What Open-Source Applications Are You Running on Your Homelab?

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Hi everyone,

I’ve been running my own homelab for a while now and I’m always on the lookout for new open-source applications to try out. I’ve got the usual suspects running, but I’m curious to know what other people are using in their homelabs.

What open-source applications do you find essential or interesting? Any hidden gems that have made a big difference for you? I’m particularly interested in applications that improve automation, monitoring, media management, or enhance privacy.

Looking forward to hearing about your setups and any recommendations you might have!

Thanks in advance!

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Here’s a shortlist:

Automation:

  • Ansible: Simple and agentless for automating tasks across systems.
  • Home Assistant: Automates and controls devices with a huge range of integrations.
  • SaltStack: Scales well and handles real-time automation.

Monitoring:

  • Prometheus + Grafana: Great for metric collection and dashboard visualizations.
  • Zabbix: Traditional monitoring, including SNMP for servers and network gear.
  • Netdata: Lightweight, real-time monitoring with minimal setup.

Media Management:

  • Plex / Emby / Jellyfin: Jellyfin is a fully open-source media server alternative.
  • Radarr, Sonarr, Lidarr: Automate media downloads, paired with qBittorrent or NZBGet.
  • HandBrake: Transcode and convert media files, useful for large libraries.

Privacy & Security:

  • Pi-hole: Blocks ads and trackers at the network level.
  • WireGuard: Fast, lightweight VPN for remote access.
  • Nextcloud: A privacy-focused alternative to cloud storage services.

Hidden Gems:

  • Authelia: Adds 2FA and SSO to your self-hosted apps.
  • Tandoor Recipes: A recipe manager for organizing your cooking.

Anything here stand out for your setup or goals?

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Thank you for the applications you shared.

Some of these are new to me, and I will investigate them. Besides what you have written, I would like to mention some of the applications I am currently using.

Server Infrastructure Management

  • Proxmox (Server Virtualization)
  • Webmin (Web-based Server Control Panel)
  • Nginx Proxy Manager (Nginx GUI Manager)
  • Portainer (Docker GUI Manager)
  • Watchtower (Docker Container Update Automation)

Monitoring & Dashboard

  • Dash (Server Monitoring)
  • Gatus / Statping / Uptime Kuma (Status Monitoring)
  • Homarr / Heimdall / Homepage (Application Dashboard)

Security

  • Passbolt (Password Manager)
  • OpenVPN (VPN Server Manager)
  • OPNsense (Firewall)

Media Applications

  • Nextcloud AIO (Content Collaboration Platform)
  • ownCloud (Content Collaboration Platform)
  • qBittorrent (Torrent GUI Client)
  • Calibre Web (Ebook Reader & Manager)

Are there any apps on this list that you currently use?

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