How to set up Paperless-ngx

Scan, organize, and search your documents. This guide covers how to access it, log in for the first time, configure the basics, and where its data lives so you can back it up.

1. What is Paperless-ngx?

A document management system that transforms your physical documents into a searchable online archive. Automatically OCRs, tags, and sorts your scanned documents.

2. How to access it

Once it's enabled, Paperless-ngx runs on your SparkBox at:

http://<your-NAS-IP>:8010

Drop PDFs in the consume folder or use the web uploader to add documents

3. First login

Admin username and password are set via PAPERLESS_ADMIN_USER and PAPERLESS_ADMIN_PASSWORD in your .env file (auto-generated at install time). Check Settings in the SparkBox dashboard to see them.

If it instead asks for a password you didn't set, check Settings → Passwords in your SparkBox dashboard — every auto-generated credential is listed there.

4. Tips

• Email documents to Paperless or drop them in the consume folder to auto-import
• Set up automatic tagging rules to keep your documents organized

5. Settings you can change

You can set these when you enable the module, or later from Apps → Paperless-ngx in the dashboard:

• Secret Key — Configurable value.
• Database Password — Configurable value.

6. Where your data lives

Paperless-ngx's config and persistent data are stored on the SparkBox host under:

/opt/sparkbox/modules/paperless/config/

Backups via the SparkBox dashboard's Backup tile include this directory by default, so a single restore brings Paperless-ngx back to its current state on a fresh install.

Next steps