↓ Skip to main content
Zac Trolley
  1. Building Your Own Server/

Paperless-ngx - Self-Hosted Document Management

·757 words·4 mins

Paperless-ngx is a community supported open source document management system that transforms your physical documents into a searchable online archive so you can keep, well, less paper. I use this to store all my important paperwork like tax records, health information, and insurance documents. You can scan in your own files, or upload PDFs. I also use this to keep all my manuals so that I don’t have to keep looking for them all the time, and I can quickly reference how I put my coffee maker into self-clean mode.

Paperless

Why Paperless-ngx:

  • Your Documents, Your Control: No corporate servers, no data mining, no subscriptions. Your documents belong to you, not a corporation.
  • Privacy First: Your sensitive documents stay on your own server. No one else can access your tax records, contracts, or personal documents.
  • Powerful Search: Full-text search across all your documents to find what you need quickly.
  • Open Source: Transparent, community-driven, and free to use.

Resources
#

Installation Prep
#

Before installing Paperless-ngx, ensure you have the following ready:

Time to Complete
#

  • Total Time: ~30 minutes
    • 10 min: File system prep
    • 10 min: Docker setup
    • 5 min: Download Paperless-ngx image
    • 5 min: Initial setup and configuration
  • Difficulty: Beginner

Installation
#

Step 1: File System Prep
#

We need to create the directories to keep the docker-compose file and Paperless-ngx data.

Create the Paperless-ngx directory

mkdir -p ~/docker/paperless-ngx/

Create the folders where your data will live:

mkdir -p ~/docker/paperless-ngx/{data,media,export,import}

This creates the following structure:

/home/USER/docker/paperless-ngx/data/      # Paperless-ngx database
/home/USER/docker/paperless-ngx/media/     # Your documents
/home/USER/docker/paperless-ngx/export/    # Exported documents
/home/USER/docker/paperless-ngx/import/    # Documents to import

Step 2: Docker Setup
#

Make sure you are in your Paperless-ngx directory:

cd ~/docker/paperless-ngx

To double check you are in the right place, type pwd to see your current directory.

Create the docker-compose.yaml file:

sudo touch docker-compose.yaml

Use the nano program to edit the file:

sudo nano docker-compose.yaml

Step 3: docker-compose file
#

Copy the following text into the docker-compose file:

version: "3.8"

services:
  paperless-ngx:
    image: ghcr.io/paperless-ngx/paperless-ngx:latest
    container_name: paperless-ngx
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8000:8000"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/usr/src/paperless/data
      - ./media:/usr/src/paperless/media
      - ./export:/usr/src/paperless/export
      - ./import:/usr/src/paperless/import
    environment:
      - PAPERLESS_REDIS=redis://paperless-redis:6379
      - PAPERLESS_DBHOST=paperless-db
      - PAPERLESS_DBUSER=paperless
      - PAPERLESS_DBPASS=paperless
      - PAPERLESS_DBNAME=paperless
      - PAPERLESS_SECRET_KEY=your_secret_key_here
      - PAPERLESS_TIME_ZONE=America/Edmonton # Change to your timezone
      - PAPERLESS_URL=http://192.168.99.1:8000
    depends_on:
      - paperless-db
      - paperless-redis

  paperless-db:
    image: postgres:15
    container_name: paperless-db
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - ./pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER=paperless
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=paperless
      - POSTGRES_DB=paperless

  paperless-redis:
    image: redis:7
    container_name: paperless-redis
    restart: unless-stopped

Important: Replace your_secret_key_here with a strong, unique secret key.

Save and exit the file by pressing Ctrl+X and saying Y to save.

Step 4: Start Paperless-ngx
#

Now you can download and start Paperless-ngx:

sudo docker-compose pull
sudo docker-compose up -d

Once the pull is complete, verify the containers are running:

docker ps

You should see paperless-ngx, paperless-db, and paperless-redis all running.

Initial Setup and Configuration
#

Step 1: Access Paperless-ngx
#

Open your browser and navigate to:

http://192.168.99.1:8000

This is the IP address of your Linux Mint machine where Paperless-ngx is installed.

Step 2: Create Your Account
#

  1. Create Account

    • Enter a username for your account
    • Enter a strong password
    • Click Create Account

  2. Login

    • Use your credentials to log in

Step 3: Configure Settings
#

  1. Go to Settings > Documents
  2. Configure Document Storage:
    • Document Storage Path: /usr/src/paperless/media/documents
    • Archive Storage Path: /usr/src/paperless/media/archive
  3. Configure Document Types:
    • Add custom document types as needed

Step 4: Import Documents
#

You can import documents in several ways:

Option A: Upload via Web Interface

  1. Click Documents in the sidebar
  2. Click Upload
  3. Select your documents
  4. Click Upload

Option B: Copy to Import Folder

  1. Copy documents to the import folder:
cp /path/to/your/documents ~/docker/paperless-ngx/import/
  1. Paperless-ngx will automatically import them

Usage
#

Web Interface
#

The Paperless-ngx web interface (http://192.168.99.1:8000) provides:

  • Documents: Browse, search, and manage your documents
  • Tags: Organize documents with tags
  • Correspondents: Categorize documents by sender
  • Types: Classify documents by type
  • Search: Full-text search across all documents

Common Tasks
#

Upload a Document:

  1. Click Documents in the sidebar
  2. Click Upload
  3. Select your document
  4. Add tags, correspondent, and type (optional)
  5. Click Upload

Search Documents:

  1. Use the search bar at the top
  2. Search by text, tags, correspondent, or type
  3. Use advanced search operators (e.g., tag:tax, correspondent:bank)

View Document Details:

  1. Click on a document
  2. View metadata, tags, and correspondent
  3. Download or delete the document

Organize Documents:

  1. Select documents
  2. Click Actions > Edit
  3. Add tags, correspondent, or type
  4. Click Save