Homarr dashboard — A self-hosted dashboard that turns a homelab's wall of ports into one page of live status, widgets and Docker controls.
What it is
Homarr is free, open-source dashboard software for self-hosters: arrange tiles for your services, watch live status and data, and manage Docker containers from a single web page.
Editor's review
Long-form introduction by the BetterPicker editors · checked against the official site · Oct 25, 2026
Homarr is the dashboard a surprising number of homelab reviewers settle on after trying everything else. The biggest walkthrough in this set - a quarter-million views - calls it his favorite home server dashboard, with a caveat he repeats on camera: it is beautiful, fully functional, far from perfect, and still his personal favorite of the bunch. A second channel devoted an entire video to asking whether it is the best self-hosted dashboard; a third compared it head-to-head with Homepage on TrueNAS. The project itself is healthy: the homarr-labs repository carries a five-figure GitHub star count under Apache-2.0, releases like v2.8.2 ship steadily, and the docs recommend a Compose deployment on amd64 or arm64 with about 500MB of RAM and an /appdata volume, plus Helm charts and NAS-specific guides. Around 91 integrations stream live data into widgets, and the interface ships in 26 languages, which matters more than it sounds for household setups.
What it does well
Tiles that do things: integrations pull live numbers from torrent clients, downloaders, media servers and system monitors, so the board shows state, not just links. Clicking through to the service stays one step away. Layouts persist per user, so a tinkerer's dense board and a partner's minimal one coexist.
Docker control from the couch: a built-in Docker panel lists containers and can start, stop, restart or remove them, which the main walkthrough demonstrates on his own stack without opening a terminal - a genuine safety feature for less technical housemates.
Accounts and access done seriously: multiple boards per user, per-board permissions, and OIDC or LDAP sign-in for setups that outgrow a single household.
Who it's for
Homelab owners with a dozen or more services, NAS users on TrueNAS, Unraid or Synology who want one bookmark for the family, and anyone whose browser start page should answer what is running and is it healthy. It also suits shared households: each user gets boards and permissions of their own instead of one shared config file that nobody dares touch. It works as a small team's internal status page too: point it at company services, grant teammates read-only boards, and the same widgets serve an office.
Where it falls short
Far from perfect, as the fans say: the 2.x rewrite reset the ecosystem, and the configuration surface is sprawling enough that even enthusiastic reviewers lead with caveats.
It complements management tools, not replaces them: deeper orchestration still lives in Portainer or the command line; the Docker panel is for quick actions, not fleet management.
Setup is a project: mapping services, icons and widgets for twenty-plus apps takes an evening, and major upgrades deserve a backup of /appdata first - the community guides cover the safe path.
Specs at a glance
Facts from the official site · not editorial opinion
| Latest version | v2.8.2 (homarr-labs/homarr on GitHub, 5,100+ stars) |
|---|---|
| Price | Free and open source (Apache-2.0) |
| Platforms | Docker Compose recommended on amd64/arm64 (about 500MB RAM, /appdata volume); Helm chart and NAS guides available |
| Open source | Yes - Apache-2.0 |
| Core capability | Service dashboard with live widget data, status monitoring, multi-user boards and Docker container controls |
| Integrations | 91+ service integrations, Docker and Compose, Kubernetes Helm, OIDC/LDAP sign-in, 26 interface languages |
| Best for | Homelab owners who want every service on one page with live status and quick controls |
Frequently asked questions
▸Is Homarr free?
Yes - Apache-2.0 open source that you self-host in Docker. There is no paid tier and no cloud account involved.
▸Homarr or Homepage?
Homepage is a single config-file dashboard beloved for simplicity; Homarr is widget-driven with user accounts, live integrations and a visual board editor. Comparison reviewers lean Homarr when several people share a board.
▸What hardware does it need?
Modest: roughly 500MB of RAM in a container, which keeps it comfortable on NAS boxes and Raspberry Pi-class machines.
▸Can several people use one instance?
Yes. User accounts, per-board permissions and OIDC/LDAP sign-in let family members or teammates see exactly the boards you grant them.
Video reviews
4 review videos aggregated · praise and criticism included alike · click through to the original video
Channels that covered it
Channels are aggregated as sources only — we don’t rate creators
Related tools
Where to go next
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