Mozilla Syncserver
Container
Run-Your-Own Firefox Sync Server
Image details
Configuration
TypeContainermozilla/syncserver:latest5000/tcp/data : /opt/mediadepot/apps/syncserverSYNCSERVER_PUBLIC_URL=https://syncserver.depot.lanSYNCSERVER_SECRET_FILE=/data/secret_keySYNCSERVER_SQLURI=sqlite:////data/syncserver.dbSYNCSERVER_BATCH_UPLOAD_ENABLED=trueSYNCSERVER_FORCE_WSGI_ENVIRON=falsePORT=5000traefik.enable=truetraefik.http.services.syncservere.loadbalancer.server.port=5000traefik.http.routers.syncserver.entrypoints=websecuretraefik.http.routers.syncserver.tls.certresolver=mydnschallengeTemplate by mediadepot
Standalone Install
Select an install method, to see config/commands for deploying Mozilla Syncserver
Install on Portainer
Import all app templates into your Portainer instance, for easy 1-click deploys
- Ensure both Docker and Portainer are installed, and up-to-date
- Log into your Portainer web UI
- Under Settings → App Templates, paste the below URL
- Head to Home → App Templates, and the list of apps will show up
- Select Mozilla Syncserver, fill in any config options, and hit Deploy
Template Import URL
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Lissy93/portainer-templates/main/templates.json
Show Me
More install options in our documentation.
Serve Mozilla Syncserver on your own domain behind Caddy, Nginx or Traefik. Fill in your domain and copy the result. It's a starting point, some apps need their own base URL or extra headers set too.
Proxying mozilla-syncserver.example.com to http://syncserver:5000
Add this to your Caddyfile
mozilla-syncserver.example.com {
reverse_proxy http://syncserver:5000
}Check the logs first
Nine times out of ten the logs tell you exactly what went wrong.
- In Portainer, go to Containers, click the container, then Logs. Or run
docker logs syncserver - Exit codes help too:
137means killed, usually out of memory.126or127means the command inside the image is broken.
Published on a random port
This template exposes 5000/tcp without setting a host port,
so Docker picks a random free one on every deploy.
- Find it in the Ports column of Portainer's container list, or with
docker port syncserver
Permission denied on volumes
If the logs show "permission denied", the app can't write to its data folder on the host.
- Fix the ownership:
sudo chown -R 1000:1000 /opt/mediadepot/apps/syncserver
Image won't pull
Test the pull directly on the host: docker pull mozilla/syncserver:latest
- "manifest unknown" means the tag no longer exists. This template uses
latest, so try pinning a specific version instead. - "toomanyrequests" is the Docker Hub rate limit. Log in with
docker loginto raise it. - "no space left on device" means a full disk. Reclaim space with
docker system prune
"exec format error"
This means the image was built for a different CPU architecture than your server.
- This image supports:
amd64 - Check yours with
uname -m: x86_64 is amd64, aarch64 is arm64. Raspberry Pi and other ARM boards are the usual culprits.
Raise an issue
Found something which isn't working as it should? Here's how to report it.
- Bug within the app: Open an issue within syncserver's repo
- Template not working: Open an issue on mediadepot/templates
- This website not working: Open an issue on lissy93/portainer-templates
A single container
Mozilla Syncserver runs as one container, the simplest kind of app here. Just the one image to pull and nothing else wired up alongside it.
The app image
An image is the app packed up ready to go, everything Mozilla Syncserver needs bundled into one download. This template pulls mozilla/syncserver:latest, which Docker fetches once (about 139 MB) and then starts your own copy from.
Where the image comes from
Docker pulls its images from registries, public libraries of ready-built apps. Mozilla Syncserver's comes from Docker Hub, published by mozilla.
Version tags
The bit after the colon in the image name is the version tag. Here it's latest, which always points at the newest build, so a redeploy can bump you to a newer release without you asking. Newest right now is 1.9.1. Pin a specific tag if you would rather stay on one version.
Which machines it runs on
Every image is built for particular CPU types. This one ships for amd64, so it runs on regular x86 PCs and servers, though not ARM boards like a Raspberry Pi.
Ports
A port is the door the app answers on. Here the app exposes a port but leaves the host side blank, so Docker picks a free one for you. It opens:
5000, published on a random host port
Volumes
A volume is where Mozilla Syncserver keeps its files so they survive an update or a restart. Without one, anything it saves would sit inside the container and vanish the moment it's recreated. This template mounts:
/datafrom/opt/mediadepot/apps/syncserveron the host
Environment variables
Environment variables are the settings you hand over when you deploy, things like a password or a timezone. Mozilla Syncserver takes 6 of them, all with defaults you can leave alone or tweak:
SYNCSERVER_PUBLIC_URL, defaults tohttps://syncserver.depot.lanSYNCSERVER_SECRET_FILE, defaults to/data/secret_keySYNCSERVER_SQLURI, defaults tosqlite:////data/syncserver.dbSYNCSERVER_BATCH_UPLOAD_ENABLED, defaults totrueSYNCSERVER_FORCE_WSGI_ENVIRON, defaults tofalsePORT, defaults to5000
Networking
Nothing custom is set, so Mozilla Syncserver sits on Docker's default bridge network: its own private space that reaches the outside world only through the ports it publishes.
Container name
Once it's deployed, Portainer names the container syncserver. That's what you'll spot in the containers list and use in commands like docker logs syncserver.
Labels
Labels are small notes pinned to the container. They don't change how Mozilla Syncserver behaves, but other tools read them, most often a reverse proxy like Traefik working out which apps to route where. This template sets:
traefik.enable=truetraefik.http.services.syncservere.loadbalancer.server.port=5000traefik.http.routers.syncserver.entrypoints=websecuretraefik.http.routers.syncserver.tls.certresolver=mydnschallenge
Portainer app templates
Zooming out, this whole page comes from a Portainer app template: a short recipe telling Portainer how to set Mozilla Syncserver up. Add the template list to Portainer once, then deploying Mozilla Syncserver is a click rather than a wall of config.