You already have a Synology NAS running 24/7. It stores your files, runs your backups, maybe streams your media. So why buy a separate Raspberry Pi or mini PC for Home Assistant when your NAS can do it all? Here is how to set up Home Assistant on Synology using Docker or a VM, which models work best, and how to get USB devices like Zigbee sticks working perfectly.
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Most Synology NAS devices are already sitting in a closet, plugged in, running quietly around the clock. That makes them an obvious candidate for running Home Assistant. You skip buying extra hardware, you get built-in RAID storage for reliable backups, and you consolidate everything into one box.
No extra device to power, no extra thing to reboot. Your NAS is already always on, which is exactly what Home Assistant needs.
RAID storage means your Home Assistant config survives drive failures. Plus Synology Hyper Backup can push snapshots offsite automatically.
DSM 7 ships with Container Manager (Docker). Install Home Assistant in minutes without touching the command line.
Skip the Raspberry Pi, skip the mini PC. If you already own a compatible Synology, the cost of running Home Assistant is zero.
Not every Synology can run Home Assistant. You need an Intel or AMD CPU (ARM-based models like the DS223j can not run Docker). Here are the best options at different price points.
| Model | CPU | RAM | Bays | Docker | VMM | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DS224+ | Intel J4125 | 2GB (max 6GB) | 2 | ✅ | ✅ | Most people. Great balance of price and power. |
| DS423+ | Intel J4125 | 2GB (max 6GB) | 4 | ✅ | ✅ | Storage heavy users who also want HA. |
| DS923+ | AMD Ryzen R1600 | 4GB (max 32GB) | 4 | ✅ | ✅ | Power users. HA + Frigate + Plex on one box. |
| DS1621+ | AMD Ryzen V1500B | 4GB (max 32GB) | 6 | ✅ | ✅ | Home lab enthusiasts running everything. |
| DS220+ | Intel J4025 | 2GB (max 6GB) | 2 | ✅ | ✅ | Budget pick (discontinued, but widely available used). |
⚠️ Avoid ARM-based models
The DS223j, DS220j, DS120j, and other "j" models use Realtek ARM processors and can not run Docker or Virtual Machine Manager. If you want Home Assistant, you need a "+" model with an Intel or AMD chip.
There are three legitimate ways to get Home Assistant running on your Synology. Each has tradeoffs. Here is the honest breakdown.
MOST POPULAR
Best for: Users who want lightweight, simple, and know they can run Mosquitto/Z2M as separate containers.
FULL EXPERIENCE
Best for: Users who want the "official" experience with add-ons, especially if your NAS has 4GB+ RAM.
EXPERIMENTAL
Best for: Experimentation only. Docker or VM is better for anything serious.
This is the most popular method. You will use Synology's Container Manager (the rebranded Docker GUI in DSM 7) to get Home Assistant running in about 15 minutes.
Open DSM, go to Package Center, and install Container Manager (called "Docker" on older DSM versions). This is Synology's built-in Docker GUI.
Open File Station and create a shared folder for your Home Assistant config. Something like /docker/homeassistant. This is where all your configuration, automations, and data will live.
You can use the Container Manager GUI or SSH in and use Docker Compose. The compose method is more reliable:
version: '3'
services:
homeassistant:
container_name: homeassistant
image: ghcr.io/home-assistant/home-assistant:stable
volumes:
- /volume1/docker/homeassistant:/config
- /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro
devices:
- /dev/ttyUSB0:/dev/ttyUSB0 # Zigbee stick
network_mode: host
restart: unless-stopped
privileged: trueStart the container. After a minute or two, open http://your-nas-ip:8123 in your browser. You will see the Home Assistant onboarding screen. Create your account and you are in.
If you prefer managing containers via compose files (recommended), enable SSH in DSM under Control Panel > Terminal > Enable SSH service. Then SSH in and run sudo docker compose up -d from the directory containing your compose file.
If you want add-ons, Supervisor, and the complete Home Assistant OS experience, run HAOS as a virtual machine using Synology's Virtual Machine Manager.
Install Virtual Machine Manager from Package Center. You will need a Synology model that supports VMM (all "+" Intel/AMD models do).
Go to the Home Assistant installation page and download the HAOS .qcow2 image for KVM/Proxmox (it works with VMM too). Upload it to your NAS.
In VMM, create a new virtual machine with these settings:
Start the VM and wait a few minutes for HAOS to boot. Find its IP address in your router or check the VMM console. Then open http://ha-ip:8123 and complete the onboarding. You now have the full HAOS experience with add-ons and Supervisor.
One of the biggest questions with running Home Assistant on a NAS is: can I plug in my Zigbee coordinator or Z-Wave stick? Yes. Here is how for each install method.
ls /dev/tty* to find the device path (usually /dev/ttyUSB0 or /dev/ttyACM0)devices:Tip: Use /dev/serial/by-id/ paths instead of /dev/ttyUSB0 so the device mapping survives reboots.
Tip: VMM only allows USB passthrough when the VM is stopped. You can not hot-plug devices.
Popular USB devices that work great with Synology
Since you are already running Docker on your Synology, you might as well spin up the companion services that make Home Assistant even better. These all run as separate containers next to HA.
The MQTT broker that connects Zigbee2MQTT, Tasmota devices, and tons of other integrations. Uses almost no resources.
Manages your Zigbee network and bridges devices to HA via MQTT. More flexible than ZHA for advanced users.
Local AI camera monitoring. Works great on the DS923+ or DS1621+ with a Coral TPU plugged in. Stores recordings on your NAS drives.
Visual automation builder for complex flows. If you find YAML automations limiting, Node-RED lets you drag and drop logic.
Build and flash custom ESP32/ESP8266 firmware right from your NAS. OTA updates keep your DIY sensors up to date.
Long-term data storage and beautiful dashboards. Track energy usage, temperature trends, and device history over months or years.
Docker Compose tip
Put all your containers in a single docker-compose.yml file. That way you can start, stop, and update everything with one command. Keep the compose file in a backed-up folder on your NAS so you never lose your container configs.
Synology NAS devices are not powerhouses. Here is how to keep things running smoothly.
The DS224+ ships with 2GB but supports up to 6GB. Adding a 4GB stick costs about $15 and makes a huge difference when running multiple containers. Synology says only their branded RAM is supported, but generic DDR4 SO-DIMM works fine in most models.
If your NAS has M.2 NVMe slots (DS923+, DS1621+), add an SSD cache. Home Assistant does lots of small database writes, and an SSD cache makes the recorder database much snappier.
By default, Home Assistant records everything for 10 days. That is a lot of database writes. Reduce purge_keep_days to 5 and exclude noisy entities. Your NAS drives will thank you.
Always use network_mode: host for the Home Assistant container. Bridge networking causes issues with mDNS discovery, Chromecast, Sonos, and other devices that rely on broadcast traffic.
DSM updates reboot your NAS, which means Home Assistant goes down. Schedule updates for times when you are home so your automations do not break at 3 AM.
Use Synology's Hyper Backup to push your /docker/homeassistant folder to a cloud destination (Backblaze B2, Google Drive, or another NAS). Also take regular HA snapshots from within Home Assistant itself.
Let's be honest. A Synology NAS is a great "good enough" option, but it is not perfect for everyone.
The DS223j, DS220j, DS120j and other budget "j" models use ARM chips. No Docker, no VMM. Get a Raspberry Pi 5 or mini PC instead.
If your smart home is mission-critical (security, heating), consider a dedicated device. DSM updates reboot the NAS, and a NAS failure takes down both your storage and your smart home at once.
Frigate with 10+ cameras and no Coral TPU will struggle on a NAS CPU. For serious surveillance setups, a dedicated mini PC with an Intel N100 or better makes more sense.
For everyone else, running HA on a Synology is a solid choice. Especially if you already own one. Check our mini PC guide or installation guide if you decide a dedicated device is the way to go.
Here is a realistic timeline for getting Home Assistant running on your Synology NAS.
Install Container Manager, create the config folder, deploy the docker-compose file, and access HA at port 8123. Create your user account.
Set up your Zigbee coordinator, add your first devices, install companion containers like Mosquitto and Zigbee2MQTT if needed.
Build your first automations: lights on at sunset, motion-triggered notifications, morning routine. Set up the companion app on your phone.
Set up the Energy dashboard, configure the recorder to exclude noisy entities, and set up Hyper Backup to protect your HA config.
Yes. You can run Home Assistant on most Synology NAS models using Docker (Container Manager), a Virtual Machine via VMM, or the community HAOS package. Docker is the most popular method and works on any Synology with an Intel or AMD CPU running DSM 7.
For most people, the DS224+ is the sweet spot. It has an Intel Celeron J4125 with 2GB RAM (expandable to 6GB), which handles Home Assistant plus companion containers like Mosquitto and Zigbee2MQTT without breaking a sweat. If you also want to run Frigate with AI detection, look at the DS923+ or DS1621+ for more CPU headroom.
Docker (Home Assistant Container) is lighter on resources and easier to set up, but you lose add-on support and Supervisor features. A VM running HAOS gives you the full Home Assistant experience with add-ons, backups, and updates, but needs more RAM (at least 2GB dedicated). If your NAS has 4GB+ RAM, go with the VM. If RAM is tight, Docker works fine.
Yes, both Docker and VMM support USB passthrough. With Docker, add the device path (like /dev/ttyUSB0) to your container config. With VMM, use the USB passthrough setting in the VM config. Use /dev/serial/by-id/ paths for stability.
Not noticeably. Home Assistant Container typically uses 200 to 400MB of RAM and minimal CPU when idle. Even with automations running, it barely registers on a modern Synology. Adding heavy services like Frigate will need more resources, but HA alone is very lightweight.
DSM 7 renamed "Docker" to "Container Manager" and changed some paths, but the core functionality is the same. All guides in this article assume DSM 7, which is what you should be running in 2026. If you are still on DSM 6, the Docker setup is nearly identical, just with slightly different folder paths.
Absolutely. Plex and Home Assistant coexist perfectly on a Synology NAS. Plex mainly uses CPU for transcoding (and the Intel Quick Sync hardware encoder on "+" models handles that), while Home Assistant uses very little CPU. A DS224+ or DS923+ can run both without issues.
For Docker: pull the latest image (docker compose pull then docker compose up -d). For VM (HAOS): updates happen automatically through the HA UI, just like on any other HAOS install. Always back up before updating.
Take our free compatibility scan to see which of your existing smart devices work with Home Assistant. It takes 2 minutes and helps you plan your setup.