Requirements

For the standard container deployment you need:

a current Docker Engine;
Docker Compose v2;
persistent storage for the Nostos /data volume;
enough disk space for your database, uploaded books, audiobooks, and local backups.

The official image includes the application runtime and FFmpeg, so you do not need to install .NET, Node.js, or FFmpeg separately on the host.

Storage requirement

The SQLite database lives inside the persistent /data volume.

Use storage with reliable local filesystem locking semantics. A normal Docker named volume or a bind mount on a local host filesystem is the intended setup.

Network shares and sync-folder mounts can have locking or consistency behavior that is unsuitable for a live SQLite database. Do not place the active database on NFS, SMB/CIFS, cloud-sync folders, or similar remote filesystems unless you have independently verified correct SQLite locking and durability behavior for that exact setup.

SSD storage is recommended for larger libraries and media-heavy use, but NVMe is not a correctness requirement.