Joplock

A secure, fast web client for Joplin Server.

Joplock runs as a sidecar alongside an unmodified Joplin Server instance, sharing the same Postgres database, sessions, notes, folders, and resources. It gives you a lightweight browser-based interface to your Joplin notes without modifying Joplin Server itself. Keep using the other Joplin clients too, this won't interfere.

Key Features

• Full Joplin compatibility -- desktop, mobile, CLI, and Joplock all work with the same account and data simultaneously
• Low Resource usage -- minimal memory usage on the client, fast and responsive
• Security-first design -- no private data stored on the client; sessions are cleaned up on logout; per-user settings and admin controls for user management
• User creation from Joplock UI -- create and modify users directly from Joplock settings page
• Full database backup and restore -- create and restore complete Postgres backups for both Joplin and Joplock data
• Multi-factor authentication -- optional TOTP-based MFA on top of standard Joplin sessions
• Fast search -- searches titles and note bodies directly in Postgres; optional live-as-you-type search
• Near-instant autosave -- debounced saves with conflict detection, hash-based deduplication, and an undo ring buffer with full note history snapshots
• PWA support -- installable as a home screen app on mobile and desktop with splash screens, offline indicator, and service worker shell
• Server-side rendering -- SSR with htmx for minimal client-side JavaScript; CodeMirror editor for markdown, rich preview mode with WYSIWYG editing

Runtime Model

Joplock:

• reads Joplin data directly from the shared Postgres database
• validates the same sessionId cookie used by Joplin Server
• writes notes, folders, and resources through stock Joplin Server APIs

That keeps desktop, mobile, CLI, and Joplock compatible with the same account and data.

Requirements

• docker
• an existng Joplin Server instance, or run the fullstack option

Environment

All configuration is done directly in the compose files via inline environment variables with comments. No .env file is needed -- just edit the values in docker-compose.yml or docker-compose.example-full.yml before starting.

Backup and recovery configuration:

• JOPLOCK_BACKUP_DIR enables server-side full database backups
• JOPLOCK_BACKUP_COMPRESSION controls the pg_dump compression method, for example zstd:19 or gzip:9
• JOPLOCK_BACKUP_COMPRESSION_LEVEL=0-9 controls pg_dump compression for backup files
• JOPLOCK_RECOVERY_ENABLED=true enables the break-glass recovery page at /recovery
• JOPLOCK_RECOVERY_PASSWORD protects that recovery page

Important:

• Backups are only durable if JOPLOCK_BACKUP_DIR is mounted to persistent storage.
• Default backup compression is zstd:19, which is usually smaller than gzip:9.
• JOPLOCK_BACKUP_COMPRESSION takes precedence over JOPLOCK_BACKUP_COMPRESSION_LEVEL.
• Higher compression produces smaller backup files but may take longer to create.
• Recovery mode is for backup and restore only, not regular note usage.
• Restore replaces the entire shared Postgres database, including Joplock-owned tables.

Docker

Published container image:

• ghcr.io/abort-retry-ignore/joplock:latest

Sidecar Install

Use this when you already have Joplin Server and Postgres running elsewhere. Edit the environment values in docker-compose.yml to point at your existing setup, or copy into your existing compose. Then:

docker compose up -d

This pulls the pre-built image from GitHub Container Registry. To build from source instead:

docker compose -f docker-compose-build.yml up -d --build

On Linux, the compose files map host.docker.internal to the host gateway so Joplock can reach host services by default.

Backup And Restore

Normal workflow:

1. Sign in as the configured Joplock admin.
2. Open Settings -> Admin -> Backup & Restore.
3. Create a backup or restore an existing server-side backup.

Break-glass workflow when normal Joplin login is unavailable:

1. Enable JOPLOCK_RECOVERY_ENABLED=true and set JOPLOCK_RECOVERY_PASSWORD.
2. Open /recovery.
3. Sign in with the recovery password.
4. Create or restore full database backups from there.

Before restoring:

1. Stop or quiesce Joplin Server if possible.
2. Stop active sync clients.
3. Expect the entire shared Postgres database to be replaced.

Full Example Stack

Use this as a reference/demo stack with Postgres, Joplin Server, and Joplock together. Edit the values in docker-compose.example-full.yml as needed, then:

docker compose -f docker-compose.example-full.yml up -d

The full example uses the public joplin/server:latest image. Joplock is exposed on http://localhost:5444 by default. Joplin Server is internal-only unless you add a port mapping.

The full example is meant as a working reference compose file. Adjust it for your real deployment.