{"id":72799,"date":"2025-04-13T15:32:58","date_gmt":"2025-04-13T15:32:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2025\/04\/13\/10-docker-containers-every-homelabber-should-run\/"},"modified":"2025-04-13T15:34:35","modified_gmt":"2025-04-13T15:34:35","slug":"10-docker-containers-every-homelabber-should-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2025\/04\/13\/10-docker-containers-every-homelabber-should-run\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Docker Containers Every Homelabber Should Run"},"content":{"rendered":"

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There are millions of Docker containers that you might doubtlessly run in your server. Whereas I have never run anyplace close to all of them, listed here are 10 containers that I merely cannot stay with out in my homelab, and why I believe you need to run them too.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tDocker for Beginners: Everything You Need to Know
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Be taught to make use of this extremely fashionable growth device.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n 10 <\/span>
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\n Homepage (A Dashboard of All Your House Providers)
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A homelab dashboard is one thing that I by no means thought I wanted\u2014till I set one up.<\/p>\n

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With Homepage<\/a>, you may get a easy, easy-to-use homelab dashboard. It is configured with YAML and is fairly simple so as to add new companies, backgrounds, classes, and extra. Homepage is now one thing that I exploit day by day, if not a number of occasions per day to entry my self-hosted companies.<\/p>\n

I can set icons primarily based on the service, alongside a reputation and outline. Some companies even assist widgets so I can see if my Plex server is in use, or if there are any of my Pterodactyl recreation servers down on the time. With the classes, I may even separate the companies by which system they’re operating on, although I do plan to categorize them by precise app class sooner or later.<\/p>\n

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\n House Assistant (Good House Supervisor)
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House Assistant is fairly well-known within the good house and homelab worlds. Nevertheless, not too long ago I migrated my House Assistant set up to Docker, and it has been among the best selections ever for me.<\/p>\n

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Justin Duino \/ Corbin Davenport \/ How-To Geek<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

With House Assistant, you are capable of unify your complete good house setup beneath one roof. It helps an unlimited array of producers, which is why I find it irresistible a lot. House Assistant additionally has a particularly sturdy automations system, and even can combine non-HomeKit gadgets into HomeKit.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tWhat Is Home Assistant? And Why Isn’t Everyone Using It?
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Get to know this open-source locally-controlled good house platform.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n OpenSpeedTest (Self-Hosted Pace Check Server)
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At first, I did not actually know why I might wish to host my very own pace check server, however I’ve really discovered fairly a little bit of use with it.<\/p>\n

Whereas you can use things like iPerf to test your network speed between computers<\/a> or laptop and server, testing telephones is not fairly that simple. Generally I merely wish to see what my wi-fi pace is from my telephone to my server, and generally I wish to check my pace from outdoors the home.<\/p>\n

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Both means I’m going, OpenSpeedTest<\/a> is as much as the duty. After I run it by way of my reverse proxy, I get WAN speeds. When operating through the interior IP, I get LAN speeds. With Wi-Fi 7 and a 2.5G uplink from the server to the router, I can obtain multi-gig speeds over a wi-fi connection to my server. OpenSpeedTest helps me see simply how briskly that connection is.<\/p>\n

Truthfully, that is extra for bragging rights than anything, nevertheless it’s nonetheless a enjoyable Docker container to run none-the-less.<\/p>\n

The place do I begin with Plex<\/a>? It is a staple of the homelab neighborhood and one thing that I believe everybody ought to run on one in every of their computer systems. Whether or not you’ve got a vast DVD and Blu-ray library that needs to be digitized<\/a>, or just wish to entry your own home films from years gone previous, Plex is one of the best ways to arrange that.<\/p>\n

I’ve tried Jellyfin too, and Plex still wins out for me<\/a>. The consumer administration is unbelievable, distant entry is less complicated, and total, it is simply prettier. Even should you select to not run Plex, each homelab ought to have some type of a media server operating someplace.<\/p>\n

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Streaming companies are simply as costly as cable. So, why not make your individual streaming service with Plex?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n Portainer (Docker Administration Net GUI)
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Because you’re already operating Docker containers, why not make them simpler to handle? After I used Unraid as my major Docker host, it had a pleasant net interface that permit me simply handle my containers and replace them. With out Unraid, Docker sometimes simply runs in a command line.<\/p>\n

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Do not get me fallacious, I like command traces as a lot as the following man. Nevertheless, to take care of 30+ Docker containers, their ports, settings, and different associated issues, I desire a good GUI. That is the place Portainer<\/a> is available in.<\/p>\n

You possibly can spin up Portainer as a Docker container<\/a> in your Docker host, and it will allow you to handle all the things about your different containers. It helps each conventional Docker launches and Docker Compose, and it is ran flawlessly for me for a number of months since I spun up the primary occasion.<\/p>\n

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\n Tautulli (Plex Information Tracker)
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Whereas I like Plex, the data gathered by the inventory Plex app simply is not all that nice. That is the place Tautulli<\/a> is available in.<\/p>\n

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With Tautulli, I can see not solely what different customers are watching, but additionally very detailed details about the stream. What media container it is utilizing, precise high quality profile it is utilizing, and extra. That is probably not the place Tautulli shines although.<\/p>\n

Tautulli is an effective way to see what’s being watched, what number of occasions a particular present or film has been watched, and which of your customers makes use of the server probably the most. Whereas numerous this info is not essential, it is good to have some detailed info as to the utilization of your Plex server.<\/p>\n

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\n Nginx Proxy Supervisor (Reverse Proxy)
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I could not run my homelab with out Nginx Proxy Manager<\/a>. NPM, because it’s known as, handles all of my reverse proxy wants.<\/p>\n

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Consider NPM as an internet GUI for nginx, however with further options. It handles all your config settings, producing and utilizing SSL certificates, and selecting ports. As an alternative of me having to navigate to 192.168.0.6:13378 for AudioBookshelf, I simply go to audiobooks.mydomain.com and NPM handles the remaining on the backend.<\/p>\n

In the event you’re desirous to make any companies accessible outdoors your native community, then try NPM. It is easy to arrange, simple to make use of, and delivers tons of options.<\/p>\n

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\n Pi-Gap (Content material Blocker)
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Is a homelab actually full with out Pi-Gap operating someplace on the community? Mine is not, that is for positive.<\/p>\n

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Pi-hole<\/a> handles content material blocking and filtering at a DNS stage. As soon as arrange and configured, you merely level your router’s DNS settings to the Pi-hole’s IP, and you will be off to the races. Pi-hole handles every kind of content material blocking and filtering. Sure, it really works with advertisements, nevertheless it additionally lets you block grownup websites on the community with no simple means round it. It’s going to additionally allow you to use native DNS entries just like NPM, however with out having to be accessed from outdoors the community.<\/p>\n

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Even my native DNS server is redundant.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Pi-hole has many advantages, and is very easy to make use of. It deploys on Docker with a fast command and simply sits there, operating within the background, able to deal with your content material filtering wants.<\/p>\n

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\n audiobookshelf (Self-Hosted Audible Different)
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audiobookshelf<\/a> is a more moderen addition to my self-hosted stack, however one which I’ve shortly realized I can not stay with out.<\/p>\n

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One in every of my 2025 objectives is to take heed to extra audiobooks. Whereas I am not a giant reader, I do not thoughts listening to a ebook, particularly when it is dramatized. That is the place audiobookshelf is available in.<\/p>\n

It’s a simple-to-use audiobook server, just like how Plex is a media server. Sure, Plex helps audiobooks, nevertheless it’s nowhere close to as sturdy as audiobookshelf’s implementation.<\/p>\n

You possibly can add MP3 or M4B information to audiobookshelf, and it handles the remaining from there. It has an interface for including chapters, changing multi-file MP3 audiobooks to single-file M4B with all the information embedded, and far more.<\/p>\n

I exploit the Plappa app on iOS<\/a> to entry my audiobookshelf server (by way of NPM for distant entry) and it is fully changed Audible for me.<\/p>\n

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\n Immich (Self-Hosted Google Photographs Different)
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Not everybody needs to let Google spy on their photos<\/a>, utilizing them to coach AI algorithms on visible content material. I not too long ago migrated all of my Google Photographs to Immich, and I am not wanting again.<\/p>\n

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Immich<\/a> is a self-hosted photographs server that has numerous options similar to Google Photographs and iCloud Photographs. With location lookup, historical past, reminiscences, albums, AI machine studying, and extra, Immich is just about a drop-in substitute for Google Photographs in most workflows. There is a cellular app for each iOS and Android, letting you again up both remotely or solely when in your native community.<\/p>\n

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Goodbye Google.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

General, Immich is a particularly highly effective Google Photographs substitute, and it is not even that troublesome to spin up after you have the hold of Docker.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n