Homelab
Monitor self-hosted services, receive alerts, and diagnose issues from Dockerman.
Homelab features cover monitoring, notifications, and diagnostics for self-hosted services you run through Dockerman.
Why homelab mode
Day-to-day container work happens at the desk. Homelab mode covers what continues after you close the window: crashes, restart loops, and image updates you would otherwise miss.
Dockerman is desktop-first and local-first. It does not deploy a management container or expose a management port. Sensitive registry, remote-host, and notification data is stored in the application's local data, not guaranteed to use the system Keychain; protect that directory accordingly.
Workflow
Set up notification channels
Connect Telegram, ntfy, Gotify, Discord, or a generic webhook so Dockerman can deliver alerts while the app is running in the tray.
Enable the preset alert rules (or write your own)
Two rules — Restart loop and Container crash (non-zero exit) — ship preconfigured but disabled. Custom rule creation is currently marked Coming Soon.
Subscribe to image updates
Enable image upgrade watches for images you want tracked. Dockerman polls registries in the background and notifies you when a new digest appears.
Diagnose and fix
When something breaks, generate a diagnostic bundle, edit the Compose YAML in the built-in editor or the .env editor, and apply the fix.
Features
Background Tasks
Cron and interval scheduling that keeps running when the main window is closed.
Notifications
Telegram, ntfy, Gotify, Discord, Webhook, and system notifications through a Shoutrrr-compatible URL scheme.
Alert Rules
Four rule types covering container exits, health checks, resource thresholds, and restart bursts.
Image Upgrade Watches
Background registry polling with digest comparison and multi-channel push when a new version lands.
Diagnostic Bundle
Zip of inspect, events, logs, and stats for a container or an entire Compose stack.
How it stays running
Dockerman uses tray residence: closing the main window sends the app to the system tray, and background tasks keep running. When you quit the tray icon, Dockerman tells you that background tasks will stop.
A full system service (launchd / systemd / Windows Service) is planned for a future release.