Managing documents can quickly become overwhelming, especially for growing businesses and individuals with large volumes of paperwork. Paperless-ngx AI is an open-source solution that simplifies document storage and automates organization. This guide will walk you through installing Paperless-ngx AI on your Synology NAS, transforming how you manage documents.

Why Use Paperless-ngx AI on Synology NAS?

Combining the powerful storage capabilities of a Synology NAS with the intelligent features of Paperless-ngx AI creates an efficient and automated document management system. Here’s why it’s a great choice:

Automated Document Processing: AI-powered tagging and categorization.
Centralized Storage: Securely store and access documents from anywhere.
OCR Support: Convert scanned documents into searchable text.
Open-Source and Customizable: Fully customizable to meet your needs.

Prerequisites

Before starting the installation, make sure you have the following:

A Synology NAS with Docker support.
DSM (DiskStation Manager) updated to the latest version.
Docker and Docker Compose installed on your NAS.
SSH access enabled on your NAS (for advanced setup).

Step 1: Install Docker and Docker Compose

Log in to your Synology DSM.
Open Package Center.
Search for Docker and install it.
Install Docker Compose using SSH:

sudo -i curl -L "https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/latest/download/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m)" -o /usr/local/bin/docker-compose chmod +x /usr/local/bin/docker-compose docker-compose --version

Step 2: Set Up the Paperless-ngx Docker Container

Open File Station and create a shared folder, e.g., paperless.
Open Docker, go to Registry, and search for paperless-ngx.
Download the latest version.
In Docker, go to Image, select the downloaded image, and click Launch.

Configure the Container:

Volume:
- /paperless/data → /var/lib/paperless/data
- /paperless/media → /var/lib/paperless/media
Port Settings:
- Local Port: 8000 → Container Port: 8000

Environment Variables:

PAPERLESS_ADMIN_USER=admin
PAPERLESS_ADMIN_PASSWORD=YourSecurePassword
PAPERLESS_URL=http://localhost:8000

Step 3: Launch Paperless-ngx AI

Start the container from the Docker interface.
Open your browser and go to http://<Your-NAS-IP>:8000.
Log in with the admin credentials you set.

Step 4: Optional – Enable OCR and AI Features

Paperless-ngx can automatically read and categorize documents using OCR and AI models.

Install Tesseract OCR:sudo apt-get install tesseract-ocr
Configure AI settings in the Paperless interface for better document classification.

Step 5: Access and Use Paperless-ngx AI

Upload documents manually or configure automated document ingestion.
Use AI tagging and search features to organize and find files quickly.
Set up workflows for document processing automation.

Installing Paperless-ngx AI on your Synology NAS gives you a powerful, scalable document management solution. With AI-driven categorization and secure storage, managing your documents becomes seamless and efficient.