Synology - OpenClaw NAS Operation

Basic Information

• Product/Brand: Synology
• Country/Region: Taiwan, China
• Official Website: https://www.synology.com
• Type: NAS Device/Docker Container Operation
• Requirements: DSM 7.x, Container Manager, at least 4GB RAM
• Deployment Time: Approximately 1-4 hours

Product Description

Synology NAS is one of the most popular NAS devices for home and small-to-medium businesses worldwide. By using Docker containers (Container Manager or Portainer), users can run OpenClaw as a continuously online, fully private AI agent on Synology NAS. Synology offers a user-friendly graphical interface, but Docker deployment still requires handling some specific permissions and configuration issues.

Deployment Requirements

• Operating System: DSM 7.x
• Container Management: Container Manager (built-in) or Portainer (recommended)
• Memory: At least 4GB RAM
• Deployment Time: 1-4 hours (including permission fixes, custom Dockerfile, and reverse proxy WebSocket header configuration)

Key Deployment Notes

UID Permission Issue

• Synology runs Docker processes with a different UID by default
• OpenClaw expects UID 1000
• Before starting the container, execute via SSH: sudo chown -R 1000:$(id -g) /volume1/docker/openclaw
• Otherwise, configurations will silently revert upon container restart

Common 1008 Error

• allowUnconfigured appears in openclaw.json
• Application Portal reverse proxy lacks WebSocket headers
• Environment variable OPENCLAW_TRUSTED_PROXIES is not set

Recommended Use of Portainer

• Container Manager has environment variable substitution issues in some DSM 7.x versions
• Portainer Stacks offer cleaner environment variable management and better log visibility

Alternative Deployment Methods

• Deploy OpenClaw in a virtual machine on the NAS
• Better fault tolerance and system separation
• Isolated from core storage and system functions
• Maintains continuous availability

Community Resources

• Blink Blog: Complete Synology NAS Setup Guide (2026)
• SynoForum: Self-hosted Moltbot Discussions
• GitHub Gist: Guide to Installing OpenClaw/Moltbot Sandbox Docker Container on Synology NAS
• Answer Overflow: Synology Installation Discussions
• UGREEN NAS: Migration Guide from Mac mini to NAS

Relationship with OpenClaw Ecosystem

Synology NAS, due to its extensive user base among home and small-to-medium businesses, has become one of the important platforms for OpenClaw self-hosted deployments. Although the deployment process is more complex than on Mac mini or VPS (requiring handling of DSM-specific permissions and configuration issues), the inherent 24/7 operation capability and local data storage of NAS devices make them an ideal choice for privacy-conscious users.