INSTALL GUIDE · SYNOLOGY / QNAP

Blue Folder Mail on a NAS

If your Synology or QNAP already runs Docker, it can run this. Your mail store lives on the NAS volume — right next to your backups.

← All guides Install Reach it Inbound email

Good fit

A NAS is an always-on box with real storage and its own backup tools. Receiving mail goes through a provider webhook over a tunnel or the NAS reverse proxy.

Prerequisites

Synology: Container Manager (DSM 7.2+) — or the older Docker package. QNAP: Container Station.
An x86-64 or arm64 NAS (the image is multi-arch). 1 GB+ free RAM.
A shared folder for the app's data, e.g. /volume1/docker/bluefolder.
A Resend account; an inbound provider for receiving.

Install with Compose

Get the files onto the NAS

Via SSH, clone into your docker share:

cd /volume1/docker
git clone https://github.com/gordonvividtone/bluefolder-mail.git
cd bluefolder-mail
cp .env.example .env        # set INBOUND_SECRET + RESEND_API_KEY

No SSH? Download the repo as a zip, upload it with File Station, and create the .env there.

Create the project
Synology Container Manager → Project → Create, point it at the folder's docker-compose.yml. QNAP Container Station → Applications → Create, paste the same compose file. Both read your .env.
Open it
Browse to http://NAS_IP:8080, generate your key and save the backup password, then add your domains.

Make sure the data volume maps to a folder on the NAS (so it lands on your RAID and backup set). This is the same stack as the Docker guide.

Reach it & HTTPS

Both NAS vendors ship a reverse proxy. Create a rule mapping mail.example.com → localhost:8080 and let the NAS manage a Let's Encrypt certificate. Or front it with a Cloudflare Tunnel so nothing is exposed at your router.

Add a login with BASIC_AUTH_USER / BASIC_AUTH_PASS before putting real mail in it.

Receiving mail — the honest part

Recommended — webhook

Point a provider (Mailgun, SendGrid, Postal, Resend inbound) at https://mail.example.com/_inbound with the secret as the x-inbound-secret header or ?secret=…, forwarding full raw MIME.

Don't run the built-in SMTP MTA on a home NAS — residential port 25 is blocked and the IP is dynamic/blocklisted. Use the webhook.

Storage & sending

Storage — on the NAS volume (SQLite index + sealed blobs); include it in Hyper Backup / HBS. Or set STORAGE_BACKEND=s3 for blobs. Ciphertext only.
Sending — verify your domains at resend.com and set RESEND_API_KEY.

Blue Folder Mail on your NAS — encrypted mail stored beside your backups, served from home. Full reference: DEPLOY.md. Other platforms →