Please note if you are using DSM7.2 or higher you should use the Container Manager version of this guide from the menu.
This guide has reached the end of its updates as most people are now on the latest DSM update - This guide is correct as of 08/12/2023 however no further updates will be added.
| Update | Date |
|---|---|
| You can now amend the cron schedule to pull on your own schedule rather than the 5-minute default | 17/09/2023 |
What is Spotweb?
To quote the GitHub page.
“Spotweb is a decentralized Usenet community based on the Spotnet protocol.”
It is essentially a self-hosted Usenet indexer that integrates with your favourite media managers such as Radarr, and I am going to walk you through setting this up in Docker on your Synology NAS
Let’s Begin
The guide has 2 pages:
- Page 1 – Folder setup and Container Manager
- Page 2 – Spotweb Changes and FAQ
Before we start with the main guide head over and follow these two guides to get a docker user and dedicated bridge network set up.
Downloading the Spotweb and MariaDB images
Open up Docker within DSM and navigate to the ‘Registry’ tab, then search for ‘Spotweb’.
In the list of available containers download the one made by erikdevries as shown below.
When the dialogue pops up asking you to choose a version, make sure you choose ‘latest’ from the list.
While the Spotweb image is downloading do another search for MariaDB as this is the database will we be using.
Download the official version as shown below using the ‘Latest’ tag when asked.
Setting up the MariaDB Container
In Docker click on the ‘Image’ tab, in the list of your containers select the ‘MariaDB’ image and click on ‘Launch’
The first screen will ask how you want to set up the Docker network, we will be using the synobridge network we set up earlier.
General Settings
Next you will be greeted with the General Settings screen, this is where you can start specifying some of your preferences.
You can change the name of the container to anything you like, and you will want to enable Auto Restart as this will ensure the database starts automatically if you reboot your NAS.
Next up we are going to click on the ‘Advanced Settings’ button, this will take you to a new window with a number of tabs which we are going to work through.
Environment
Next we are going to specify some variables that will tell MariaDB what to use for our credentials so Spotweb can access it.
Click the Add button, and fill in the following details as per the table/screenshot. Make note of these you will need them later!
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD | enter a unique password do not use special characters and keep below 20 alphanumeric e.g. A-Z – 0-9 This is the master password for MariaDB in case you ever need it. |
| PUID | (required) The UID you obtained in the user setup guide |
| PGID | (required) The GID you obtained in the user setup guide |
| TZ | Your timezone wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones |
| MYSQL_DATABASE | spotweb |
| MYSQL_USER | enter a unique username for the spotweb database |
| MYSQL_PASSWORD | enter a unique password do not use special characters and keep below 20 alphanumeric e.g. A-Z – 0-9 as this is known to cause issues if overly complex |
Links / Execution Command
You do not need to set up anything on these tabs.
Press ‘Save’ to go back to the initial setup screen, then press ‘Next’
Port Settings
You will see that the Local Port has Auto in it by default, change this to 3306 then click Next.
Volume Settings
We will now be specifying the directories where the database will be stored along with its config files.
Click on ‘Add Folder’ then select the ‘docker’ folder and create a new sub-folder called ‘mariadb’ click on this folder and click ‘Select’
Now in the Mount Path box enter /var/lib/mysql
Click ‘Next’
Summary
You have now completed the setup of the database. Click on Next to move back to the final summary screen, this is a good time to double-check everything is correct.
Finally, click on Done and the container should start to boot.
Setting up the Spotweb Container
We are now doing the initial setup and will be coming back to complete it later.
Head back into the Image tab and this time Launch the Spotweb image
You will be greeted with the Network screen, we will be using the ‘synobridge’ network we created earlier select it from the list and click Next.
General Settings
Next you can rename the container and enable auto-restart to make sure Spotweb starts up with your NAS, then click Next.
Environment Variables
We are now going to specify some additional variables, click on ‘Advanced Settings’
Click the Add button, and fill in the following details as per the table/screenshot.
| Variable | Value |
|---|---|
| TZ | Your timezone wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones |
| DB_NAME | spotweb |
| DB_USER | Enter the same username from the MYSQL_USER setting you used for the MariaDB container |
| DB_PASS | Enter the same password from the MYSQL_PASSWORD setting you used for the MariaDB container (Not the Root Password) |
| DB_PORT | 3306 |
| DB_HOST | 172.20.0.1 |
| CRON_INTERVAL | ‘*/5 * * * *’ #by default this is 5 minutes you can work out a different interval by using https://cron.help to adjust the timing e.g. ‘*/60 * * * *’ is every hour on the hour. |
Click ‘Save’ then Click ‘Next’
Port Settings
Spotweb wants to use port 80, we need to move it to an alternative port, We will use 8085.
Click Next, you do not need to enter any information on the ‘Volume Settings’ page, click next again and then click ‘Done’ on the Summary to start the container.
Once the container starts you need to give it about 5 to 10 minutes to create all the required database tables so be patient while it does this! You should then be able to access the Web UI via your NASIP:8085
You can now move on to Page 2.
Pages: 1 2
Hello,
Did the installation and this went fine. Then the spots were retrieved. This has stopped yesterday at 20:14 and since then no spots has retrieved anymore. What could this be?
Hey, have any more been retrieved since you posted? My most recent as of posting are from 2.5 hours ago.
Hello, It’s woking again, post coming in again. Was weird because this morning on another site it was up to date. But glad it’s ok for now. Thanks mate!
It sometimes depends on your usenet provider and when the files sync. So they can sometime be small delays of a few hours
Hi, i’m new with docker. I installed sabnzbd first according your ttorial, it works fine. the next step is to install spotweb, now i have the same problem as Daniel: SQLSTATE(HY000) (2006) Connection timed out Please correct the errors in below and try again.
The only thing that is different is the port of mariadb, i took 3308 because i use 3306 an 3307 for mariadb 5 and 10 on the local machine.
Can you please advise?
Hey, this will probably be a bit easier to look at over Discord or email, when you set the ports did you just change the container port for Mariadb or both? If you already have a database setup you can use that instead if you want.
Hi, I have followed your guide on setting up the Mariadb docker image, but mine keeps stopping and starting all the time. Any suggestions on what to check or look at to see what the issue is.
Can you see any files in the /docker/mariadb folder, does the log for the container give any errors?
no files being created. Looks like it is changing the owner of the directories to 999.
If i change the ownersghip to anything else, it reverts back to 999.
2022-02-23 16:52:19+00:00 [Note] [Entrypoint]: Entrypoint script for MariaDB Server 1:10.6.5+maria~focal started.
2022-02-23 16:52:19+00:00 [Note] [Entrypoint]: Switching to dedicated user ‘mysql’
2022-02-23 16:52:19+00:00 [Note] [Entrypoint]: Entrypoint script for MariaDB Server 1:10.6.5+maria~focal started.
2022-02-23 16:52:19+00:00 [Note] [Entrypoint]: Initializing database files
2022-02-23 16:52:19 0 [Warning] Can’t create test file /var/lib/mysql/mariadb.lower-test
/usr/sbin/mariadbd: Can’t change dir to ‘/var/lib/mysql/’ (Errcode: 13 “Permission denied”)
2022-02-23 16:52:19 0 [ERROR] Aborting
Can you double-check to make sure your mount point is /var/lib/mysql
The 999 user is correct as this container runs as that user by default and doesn’t normally pose any issues, both on my live and test/guide systems.
Weird.
I usally put all my docker mounts pointing to a directory called configs, which failed for mariadb, yet everything else works.
changed it to docker\mariadb /var/lib/mysql from configs\mariadb /var/lib/mysql
and the docker image is now working fine.
Some things can never be explained
i’m having a problem with the usenet server settings. My usenet provider 5 euro usenet isn’t indicated in the list and when i use Custom with all of the right information given the page dissepears and i have to restart from the beginning. Also i use my NAS’ Download Center for my usenet downloads and it is installed on an other port, like 118, can this also give a problem?
So what i get is:
Unable to connect to database:
SQLSTATE[HY000] [1045] Access denied for user ‘tofke34’@’172.17.0.1’ (using password: YES)
Please make sure your database server is up and running and your connection parameters are set
Can you try using a password without any special characters to see if that helps. You will need to delete the contents of /docker/mariadb first
when i try to verify the usenet server i’m with i’m getting an error page, so should i just skip the validation?
Yes, you can safely skip it and change the settings once spotweb is up and running
no need, it’s fixed, works fine now, thx 😀
Nice one
I truly appreciate these tutorials, well written and easy to comprehend. I am having a problem on page 2 of the spotweb configuration GUI. Even though I have verified several times the tutorial and my username and both passwords I am getting a SQLSTATE(HY000) (2002) Connection timed out Please correct the errors in below and try again. Please advise. Thank You
Hey, it sounds like your database is not accessable, has anything been created in the /docker/mariadb.. Reach out via Discord or via my contact page as it will be easier to talk through.