Hello.
Notesnook is an end-to-end encrypted note taking alternative to Evernote.
I wanted to self-host a Notesnook sync server really badly, but I'm a noob. So, I worked hard on it and came up with this noob-proof tutorial on how to set up a Notesnook sync server with local file storage, getting inspiration from the provided docker-compose in the repository.
That's my way of giving back to the self-hosting community. I hope it can help some people.
Overview
This guide will help you set up a self-hosted instance of Notesnook using Docker Compose.
Prerequisites
- Linux server with Docker and Docker Compose installed.
- Domain name with the ability to create subdomains.
- Basic understanding of terminal commands.
- Ports 5264, 6264, 7264, 8264, 9090 and 9009 available. Or you can change them but take good note of your changes.
1. Directory Structure Setup
Create the required directories:
# Create data directories
mkdir -p /srv/Files/Notesnook/db
mkdir -p /srv/Files/Notesnook/s3
mkdir -p /srv/Files/Notesnook/setup
2. Configuration Files
2.1. Environment File
Create the .env file:
cd /srv/Files/Notesnook/setup
nano .env
Add the following content (modify the values accordingly):
# Instance Configuration
INSTANCE_NAME=My Notesnook
DISABLE_SIGNUPS=false
NOTESNOOK_API_SECRET=your_secure_api_secret_here
# SMTP Configuration
SMTP_USERNAME=your_email@domain.com
SMTP_PASSWORD=your_smtp_password
SMTP_HOST=smtp.your-server.com
SMTP_PORT=587
# Public URLs (replace domain.com with your domain)
AUTH_SERVER_PUBLIC_URL=https://auth.domain.com/
NOTESNOOK_APP_PUBLIC_URL=https://notes.domain.com/
MONOGRAPH_PUBLIC_URL=https://mono.domain.com/
ATTACHMENTS_SERVER_PUBLIC_URL=https://files.domain.com/
# MinIO Configuration
MINIO_ROOT_USER=admin
MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD=your_secure_password_here
2.2. Docker Compose File
Create the docker-compose.yml file:
nano docker-compose.yml
Paste the following content:
x-server-discovery: &server-discovery
NOTESNOOK_SERVER_PORT: 5264
NOTESNOOK_SERVER_HOST: notesnook-server
IDENTITY_SERVER_PORT: 8264
IDENTITY_SERVER_HOST: identity-server
SSE_SERVER_PORT: 7264
SSE_SERVER_HOST: sse-server
SELF_HOSTED: 1
IDENTITY_SERVER_URL: ${AUTH_SERVER_PUBLIC_URL}
NOTESNOOK_APP_HOST: ${NOTESNOOK_APP_PUBLIC_URL}
x-env-files: &env-files
- .env
services:
validate:
image: vandot/alpine-bash
entrypoint: /bin/bash
env_file: *env-files
command:
- -c
- |
required_vars=(
"INSTANCE_NAME"
"NOTESNOOK_API_SECRET"
"DISABLE_SIGNUPS"
"SMTP_USERNAME"
"SMTP_PASSWORD"
"SMTP_HOST"
"SMTP_PORT"
"AUTH_SERVER_PUBLIC_URL"
"NOTESNOOK_APP_PUBLIC_URL"
"MONOGRAPH_PUBLIC_URL"
"ATTACHMENTS_SERVER_PUBLIC_URL"
)
for var in "$${required_vars[@]}"; do
if [ -z "$${!var}" ]; then
echo "Error: Required environment variable $$var is not set."
exit 1
fi
done
echo "All required environment variables are set."
restart: "no"
notesnook-db:
image: mongo:7.0.12
hostname: notesnook-db
volumes:
- /srv/Files/Notesnook/db:/data/db
- /srv/Files/Notesnook/db:/data/configdb
networks:
- notesnook
command: --replSet rs0 --bind_ip_all
depends_on:
validate:
condition: service_completed_successfully
healthcheck:
test: echo 'db.runCommand("ping").ok' | mongosh mongodb://localhost:27017 --quiet
interval: 40s
timeout: 30s
retries: 3
start_period: 60s
initiate-rs0:
image: mongo:7.0.12
networks:
- notesnook
depends_on:
- notesnook-db
entrypoint: /bin/sh
command:
- -c
- |
mongosh mongodb://notesnook-db:27017 <<EOF
rs.initiate();
rs.status();
EOF
notesnook-s3:
image: minio/minio:RELEASE.2024-07-29T22-14-52Z
ports:
- 9009:9000
- 9090:9090
networks:
- notesnook
volumes:
- /srv/Files/Notesnook/s3:/data/s3
environment:
MINIO_BROWSER: "on"
depends_on:
validate:
condition: service_completed_successfully
env_file: *env-files
command: server /data/s3 --console-address :9090
healthcheck:
test: timeout 5s bash -c ':> /dev/tcp/127.0.0.1/9000' || exit 1
interval: 40s
timeout: 30s
retries: 3
start_period: 60s
setup-s3:
image: minio/mc:RELEASE.2024-07-26T13-08-44Z
depends_on:
- notesnook-s3
networks:
- notesnook
entrypoint: /bin/bash
env_file: *env-files
command:
- -c
- |
until mc alias set minio http://notesnook-s3:9000/ ${MINIO_ROOT_USER:-minioadmin} ${MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD:-minioadmin}; do
sleep 1;
done;
mc mb minio/attachments -p
identity-server:
image: streetwriters/identity:latest
ports:
- 8264:8264
networks:
- notesnook
env_file: *env-files
depends_on:
- notesnook-db
healthcheck:
test: wget --tries=1 -nv -q http://localhost:8264/health -O- || exit 1
interval: 40s
timeout: 30s
retries: 3
start_period: 60s
environment:
<<: *server-discovery
MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING: mongodb://notesnook-db:27017/identity?replSet=rs0
MONGODB_DATABASE_NAME: identity
notesnook-server:
image: streetwriters/notesnook-sync:latest
ports:
- 5264:5264
networks:
- notesnook
env_file: *env-files
depends_on:
- notesnook-s3
- setup-s3
- identity-server
healthcheck:
test: wget --tries=1 -nv -q http://localhost:5264/health -O- || exit 1
interval: 40s
timeout: 30s
retries: 3
start_period: 60s
environment:
<<: *server-discovery
MONGODB_CONNECTION_STRING: mongodb://notesnook-db:27017/?replSet=rs0
MONGODB_DATABASE_NAME: notesnook
S3_INTERNAL_SERVICE_URL: "http://notesnook-s3:9000/"
S3_INTERNAL_BUCKET_NAME: "attachments"
S3_ACCESS_KEY_ID: "${MINIO_ROOT_USER:-minioadmin}"
S3_ACCESS_KEY: "${MINIO_ROOT_PASSWORD:-minioadmin}"
S3_SERVICE_URL: "${ATTACHMENTS_SERVER_PUBLIC_URL}"
S3_REGION: "us-east-1"
S3_BUCKET_NAME: "attachments"
sse-server:
image: streetwriters/sse:latest
ports:
- 7264:7264
env_file: *env-files
depends_on:
- identity-server
- notesnook-server
networks:
- notesnook
healthcheck:
test: wget --tries=1 -nv -q http://localhost:7264/health -O- || exit 1
interval: 40s
timeout: 30s
retries: 3
start_period: 60s
environment:
<<: *server-discovery
monograph-server:
image: streetwriters/monograph:latest
ports:
- 6264:3000
env_file: *env-files
depends_on:
- notesnook-server
networks:
- notesnook
healthcheck:
test: wget --tries=1 -nv -q http://localhost:3000/api/health -O- || exit 1
interval: 40s
timeout: 30s
retries: 3
start_period: 60s
environment:
<<: *server-discovery
API_HOST: http://notesnook-server:5264/
PUBLIC_URL: ${MONOGRAPH_PUBLIC_URL}
networks:
notesnook:
3. Docker Images Preparation
Pull all required images to avoid timeout issues:
cd /srv/Files/Notesnook/setup
docker pull mongo:7.0.12
docker pull minio/minio:RELEASE.2024-07-29T22-14-52Z
docker pull streetwriters/identity:latest
docker pull streetwriters/notesnook-sync:latest
docker pull streetwriters/sse:latest
docker pull streetwriters/monograph:latest
docker pull vandot/alpine-bash
or just
cd /srv/Files/Notesnook/setup
docker compose pull
4. Deployment
Start the services:
cd /srv/Files/Notesnook/setup
docker compose up -d
5. Service Verification
5.1. Check Container Status
docker compose ps
Expected status:
- Running containers:
notesnook-dbnotesnook-s3identity-servernotesnook-serversse-servermonograph-server
- Completed containers (should show
Exit 0):
validateinitiate-rs0setup-s3
5.2. Check Logs
docker compose logs
5.3. Test MinIO Access
Visit: http://your-server:9009/
6. Reverse Proxy Configuration with Nginx and SSL
Enable WebSockets Support for:
notes.domain.com (port 5264) - For real-time synchronization
events.domain.com (port 7264) - For real-time notifications
Enable Cache Assets for: mono.domain.com (port 6264) - For optimizing public notes loading
Step 1: Install Certbot
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install certbot python3-certbot-nginx
Step 2: Obtain SSL Certificates
sudo certbot --nginx -d auth.domain.com -d notes.domain.com -d events.domain.com -d mono.domain.com
Step 3: Modify Nginx Configuration
Use the following example configurations for each subdomain:
# Auth Server - Basic (no cache/websocket needed)
server {
listen 80;
server_name auth.domain.com;
return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}
server {
listen 443 ssl;
server_name auth.domain.com;
ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/auth.domain.com/fullchain.pem;
ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/auth.domain.com/privkey.pem;
include /etc/letsencrypt/options-ssl-nginx.conf;
ssl_dhparam /etc/letsencrypt/ssl-dhparams.pem;
location / {
proxy_pass http://localhost:8264/;
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
}
}
# Notes Server - With WebSocket
server {
listen 80;
server_name notes.domain.com;
return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}
server {
listen 443 ssl;
server_name notes.domain.com;
ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/notes.domain.com/fullchain.pem;
ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/notes.domain.com/privkey.pem;
include /etc/letsencrypt/options-ssl-nginx.conf;
ssl_dhparam /etc/letsencrypt/ssl-dhparams.pem;
location / {
proxy_pass http://localhost:5264/;
proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_read_timeout 3600;
proxy_send_timeout 3600;
}
}
# Events Server - With WebSocket
server {
listen 80;
server_name events.domain.com;
return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}
server {
listen 443 ssl;
server_name events.domain.com;
ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/events.domain.com/fullchain.pem;
ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/events.domain.com/privkey.pem;
include /etc/letsencrypt/options-ssl-nginx.conf;
ssl_dhparam /etc/letsencrypt/ssl-dhparams.pem;
location / {
proxy_pass http://localhost:7264/;
proxy_http_version 1.1;
proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_read_timeout 3600;
proxy_send_timeout 3600;
}
}
# Monograph Server - With Cache
server {
listen 80;
server_name mono.domain.com;
return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
}
server {
listen 443 ssl;
server_name mono.domain.com;
ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/mono.domain.com/fullchain.pem;
ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/mono.domain.com/privkey.pem;
include /etc/letsencrypt/options-ssl-nginx.conf;
ssl_dhparam /etc/letsencrypt/ssl-dhparams.pem;
location / {
proxy_pass http://localhost:6264/;
proxy_cache_use_stale error timeout http_500 http_502 http_503 http_504;
proxy_cache_valid 200 60m;
add_header X-Cache-Status $upstream_cache_status;
expires 1h;
add_header Cache-Control "public, no-transform";
}
}
7. Useful Commands
Service Management
# View real-time logs
docker compose logs -f
# View logs for specific service
docker compose logs [service-name]
# Restart specific service
docker compose restart [service-name]
# Stop all services
docker compose down
# Update services
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d
8. Maintenance
8.1. Backup
Regularly backup these directories:
/srv/Files/Notesnook/db/ (MongoDB data)/srv/Files/Notesnook/s3/ (MinIO data)/srv/Files/Notesnook/setup/.env (Configuration)
8.2. Updates
To update all services:
cd /srv/Files/Notesnook/setup
docker compose pull
docker compose down
docker compose up -d
9. Troubleshooting
Common Issues:
Service won't start
- Check logs:
docker compose logs [service-name]
- Verify port availability.
- Check directory permissions.
- Verify environment variables.
Database Connection Issues
- Ensure MongoDB replica set is initialized.
- Check MongoDB logs:
docker compose logs notesnook-db.
Storage Issues
- Verify MinIO credentials.
- Check MinIO logs:
docker compose logs notesnook-s3.
Email Not Working
- Verify SMTP settings in
.env.
- Check identity-server logs.
Security Notes
- Change default passwords in
.env.
- Use strong passwords for MinIO and API secret.
- Keep your
.env file secure.
- Regularly update all services.
- Enable HTTPS on your reverse proxy.
- Consider implementing
fail2ban.
- Regularly monitor logs for suspicious activity.
Support
If you encounter issues:
Hahaha, I can totally relate. I think we should think of it as a virtue. Continue the good work 💪