Run Docker Containers on Your Synology NAS With Container Manager
Your Synology NAS can run real server apps — media tools, download managers, home dashboards, even a small website — using Docker containers. One honest note first: on current DSM the package is no longer called Docker. Synology renamed it to Container Manager, and this guide uses the new name throughout.
🎥 Watch the complete installation in the video — Docker on a Synology NAS, step by step
A container is a complete little app — its own files, its own settings — packed into one image that runs the same on any machine. Docker is the engine that runs those images, and Synology ships that engine as an official DSM package, so there is no hacking and no command line needed. Two things decide whether this works for you: your NAS model must support the package, and it must have enough RAM for the apps you plan to run. Both checks take two minutes and this guide starts with them, because installing first and discovering the limits later is the order that wastes people's evenings.
Container Manager — what you are actually installing
Package name on DSM 7.2 and newerContainer Manager
Package name on DSM 7.1 and olderDocker
Same engine underneathDocker
Multi-app stacks from one fileProject (Compose)
Where app data should livedocker shared folder
One package, two names. If an older tutorial says open Docker and your NAS shows Container Manager, you are looking at the same tool.
1
First Check — Does Your Model Support It
Container Manager is not available on every Synology model. The Plus series models support it, and Synology also lists selected value models — the DS124, DS223 and DS423 among them, plus the DS420j from DSM 7.2. Many small j-series and older play models are not on the list at all.
Open Package Center on your NAS and search for Container Manager.
If it appears, your model is supported. If it does not appear at all, no setting will unlock it — the package is simply not offered for your model.
To be certain before buying a NAS for containers, check Synology's official applied models list for Container Manager on their website.
There is a complete model guide in this series that walks through the list and the honest alternatives if your model is left out.
2
Install the Package From Package Center
The install itself is the easiest part of this whole guide — it is a normal DSM package, from Synology, in the official store.
Open Package Center → search Container Manager (on DSM 7.1 or older, search Docker).
Click Install and choose the volume it should live on if DSM asks. Pick your main, roomiest volume.
Wait for the install to finish, then open the package once so DSM creates its working folders.
From DSM 7.2 onwards you will see tabs named Overview, Project, Container, Image, Registry, Network and Log. Older Docker package screens look slightly plainer but work the same way.
3
Create the Docker Shared Folder Before Anything Else
This is the step beginners skip and regret. A container's inside is temporary — delete the container and everything stored inside it goes with it. Real data must live in a normal shared folder that the container is pointed at.
Open Control Panel → Shared Folder → Create and name it docker.
Inside it, make one subfolder per app, for example docker/portainer, docker/jellyfin. One app, one folder — backups and cleanups stay simple.
When you create a container later, you will map its data path to its folder here. That mapping is called a volume, and a separate guide in this series explains it fully.
4
Run a First Container as a Test
Do not start with the app you actually care about. Start with a small throwaway container and prove the whole chain — image download, port, volume, logs — works.
In Container Manager, open Registry, search for a small test image, and download it. It will land under Image.
Select the image and choose Run. Give the container a clear name, map a folder from your docker shared folder if the app asks for one, and set a host port that is not already used — DSM itself uses 5000 and 5001, so pick something like 8080 or higher.
Start the container and open its Log tab. A healthy little app announces itself there. If it crashes in a loop, the log tells you why in plain words most of the time.
Stop it, delete it, and notice what survived: everything in the shared folder. That is the lesson the test was for.
Many people then install Portainer — a popular free web dashboard for managing containers — as their first real container. It is a convenience, not a requirement; Container Manager alone is enough.
5
The Three Habits That Keep Containers Trouble Free
Containers on a NAS fail in boring, predictable ways. These three habits prevent nearly all of them.
Data always in shared folders. If an app's data is not under your docker folder, treat that container as disposable — one day you will delete it and learn why.
Update one app at a time, and keep the old image. A container update means a new image and a recreated container. If the new version misbehaves, the old image is your way back.
Watch the RAM. Containers share the NAS memory with DSM itself. A NAS with 2 GB of RAM runs a handful of light apps happily and struggles with heavy ones. The RAM guide in this series shows how to read the real numbers.
🐳 The honest limit: a Synology NAS is a small, quiet, low-power computer — a wonderful container host for light home and small-office apps, and the wrong tool for heavy stacks. Apps that analyse photos with AI, transcode lots of video, or run a busy company server can outgrow it quickly. Start small, watch the resource graph, and let real usage — not wishful thinking — decide.
🎥 Watch the Complete Video
The full Docker on Synology NAS installation, shown live on a real NAS from package install to a running container.
Yes. Container Manager is Synology's own package for running Docker containers — Synology renamed it from Docker in DSM 7.2 and added a friendlier interface, including Projects for Docker Compose. It downloads the same images from the same registries and runs the same containers as Docker anywhere else.
My NAS does not show Container Manager in Package Center. What now?
That almost always means your model is not on Synology's supported list for the package, and there is no setting that unlocks it. Your honest options are to run containers on another device you own — a small PC or a Raspberry Pi class board works well — or to choose a supported Plus series model when you next upgrade the NAS.
How much RAM do I need for containers on a Synology NAS?
It depends entirely on the apps. DSM itself uses a share of the memory, and each container takes its own slice — light apps often use 100 to 500 MB each. A 2 GB model can run a few light containers comfortably. Before adding an app, check its stated memory needs and watch the usage graph in Container Manager after installing it.
This guide is based on the Technical Anshu video on installing Docker on a Synology NAS • Stuck on a step? Ask in the video comments 🙏