Self-Hosting

SyncBins ships as a single Docker image. You can run it on any Linux VPS, a home server, or a cloud VM. The server never sees plaintext — everything is encrypted on-device before it leaves — so a $4/mo machine is all you need.

Prerequisites

• A server with Docker and Docker Compose
• A domain name with DNS pointing at the server
• Blob storage: Azure Blob Storage, AWS S3, Cloudflare R2, or a local path

1. Clone the compose file

mkdir syncbins && cd syncbins
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SyncBins/App/main/docker/docker-compose.yml
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SyncBins/App/main/docker/Caddyfile

Or copy them from the docker/ directory in the App repo.

2. Configure environment variables

Create a .env file next to docker-compose.yml:

# Required
DOMAIN=syncbins.example.com
JWT_SECRET_FILE=/data/jwt.secret   # auto-generated on first boot if absent

# Azure Blob Storage (recommended)
AZURE_STORAGE_CONNECTION_STRING=DefaultEndpointsProtocol=https;AccountName=...
AZURE_BLOB_CONTAINER=syncbins

# Or: AWS S3 / Cloudflare R2
# S3_ENDPOINT=https://...
# S3_BUCKET=syncbins
# S3_REGION=auto
# AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=...
# AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=...

# Or: local disk (not recommended for production)
# LOCAL_BLOB_DIR=/data/blobs

3. The compose file

The default docker-compose.yml runs two containers: the SyncBins server and Caddy as a TLS-terminating reverse proxy.

services:
  syncbins:
    image: ghcr.io/syncbins/app:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - ./data:/data
    env_file: .env
    expose: ["8080"]

  caddy:
    image: caddy:2
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports: ["443:443", "80:80"]
    volumes:
      - ./Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile
      - caddy_data:/data
      - caddy_config:/config
    depends_on: [syncbins]

volumes:
  caddy_data:
  caddy_config:

The Caddyfile provisions a Let’s Encrypt certificate automatically:

syncbins.example.com {
  reverse_proxy syncbins:8080
}

4. Start it

docker compose up -d
docker compose logs -f

On first boot the server creates data/jwt.secret and runs the database migration. Open https://syncbins.example.com — you should see the onboarding flow.

5. Point the app at your server

During onboarding, choose “Self-host on your own box” and enter your domain. The app will connect to https://syncbins.example.com/api.

Existing devices can switch servers in Settings → Server.

Storage options

Azure Blob Storage (recommended)

Use the Hot access tier — Cool/Archive will cause noticeable latency for images and files. SyncBins generates short-lived user-delegated SAS URLs for uploads and downloads; the client talks directly to Azure, reducing bandwidth through your VPS.

Set a lifecycle policy to hard-delete orphaned blobs (items deleted more than 30 days ago):

{
  "rules": [{
    "name": "orphan-cleanup",
    "type": "Lifecycle",
    "definition": {
      "filters": { "blobTypes": ["blockBlob"] },
      "actions": { "baseBlob": { "delete": { "daysAfterModificationGreaterThan": 30 } } }
    }
  }]
}

Local disk

LOCAL_BLOB_DIR=/data/blobs

Suitable for testing or single-VPS installs where you manage your own backups. Mount the volume to persist across restarts.

Upgrades

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

The server runs database migrations automatically on boot. Check the changelog before upgrading major versions.

Backups

The SQLite database lives at data/syncbins.db. Back it up with:

sqlite3 data/syncbins.db ".backup data/syncbins.db.bak"

For blob storage, rely on the provider’s built-in redundancy and versioning. If you use local disk, include data/blobs/ in your backup routine.

Hardware requirements

SyncBins is intentionally lightweight. A 1-vCPU / 512 MB RAM VPS handles a single user comfortably. The $4/mo hosting cost dominates over Azure Blob at ~$0.02/GB-mo — 50 GB of content costs about $1/mo in storage.

Raspberry Pi: Pi 4 or 5 with 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS and Docker. Published GHCR images include linux/arm64. See the dedicated guide: Raspberry Pi.