Unraid · Docker · web UI

Your Obsidian vault, synced on your Unraid server.

A small Docker container with a web UI that keeps an Obsidian vault synced using Obsidian's official headless Sync client. No LiveSync or CouchDB, no VNC or GUI container, no third-party sync protocol.

Install on Unraid Source on GitHub

Listed in Community Applications · multi-arch image on GHCR · MIT

Independent, unofficial project, not affiliated with Obsidian. Requires an active Obsidian Sync subscription.

The Obsidian Sync Station web UI: a Sync card with vault, device and encryption, start and stop buttons and the sync mode, and a Backup card with cron schedule, retention, one snapshot and the backup log — The real web UI (0.6.1) running locally: Sync card and Backup card with one snapshot. Sync shows stopped because no Obsidian account was connected for this screenshot.

Install

On Unraid, use Community Applications. Anywhere else, any Docker host works.

Unraid Community Applications

Open Apps and search for obsidian-sync-station, then install it.
Adjust the paths. /vault should be its own dedicated share. Set Enable Backup to true if you want backups and map /backup. Then Apply.
Open the WebUI, set an access password, log in to Obsidian and pick your vault.

Without CA: Docker tab, Add Container, and paste the template URL.

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/benjaminmue/unraid/main/templates/obsidian-sync-station.xml

The template maps the web UI to host port 8484 by default, because 8080 is often taken on Unraid.

CLI docker run

docker run -d --name obsidian-sync-station \
  -p 8484:8080 \
  -e DEVICE_NAME=unraid-sync-station \
  -e PUID=99 -e PGID=100 -e TZ=Europe/Zurich \
  -v /mnt/user/appdata/obsidian-sync-station:/config \
  -v /mnt/user/obsidian-vault:/vault \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  ghcr.io/benjaminmue/obsidian-sync-station:latest

CLI Docker Compose

services:
  obsidian-sync-station:
    image: ghcr.io/benjaminmue/obsidian-sync-station:latest
    container_name: obsidian-sync-station
    ports:
      - "8484:8080"
    environment:
      - BACKUP=false
      - DEVICE_NAME=unraid-sync-station
      - PUID=99
      - PGID=100
      - UMASK=0002
      - TZ=Europe/Zurich
    volumes:
      - /mnt/user/appdata/obsidian-sync-station:/config
      - /mnt/user/obsidian-vault:/vault
      # only when BACKUP=true:
      # - /mnt/user/backups/obsidian:/backup
    restart: unless-stopped

Paths and defaults follow the Unraid template. Then open http://<server>:8484.

What it does

Obsidian Sync has no self-hosted server and no REST API. In February 2026 Obsidian shipped an official headless client, the ob CLI. This project wraps it in a web UI and packages it for a server, so a vault stays synced and, if you want, backed up on your own hardware.

Official sync: Runs Obsidian's own headless Sync client. Login with email, password and MFA, a vault picker, and an optional end-to-end decryption password.
Two sync modes: Continuous, using Obsidian's live watcher (about 30 seconds), or a one-shot sync every N minutes. Supervised with auto-restart, live status and log tail.
Local backups: BACKUP=true adds scheduled tar.gz snapshots with a cron schedule (default 0 3 * * *), retention and run-now.
Off-box mirror: MIRROR=true copies every snapshot to a second volume, pruned by the same retention.
Off-site via restic: Encrypted backups to a local path or cloud storage (S3, Backblaze B2, SFTP) after each local backup.
Restore: Restore a snapshot to a staging folder for inspection, or over the live vault with an explicit confirmation.
ntfy notifications: Push messages on successful backups and on backup or sync failures. Access tokens supported for protected servers.
Unraid file ownership: Runs as 99:100 (nobody:users) with UMASK 0002, so other containers on the share can use the files. Drifted ownership is repaired on start.

First run

Set an access password for the web UI. It is LAN-only and gated by its own password.
Connect your Obsidian account. Credentials go to Obsidian's official client.
Pick the remote vault, choose standard or end-to-end encryption, then link and start sync.

The proprietary ob client is not bundled in the image. The container installs it from the official npm registry on first start, into the /config volume.

The web UI asking to connect an Obsidian account, with email, password and MFA code fields — Connecting the Obsidian account in the web UI.

Volumes and variables

Volumes
Container path	Purpose
`/config`	Settings, web UI password hash, `ob` login and install
`/vault`	The synced vault files. Map to a dedicated share.
`/backup`	Snapshot target, only when `BACKUP=true`
`/mirror`	Second snapshot target, only when `MIRROR=true`

Variables
Variable	Default	Purpose
`BACKUP`	`false`	Backups and backup options in the UI
`MIRROR`	`false`	Copy each snapshot to `/mirror`
`RESTIC_REPOSITORY`	none	Enables restic off-site backups
`RESTIC_PASSWORD`	none	Encryption password for the restic repository
`NTFY_URL`	none	ntfy topic URL, also settable in the UI
`NTFY_TOKEN`	none	ntfy access token for protected servers
`DEVICE_NAME`	`obsidian-sync-station`	Label in Obsidian Sync history
`PUID` / `PGID`	`99` / `100`	User and group the container runs as
`UMASK`	`0002`	`0664` files, `0775` folders
`FIX_PERMISSIONS`	`true`	Ownership migration and repair on start

Full reference in the README.

Before you start

Never run the Obsidian desktop app against the same vault path at the same time. The official client warns that this causes conflicts. Give the container its own dedicated path.
End-to-end encryption is decrypted locally. With an end-to-end encrypted vault, ob writes plaintext to /vault and therefore to backups. Choose your storage accordingly.
Do not expose the web UI to the internet. It holds your Obsidian credentials.