide: user guide document
• stage: interface and static resources
• kernel: kernel program

Entrypoint

The entry point is set when building the Docker image: ENTRYPOINT ["/opt/siyuan/entrypoint.sh"]. This script allows changing the PUID and PGID of the user that will run inside the container. This is especially relevant to solve permission issues when mounting directories from the host. The PUID (User ID) and PGID (Group ID) can be passed as environment variables, making it easier to ensure correct permissions when accessing host-mounted directories.

Use the following parameters when running the container with docker run b3log/siyuan:

• --workspace: Specifies the workspace folder path, mounted to the container via -v on the host
• --accessAuthCode: Specifies the access authorization code

More parameters can be found using --help. Here’s an example of a startup command with the new environment variables:

docker run -d \
  -v workspace_dir_host:workspace_dir_container \
  -p 6806:6806 \
  -e PUID=1001 -e PGID=1002 \
  b3log/siyuan \
  --workspace=workspace_dir_container \
  --accessAuthCode=xxx

• PUID: Custom user ID (optional, defaults to 1000 if not provided)
• PGID: Custom group ID (optional, defaults to 1000 if not provided)
• workspace_dir_host: The workspace folder path on the host
• workspace_dir_container: The path of the workspace folder in the container, as specified in --workspace
  • In alternative, it’s possible to set the path via the SIYUAN_WORKSPACE_PATH env variable. The commandline will always have the priority, if both are set
• accessAuthCode: Access authorization code (please be sure to modify, otherwise anyone can access your data)
  • In alternative, it’s possible to set the auth code via the SIYUAN_ACCESS_AUTH_CODE env variable. The commandline will always have the priority, if both are set
  • To disable the Access authorization code set the env variable SIYUAN_ACCESS_AUTH_CODE_BYPASS=true

To simplify things, it is recommended to configure the workspace folder path to be consistent on the host and container, such as having both workspace_dir_host and workspace_dir_container configured as /siyuan/workspace. The corresponding startup command would be:

docker run -d \
  -v /siyuan/workspace:/siyuan/workspace \
  -p 6806:6806 \
  -e PUID=1001 -e PGID=1002 \
  b3log/siyuan \
  --workspace=/siyuan/workspace/ \
  --accessAuthCode=xxx

Docker Compose

For users running Siyuan with Docker Compose, the environment variables PUID and PGID can be passed to customize the user and group IDs. Here’s an example of a Docker Compose configuration:

version: "3.9"
services:
  main:
    image: b3log/siyuan
    command: ['--workspace=/siyuan/workspace/', '--accessAuthCode=${AuthCode}']
    ports:
      - 6806:6806
    volumes:
      - /siyuan/workspace:/siyuan/workspace
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      # A list of time zone identifiers can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones
      - TZ=${YOUR_TIME_ZONE}
      - PUID=${YOUR_USER_PUID}  # Customize user ID
      - PGID=${YOUR_USER_PGID}  # Customize group ID

In this setup:

• PUID and PGID are set dynamically and passed to the container
• If these variables are not provided, the default 1000 will be used

By specifying PUID and PGID in the environment, you avoid the need to explicitly set the user directive (user: '1000:1000') in the compose file. The container will dynamically adjust the user and group based on these environment variables at startup.

User Permissions

In the image, the entrypoint.sh script ensures the creation of the siyuan user and group with the specified PUID and PGID. Therefore, when the host creates a workspace folder, pay attention to setting the user and group ownership of the folder to match the PUID and PGID you plan to use. For example:

chown -R 1001:1002 /siyuan/workspace

If you use custom PUID and PGID values, the entrypoint script will ensure that the correct user and group are created inside the container, and ownership of mounted volumes will be adjusted accordingly. There’s no need to manually pass -u in docker run or docker-compose as the environment variables will handle the customization.

Hidden port

Use NGINX reverse proxy to hide port 6806, please note:

• Configure WebSocket reverse proxy /ws

Note

• Be sure to confirm the correctness of the mounted volume, otherwise the data will be lost after the container is deleted
• Do not use URL rewriting for redirection, otherwise there may be problems with authentication, it is recommended to configure a reverse proxy
• If you encounter permission issues, verify that the PUID and PGID environment variables match the ownership of the mounted directories on your host system

Limitations

• Does not support desktop and mobile application connections, only supports use on browsers
• Export to PDF, HTML and Word formats is not supported
• Import Markdown file is not supported

Note: First run chown -R 1000:1000 /mnt/user/appdata/siyuan in the terminal

Template reference:

Web UI: 6806
Container Port: 6806
Container Path: /home/siyuan
Host path: /mnt/user/appdata/siyuan
PUID: 1000
PGID: 1000
Publish parameters: --accessAuthCode=******(Access authorization code)

Note: First run below commands in the TrueNAS Shell. please update `Pool_1/Apps_Data/siyuan to match your dataset for Apps.

zfs create Pool_1/Apps_Data/siyuan
chown -R 1001:1002 /mnt/Pool_1/Apps_Data/siyuan
chmod 755 /mnt/Pool_1/Apps_Data/siyuan

Navigate to Apps - DiscoverApps - More Options(on top right, besies Custom App) - Install via YAML

Template reference:

services:
  siyuan:
    image: b3log/siyuan
    container_name: siyuan
    command: ['--workspace=/siyuan/workspace/', '--accessAuthCode=2222']
    ports:
      - 6806:6806
    volumes:
      - /mnt/Pool_1/Apps_Data/siyuan:/siyuan/workspace  # Adjust to your dataset path 
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - TZ=America/Los_Angeles  # Replace with your timezone if needed
      - PUID=1001
      - PGID=1002