diff --git a/gns3server/controller/__init__.py b/gns3server/controller/__init__.py
index f14c403a..539121a4 100644
--- a/gns3server/controller/__init__.py
+++ b/gns3server/controller/__init__.py
@@ -74,6 +74,7 @@ class Controller:
 
         log.info("Controller is starting")
         await self._install_base_configs()
+        await self._install_custom_symbols()
         installed_disks = await self._install_builtin_disks()
         if installed_disks:
             await update_disk_checksums(installed_disks)
@@ -371,6 +372,19 @@ class Controller:
         except OSError as e:
             log.error(f"Could not install disk files to {dst_path}: {e}")
 
+    async def _install_custom_symbols(self):
+        """
+        At startup we copy custom symbols to the user location to allow
+        them to use with appliances
+        """
+
+        dst_path = self.symbols.symbols_path()
+        log.info(f"Installing custom symbols in '{dst_path}'")
+        try:
+            return await Controller.install_resource_files(dst_path, "custom_symbols", upgrade_resources=False)
+        except OSError as e:
+            log.error(f"Could not install custom symbols to {dst_path}: {e}")
+
     def images_path(self):
         """
         Get the image storage directory
diff --git a/gns3server/custom_symbols/README.rst b/gns3server/custom_symbols/README.rst
deleted file mode 100644
index ae1b614f..00000000
--- a/gns3server/custom_symbols/README.rst
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,39 +0,0 @@
-Symbols
-*******
-
-This directory contains symbols that you can use in GNS3.
-
-Rules
-=====
-
-* All symbols must be a SVG file
-* A file named symbol.txt should exist and contains the symbol licence
-* Try to keep the file size small
-* The recommended maximum width and height is 70px, please see how to resize a SVG below
-
-
-Resize a SVG
-============
-
-It is possible to resize a SVG file using a software like Inkscape or any
-other editor that works for SVG images.
-
-Alternatively, you could use ImageMagick (with rsvg support) on Mac OS and Linux
-
-Example to install ImageMagick on Mac using Homebrew:
-
-```
-brew install imagemagick --with-librsvg
-```
-
-Example to install ImageMagick on Debian or Ubuntu:
-
-```
-sudo apt-get install imagemagick
-```
-
-Example to resize to a width and height of 70px:
-
-```
-convert -background none symbols/firefox.svg -resize x70 firefox.svg
-```
diff --git a/scripts/sync_appliances.sh b/scripts/sync_appliances.sh
index 108e60fd..54b734df 100755
--- a/scripts/sync_appliances.sh
+++ b/scripts/sync_appliances.sh
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-#!/bin/sh
+#!/bin/bash
 #
 # Copyright (C) 2016 GNS3 Technologies Inc.
 #
@@ -21,10 +21,15 @@
 
 rm gns3server/appliances/*
 rmdir gns3server/appliances
+rm gns3server/custom_symbols/*
+rmdir gns3server/custom_symbols
 rm -Rf /tmp/gns3-registry
 
 git clone https://github.com/GNS3/gns3-registry.git /tmp/gns3-registry
 mv /tmp/gns3-registry/appliances gns3server/appliances
+mv /tmp/gns3-registry/symbols gns3server/custom_symbols
+rm gns3server/custom_symbols/*.{txt,rst,md}
 
 git add gns3server/appliances/*
+git add gns3server/custom_symbols/*
 git commit -m "Sync appliances"