The home lab grows one container at a time. Jellyfin runs the media, Sonarr and Radarr chase new episodes, qBittorrent does the fetching, Overseerr takes requests, and somewhere in there is a Pi-hole and a Nextcloud too. Six months later you’re bookmarking eight tabs and still forgetting which port qBittorrent listens on. That’s the problem a dashboard fixes.
We tested seven media server dashboard apps that self-hosters actually run. Some are lightweight bookmark grids; others show live library stats and playback status. We ran each of them against a Docker Compose stack (Jellyfin + Sonarr + Radarr + qBittorrent + Pi-hole + Nextcloud) on a home Linux box and judged on setup time, live data quality, and how well they hold up on a phone screen when you’re checking from the couch.
What to look for in a media server dashboard
- Live status vs static bookmarks. Some dashboards pull live data (Jellyfin now-playing, Sonarr calendar); others are just app grids.
- Config format. YAML file vs a UI. YAML wins if you keep your setup in git; UI wins for casual use.
- Widget catalog. Coverage for the *arr suite, Plex/Jellyfin, download clients, Pi-hole, weather, calendars, RSS.
- Auth model. Some dashboards trust your reverse proxy for auth; others include their own login.
- Mobile layout. A dashboard you check from the couch has to work on a phone.
- Docker vs native. Every entry below has a Docker image; native binaries are less common.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Platforms | Config | Live data | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jellydash | Jellyfin-specific dashboard | Docker, Linux/Win/Mac | YAML | Deep Jellyfin | New (community) |
| Homarr | Full home-lab dashboard | Docker, Linux/Win/Mac | UI + YAML | Broad *arr coverage | 9k+ stars |
| Homepage | Modern YAML-first dashboard | Docker, Linux/Win/Mac | YAML | Widest live widget catalog | 20k+ stars |
| Homer | Minimal static dashboard | Docker, Linux/Win/Mac | YAML | Icons only | 8k+ stars |
| Tautulli | Plex/Jellyfin analytics | Native + Docker | UI | Deep Plex history | 5k+ stars |
| Uptime Kuma | Uptime and status page | Docker, Linux/Win/Mac | UI | Ping/HTTP checks | 55k+ stars |
| Dashy | Highly customizable dashboard | Docker, Linux/Win/Mac | YAML + UI | Widgets + status | 18k+ stars |
The apps
1. Jellydash, best Jellyfin-specific dashboard
Jellydash is the new dashboard built specifically for Jellyfin monitoring. It pulls now-playing sessions, library sizes, transcoding status, and recent additions into one view designed to be pinned on an always-on second screen. The pitch from a recent XDA piece was “you barely have to touch your server anymore,” and that’s the shape of it.
Jellydash for Jellyfin lovers means a real dashboard rather than the login screen of Jellyfin itself. If you want to know “what’s playing right now, is the server transcoding, and did the last import complete,” it answers all three at a glance.
Where it falls short: Single-service focus. If you also run Plex, Sonarr, and Pi-hole and want them on the same page, you need Homarr or Homepage instead. Community project, so release cadence is enthusiast-driven.
Pricing:
- Free, open-source
Platforms: Docker, self-hosted
Download: GitHub search for jellydash or run via Docker Compose.
Bottom line: The right pick when Jellyfin is the whole media stack and the dashboard’s job is to watch it closely.
2. Homarr, best full home-lab dashboard
Homarr is the dashboard for the person who has fifteen containers and wants each of them on the wall. Add Sonarr, Radarr, Lidarr, Readarr, Bazarr, qBittorrent, Deluge, Transmission, Overseerr, Jellyfin, Plex, Pi-hole, Nextcloud, and a few more, and Homarr will show live status for most of them out of the box.
Homarr for home labs means a mostly-UI-driven setup, widgets that call each service’s API, and a layout you can grow without editing YAML by hand.
Where it falls short: More going on than most people need for a light setup. First-run auth flow adds a few minutes of setup.
Pricing:
- Free, open-source (MIT)
Platforms: Docker, Linux, Windows, macOS
Download: homarr.dev
Bottom line: The right pick when the media stack is big and you want each service on one screen.
3. Homepage, best modern YAML-first dashboard
Homepage is the modern take on “dashboard as config file.” Everything lives in YAML files you can commit to git; widgets are opinionated and cover an ever-growing list of services. The API-widget list is the widest of any dashboard here.
Homepage for infrastructure-as-code homelabs means a clean git history of your dashboard alongside your Docker Compose stack. Widget updates land fast; the community adds new services regularly.
Where it falls short: YAML-only. If you’d rather click than edit, use Homarr. The visual style is opinionated and less customizable than Dashy.
Pricing:
- Free, open-source
Platforms: Docker, Linux, Windows, macOS
Download: gethomepage.dev
Bottom line: The right pick for homelabbers who already keep their infra in git.
4. Homer, best minimal static dashboard
Homer is the “just a launcher” dashboard. A single YAML file, an icon library, and an HTML page that loads instantly and renders on anything, including the old tablet you turned into a wall mount.
Homer for a phone-friendly homelab launcher means near-zero setup and no runtime API calls. Load time is instant; there’s basically nothing to break.
Where it falls short: No live widgets. It’s a bookmark grid. If you want “now playing on Jellyfin,” this is not the tool.
Pricing:
- Free, open-source
Platforms: Docker, static hosting anywhere
Download: GitHub search for homer dashboard.
Bottom line: The right pick when you just want a fast, boring, always-there launcher.
5. Tautulli, best Plex/Jellyfin analytics
Tautulli is the analytics companion for Plex (and, increasingly, Jellyfin). Every play, every user, every transcoding decision, logged and charted. Notifications on new episodes, on user activity, or on server events fire through webhooks and integrations with Discord, Telegram, or email.
Tautulli for Plex owners is what your Plex server has been missing since Plex retired its own stats. Rich per-user history, top movies of the last month, bandwidth usage by device.
Where it falls short: Plex-first. Jellyfin support is real but not as deep. It’s more a monitoring companion than a full dashboard for your other services.
Pricing:
- Free, open-source
Platforms: Native (Python), Docker
Download: tautulli.com
Bottom line: The right pick when you want the deep stats Plex and Jellyfin don’t surface themselves.
6. Uptime Kuma, best uptime and status page
Uptime Kuma is a Pingdom-style monitor for your home lab. Ping, HTTP, DNS, TCP, Docker container health, keyword checks. Beautiful public status pages if you want to share uptime with family or with yourself.
Uptime Kuma for reliability means an alert when Jellyfin’s container dies at 2 a.m., pushed through Discord or ntfy, with a public page that answers “why isn’t the movie playing” before anyone asks.
Where it falls short: It’s an uptime monitor, not a media dashboard. Pair with Homarr or Homepage rather than replacing them.
Pricing:
- Free, open-source
Platforms: Docker, Linux, Windows, macOS
Download: github.com/louislam/uptime-kuma
Bottom line: The right pick to know when the media stack is down before your family tells you.
7. Dashy, best for heavy customization
Dashy is the maximalist option. Themes, widget catalog, custom sections, per-user views, keyboard shortcuts, and both YAML and UI editing modes. If you want the dashboard to look exactly the way it looks in your head, Dashy usually gets there.
Dashy for tinkerers means the deepest customization surface on the list. Weekend project energy: satisfying to build, satisfying to look at.
Where it falls short: Setup takes longer. The number of options can be more than a light setup calls for. Active development has slowed at times; check the release timeline before committing.
Pricing:
- Free, open-source
Platforms: Docker, Linux, Windows, macOS
Download: dashy.to
Bottom line: The right pick when the dashboard itself is part of the fun.
How to pick
If Jellyfin is the whole stack, use Jellydash.
If your stack is Jellyfin plus the *arr suite plus a few more services, use Homarr for a UI-driven setup or Homepage if you’d rather keep everything in git.
If you want the fastest, simplest launcher and no live data, use Homer.
If you’re on Plex and want serious analytics, use Tautulli. Pair it with a dashboard, don’t replace one.
If the question is “did anything break,” use Uptime Kuma alongside a real dashboard.
If you want the dashboard to look exactly the way you imagine, use Dashy and set aside a weekend.
FAQ
What is the best Jellyfin dashboard? For Jellyfin-specific live data, Jellydash. For a broader dashboard that includes Jellyfin, Homarr or Homepage.
Do I need Plex to use Tautulli? No. Tautulli started as Plex-only and now supports Jellyfin, though Plex is where the depth is. If you’re on Emby, look elsewhere.
Can I use a dashboard without Docker? Yes. Homer is a static HTML site; Tautulli has a native Python install. Most others run natively too, though Docker is the easier path.
Which dashboard works best on a phone? Homer and Homarr both render well on mobile. Homepage’s default layout adapts. Dashy is more desktop-oriented at defaults but can be themed for mobile.
How do I secure a self-hosted dashboard? Put it behind a reverse proxy (Caddy, Traefik, Nginx) with auth, or use an auth layer like Authelia or Authentik. Don’t expose the raw port to the internet.
Is there a dashboard that combines uptime and services? Homepage has status widgets that talk to Uptime Kuma directly, so you get the best of both without replacing either.
