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Self-hosted quickstart

Deploy Synjar on your own infrastructure using Docker Compose. This guide gets you from zero to running in 15 minutes.

Time required: 15 minutes Prerequisites: Docker and Docker Compose installed

Step 1: Clone the repository​

git clone https://github.com/synjar/synjar.git
cd synjar

Step 2: Configure environment​

Copy the example environment file and edit it:

cp .env.example .env

Required settings to update:

# Generate a strong secret (minimum 32 characters)
JWT_SECRET="your-strong-jwt-secret-at-least-32-characters"

# Get your OpenAI API key from https://platform.openai.com/api-keys
OPENAI_API_KEY="sk-your-openai-api-key"

Step 3: Start the services​

docker-compose up -d

This starts:

  • Synjar API server
  • PostgreSQL database
  • MinIO (S3-compatible storage)
  • Mailpit (development email server)

Step 4: Access Synjar​

Open http://localhost:6200 in your browser.

The first user to register becomes the workspace owner (admin).

Step 5: Upload your first document​

  1. Log in with your new account
  2. Click Documents > Upload
  3. Select a PDF or text file
  4. Wait for processing to complete
  1. Click Search
  2. Ask a question about your document
  3. Review the AI-powered results

What's next?​

Production deployment​

For production use, see:

Configuration​

Operations​

Helpful commands​

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f

# Stop services
docker-compose down

# Restart services
docker-compose restart

# View service status
docker-compose ps

Common issues​

Port conflicts​

If port 6200 is in use, edit docker-compose.yml to change the port mapping.

Database connection errors​

Ensure PostgreSQL has fully started before the API server. Wait 30 seconds after docker-compose up before first access.

OpenAI errors​

Verify your OPENAI_API_KEY is valid and has available credits.

Need help? See the FAQ or check troubleshooting.