I am in the process of setting up a home server, and I am struggling to decide. I have previously used yunohost but in the meantime, freedom box has matured quite a bit. I have also looked at Tipi.

The use case right now is, running a wireguard server and probably some notes of sorts (to be decided). A web GUI for management and updating would be much desired.

Disclaimer: I don’t have too much surplus of energy, due to a hectic life, so I would prefer something easy and without the requirement of docker/kubernettes

I will run on a Gigabyte Brix with:

  • AMD Ryzen 4300U (4 core)
  • 16 maybe 32 GB RAM
  • 512GB SSD

I am open to other suggestions.

P.S. I apologise if this has been debated before, but I have not really found anything.

Thank you in advance

EDIT: I have read your recommendations and arguments, and it is noted, I am watching docker tutorials now :)

  • @iammayhemEnglish
    1•2 months ago

    I see you’re open to Docker now - I’m a huge fan of Dockge which is a nice web GUI for managing your Docker Compose files. I tried just using Docker run commands to set up my containers and it was a painful experience. Tried Portainer for a bit as well, but when I came across Dockge, everything just fell into place. You can copy Docker run commands in there and it will convert to Docker compose as well as easily update, set up stacks with multiple related containers, etc.

    I also love Tailscale for remotely accessing my network. This video was really helpful in setting up Tailscale for a few of my Docker containers I want to access remotely.

    If you decide you don’t have the time to learn all this, I have used Umbrel in the past and they just released a big update. It has an “app store” that handles setting up your Docker containers for you.

    Good luck, it’s a fun journey!

    • @randombulletEnglish
      1•2 months ago

      Can you briefly summarize the difference between dockge and portainer?

      I use portainer for the most part and have no real complaints aside from some ambiguous error messages when containers fail to deploy.

      • @iammayhemEnglish
        1•2 months ago

        Dockge is really just a nice GUI for Docker compose. It still creates docker-compose.yml files and you could always switch back to just managing that way with no impact. It can convert Docker run commands to Docker compose, usually it’s pretty close but may need a little tweaking. It also shows the terminal output from the container, which is helpful for troubleshooting. It feels more lightweight to me and does only what I need, nothing more.

        I had been managing my own Docker compose files for a while, so Portainer may do some or all of this also, but it always felt a little bloated, so this was a good fit.

        • @randombulletEnglish
          2•2 months ago

          I’ve been trying to get a docker composed from my docker run commands, so I’m going to try it out