You do not seem to have write access for the folder

Synology
1

I have DigiKam installed in container manager on the NAS, but can’t get past 1st base to configure it. After choosing the file location, I get the error

“You do not seem to have write access for the folder to host the database file. Please select a different location.”

The location is in a shared folder in Home where the existing photos are stored on the NAS, with the appropriate permissions as far as I can tell. The shared folder also syncs to pCloud. There are no issues with writing to the folder by other apps.

I even installed DigiKam on a PC using the same folder with no issues.

I’m keen to keep the NAS version if I can . Is there a synology or DigiKam setting I can modify to resolve the issue

2

It would be helpful if you could share your container configuration. It is likely that your container is running as a different user and, as a consequence, does not have permission to access your home directory.

The error message recommends setting up a different folder, which is one way to fix a permission problem. There are other ways.

The better way to fix the problem is to consult the DigiKam docker documentation. Presumably, it’s this one?

It looks like the way to change the container’s user credentials is by setting PUID and PGID.

If you are using a Container Manager project add these settings to the configuration YAML:

    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000

If you are running a Container Manager container add these as environment variables.

Replace the 1000:1000 with your DSM UID and GID. If you don’t know these values then ssh into the nas and run the id command

$ id
uid=1029(me) gid=100(users) groups=...
3

Thanks for your reply.

I’m new to synology and the way you install apps and how they work.

I used the user defined script below during the install.

docker run -d --name=digikam
-p 3050:3000
-e PUID=1026
-e PGID=100
-e TZ=Australia/Sydney
-e KEYBOARD=en-us-qwerty
-v /volume1/pdrivecopy/photos
-v /volume1/home/digikam
–restart always

I identified the PUID and PGID as they appear in the script.

The location of my existing photos is in volume1/pdrivecopy/photos. This folder also syncs to pCloud.

I am wanting to save the DataBase to volume1/home/digikam so it doesn’t need to constantly sync to pCloud.

The default location for both photo location and DataBase is /config/pictures. I’m not exactly sure where that folder is on the NAS

During the install I accepted the default location so I could proceed further with configuration. The install and configuration is now complete.

I have now changed the photo location which was accepted, but I can’t see the photos. When I try and change DataBase location, I get the error

“You do not seem to have write access for the folder to host the database file. Please select a different location.”

My plan was, once I could see the photos, to use the DataBase that was created by the PC, and migrate to the volume1/home/digikam folder.

Now I’m stuck because DigiKam can’t see the photos, and can’t access the new DataBase folder.

Sorry for the long reply.

4

Hi sk8rs_dad

Just wanted to let you know, after 3 or 4 months, I’ve finally tripped over the solution. I changed the folder location in the script from

-v /volume1/pdrivecopy/photos

to,

-v /volume1/pdrivecopy/photos:/config \

I’m not sure what the */config * on the end does but DigiKam now has write access and is displaying all photos and albums.

The only minor inconvenience is that I couldn’t get the photos folder to display as the root folder with all the sub folders under it. It just means every-time I add a new folder to photos, I’ll have to add it to DigiKam manually.

The way I found the solution was going back to other apps that worked and trying to find some common ground. In this case it was PhotoPrism. The reason I abandoned PhotoPrism was you could only add a few faces or tags at a time before the NAS got bogged. So adding a dozen faces could take from 15 minutes to 45. There is no slowing down with DigiKam

5

Good catch! The volume mounts were misconfigured.

-v /volume1/pdrivecopy/photos

This command does not specify a target directory inside the container. Consequently, Docker automatically mounts it to a generated location, probably /mnt instead of where the app expects to find it.

- v /volume1/pdrivecopy/photos:/config

This maps the Synology folder to the /config folder inside the container.

I’m not familiar with DigiKam but I assume the photo paths are managed within the app itself instead of being passed in using a -v parameter.