Best 125+ Docker Containers for Home Server in 2026

Docker packs an app with its runtime so it runs the same on a mini PC, VPS, or rack, which is why it became the default way to ship home server apps in 2026. This page is a catalog of the best Docker containers for a home server in 2026, not an “install everything” checklist. If you are still weighing whether a box at home is worth it, start with why you need a home server in 2026.

How to use this page

1. Pick a goal in the table below (media, files, lab control plane, …).
2. Install the short starter stack if you are new.
3. Open one category you care about. Each section starts with a quick-pick table, then short notes on the important tools.
4. Skip the rest until you need it.

Version data checked October 2026 (release feeds re-pulled October 14, 2026). Where a project died or got archived this year, the section says so instead of quietly listing a zombie.

Pick a goal

Running this for a business instead of a house? The use-case math is different (SSO, backups, blast radius). See Docker containers for business.

What changed in 2026 (short)

• Plex remote streaming needs a paid pass (local still free). The Lifetime Pass price for new buyers went up again in July 2026 (check plex.tv for the current number). If you do not want to pay, Jellyfin is the switch.
• Filebrowser Quantum is the active file-manager fork (original is maintenance-only).
• Watchtower (containrrr) is archived (December 2025). Use the maintained fork and migrate if you are still on the old image.
• Original Overseerr is archived (2026). Jellyseerr is the request UI for both Plex and Jellyfin now.
• Coolify / Dokploy, Gluetun, Dozzle, and Pocket ID are common defaults now.

More detail is in What’s changed in 2026 at the end.

No hardware yet?

The containers below run fine on almost anything, but if you are building a box from scratch these pieces cover the usual homelab needs:

For more options, see the best mini PCs for a home server guide. Storage-focused? See the best NAS for Docker and Proxmox homelabs.

Don’t want hardware at home? The same compose files run on a Hetzner Cloud VPS. A 2 vCPU / 4 GB box covers the starter stack. The heavy items are transcoding and Immich, not the dashboard.

Starter stack (do this first)

This starter stack is the set of essential Docker containers most home servers need. If you are starting from zero, this set covers streaming, downloads, files, dashboard, DNS, management, and basic monitoring.

Order that works: Dockge → DNS → dashboard → files → media → downloads → CrowdSec → monitoring.

Verify habit: after every stack, docker compose ps should show the service Up, and you add one check in Uptime Kuma. If it is not green there, the stack is not done. A service that only works on your laptop shell is not running.

Minimal compose example

Three services to get Docker muscle memory. Add the rest as separate stacks in Dockge.

services:
  adguardhome:
    image: adguard/adguardhome
    container_name: adguardhome
    ports:
      - "53:53/tcp"
      - "53:53/udp"
      - "3000:3000/tcp"
    volumes:
      - ./adguard/work:/opt/adguardhome/work
      - ./adguard/conf:/opt/adguardhome/conf
    restart: unless-stopped

  homepage:
    image: ghcr.io/gethomepage/homepage:latest
    container_name: homepage
    environment:
      - TZ=America/New_York
    volumes:
      - ./homepage-config:/app/config
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro
    ports:
      - "3001:3000"
    restart: unless-stopped

  dockge:
    image: louislam/dockge:1
    container_name: dockge
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - ./dockge-data:/app/data
      - ./dockge-stacks:/opt/stacks
    ports:
      - "5001:5001"
    restart: unless-stopped

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
# log out/in, then:
docker run hello-world

Full catalog

The best self-hosted apps in each category, with quick picks first. Use the jump table, then skim each section’s quick picks before the writeups.

Media management containers

Stream your own library. Most people start here.

How the stack fits together

Docker media stack flow: Prowlarr feeds Sonarr and Radarr, which hand releases to qBittorrent behind Gluetun or SABnzbd; downloaded media lands in Jellyfin or Plex, with Bazarr subtitles, Jellyseerr requests, Audiobookshelf, and Navidrome around the player

Quick picks

Media servers

Jellyfin ⭐ - jellyfin.org Free, open source, no account. After the Plex paywall this is the usual recommendation for remote streaming. Image: jellyfin/jellyfin. Guide: self-host Jellyfin.

Plex ⭐ - plex.tv Still the smoothest clients. Remote streaming is paid since April 2025 (Plex Pass or Remote Watch Pass). Local on LAN stays free. The Lifetime Pass for new buyers went up again in July 2026 (check plex.tv for the current price); existing lifetime holders keep theirs. Image: linuxserver/plex.

Emby image: emby/embyserver.

*arr automation and downloads

Prowlarr ⭐ - Configure indexers once; syncs to Sonarr/Radarr. Prefer this over Jackett for new installs. linuxserver/prowlarr

Sonarr ⭐ / Radarr ⭐ - TV and movies. linuxserver/sonarr, linuxserver/radarr

qBittorrent ⭐ - Default torrent client for *arr. Route it through Gluetun. linuxserver/qbittorrent

Gluetun ⭐ - VPN client container (40+ providers). Use network_mode: "service:gluetun" so only downloads leave via VPN. qmcgaw/gluetun (repo moved to the passteque org; the Docker Hub image name is unchanged)

Bazarr ⭐ - Subtitles for Sonarr/Radarr. linuxserver/bazarr

Jellyseerr ⭐ - Request UI for family. This is the default for both Plex and Jellyfin: the original Overseerr (sct/overseerr) was archived in 2026 and the linuxserver/overseerr image has been stale since February 2026. New installs should use Jellyseerr, and existing Overseerr setups should plan a migration. Image: fallenbagel/jellyseerr.

Audiobookshelf ⭐ - Audiobooks + podcasts with apps and progress sync. advplyr/audiobookshelf

Navidrome ⭐ - Subsonic-compatible music server. Light on resources, works with the usual Subsonic mobile apps, and is the missing half of a self-hosted media setup if your library is mostly music. Image: deluan/navidrome.

Also useful (media)

File sharing and sync containers

Replace Dropbox/Google Drive, or just get a web UI on your disks.

Quick picks

Nextcloud ⭐ - Kitchen-sink cloud: files, calendar, contacts, office. Huge app ecosystem; can feel heavy on big libraries. nextcloud

Seafile ⭐ - Usually much faster than Nextcloud. Tradeoff: proprietary block storage on disk. seafileltd/seafile-mc

Syncthing ⭐ - Peer-to-peer encrypted sync, no central account. Current stable is v2.x (a major rewrite: SQLite config, better performance); the image name is unchanged, but pre-2025 guides describing the old config layout are out of date. syncthing/syncthing

Filebrowser Quantum ⭐ - Active fork of classic Filebrowser (original is maintenance-only). Multi-source, OIDC/2FA, now on 2.x stable. New installs: use Quantum. Image: gtsteffaniak/filebrowser. Older notes: Deploy Filebrowser.

RustFS ⭐ - S3-compatible object storage (MinIO-style). Guide: Self-host RustFS. rustfs/rustfs

AI applications containers

Local models need RAM (16 GB+ is realistic; a GPU helps a lot). If you are buying hardware for this, see the best mini PC for local LLMs.

Quick picks

Ollama + OpenWebUI ⭐ - Default local AI stack. Guide: Ollama with Docker.

Flowise ⭐ - Drag-and-drop LLM apps. Install Flowise. Langflow - Multi-agent / RAG builder. Install Langflow. LiteLLM - OpenAI-compatible proxy over 100+ providers. Install LiteLLM. Langfuse - Observability for LLM apps. Install Langfuse.

Home automation containers

n8n ⭐ - Visual automation, hundreds of integrations, owns your data. Guide: Self-host n8n. Home Assistant ⭐ - Device hub + automations, local-first. Node-RED ⭐ - Flow programming for sensors and APIs.

Use HA for devices, n8n for web-service glue. They work fine side by side.

Network management containers

DNS, remote access, reverse proxy, Docker UI.

Quick picks

DNS: AdGuard is often easier for new installs; Pi-hole has more guides. Prefer a cloud DNS firewall like NextDNS if you would rather outsource the filtering entirely. One caution: Pi-hole v6 (since February 2025) dropped the old lighttpd setup. Most pre-2025 Pi-hole guides are outdated. Remote: Tailscale for most people; Headscale if you want the control plane self-hosted (guide). NetBird when you want OSS end-to-end. Side-by-side: NetBird vs Headscale vs Tailscale. Proxy: Caddy for simple Caddyfiles; NPM for click-ops; Traefik if you like Docker labels (Traefik reverse proxy in Docker). Docker UI: Dockge for Compose (install); Portainer is fine but compare Portainer alternatives (Komodo multi-host, etc.). Dockge development is slow-moving; Komodo is the active pick if you want multi-host management.

Pangolin ⭐ - Self-hosted tunneled reverse proxy with identity-aware access. The usual pick when you want Cloudflare-Tunnel-style publishing without handing the traffic to a third party. Deploy guide: Pangolin: self-hosted Cloudflare Tunnels alternative.

Unbound (mvance/unbound) pairs with Pi-hole as a recursive resolver if you want that.

Monitoring and analytics containers

If you only install one: Uptime Kuma (install Uptime Kuma). Add Dozzle when debugging. Guide: Beszel & Uptime Kuma.

Prefer config-as-code? Read the Uptime Kuma vs Gatus comparison before you pick.

Notification containers

Point Uptime Kuma / *arr / scripts at ntfy and stop configuring Discord webhooks in twelve places.

Security and privacy containers

Passwords, IPS, SSO, private search.

Quick picks

Vaultwarden ⭐ - Bitwarden-compatible, much lighter than official server. CrowdSec ⭐ - Prefer over Fail2Ban for new installs (shared threat intel). Guide: secure a server with CrowdSec. Fail2Ban still works: crazymax/fail2ban. SSO ladder: Pocket ID (passkeys only) → Authelia (YAML) → Authentik (heavy). SearXNG ⭐ - Metasearch without tracking. Guide: Self-host SearXNG.

WireGuard image linuxserver/wireguard if you want raw peers; prefer WireGuard Easy for a UI. OpenVPN: kylemanna/openvpn (legacy setups).

Productivity containers

Stirling PDF ⭐ - Merge, OCR, compress, etc. Self-host Stirling PDF. Mealie ⭐ - Import recipes from URLs, meal plans, shopping lists. Tandoor is the nutrition-focused alternative (vabene1111/recipes). Karakeep ⭐ (ex-Hoarder) - Bookmark + full-page archive + AI tags. Docmost - Collaborative knowledge base. Install Docmost.

Development containers

Git, browser IDE, PaaS panels, auto-updates.

Coolify ⭐ - Full panel, many one-click apps. Install · Coolify PaaS review · vs Dokploy vs Kamal 2. Dokploy ⭐ - Compose-friendly PaaS. Install Dokploy. Watchtower - Auto-updates images on a schedule. The original containrrr/watchtower was archived in December 2025. Do not build a new stack on it. Use the maintained nicholas-fedor/watchtower fork (active as of October 2026) and migrate if you are still running the old image; check the fork README for the exact image path before you paste an image: line. Whatever you use: exclude databases and pin critical tags. If you want a different design, Tugtainer: self-hosted Docker auto-updater covers the same job.

Database containers

Worth knowing: one PostgreSQL instance can cover several of these categories at once. See what Postgres can replace before deploying a separate cache or search container. If you want several app databases in one service: multiple Postgres databases in one Docker Compose service.

Pin the major tag (postgres:18). Postgres major upgrades do not auto-migrate the data directory. pg_upgrade is a manual step, not a tag bump. PG 18 is the current stable line; PG 14 goes EOL on 2026-11-12.

Backup and recovery containers

Back up volumes and compose files. Test a restore once.

Personal finance containers

GnuCash / HomeBank exist as desktop-oriented options if you prefer that style.

Photography and image management containers

Immich ⭐ is the usual choice now: stable since v2.0 (October 2025), now on v3.x with mobile backup, faces, map, and active releases. No longer a beta you have to justify. Follow upstream compose carefully when upgrading.

E-book management containers

Self-hosted database solutions (Airtable alternatives)

More: Self-hosted Airtable alternatives.

Personal dashboard containers

Specialty tools

Less common but useful niches. Skim the tables; expand only what you need.

Remote desktop, location, analytics

RustDesk is interactive desktop control. Tailscale only gets you on the network.

Documents, web hosting, RSS, games, chat

Time, weather, VoIP, passwords (extra)

Vaultwarden (above) is still the default personal password pick.

Conclusions

Cheat sheet

What’s changed in 2026

• Plex remote streaming is paywalled (since April 2025). The Lifetime Pass price for new buyers rose again in July 2026. Local free; Jellyfin is the no-pay switch.
• Watchtower (containrrr) is archived (December 2025). The maintained fork is the default; migrate off the old image.
• Original Overseerr is archived (2026). Jellyseerr is the request UI for both Plex and Jellyfin.
• Coolify and Dokploy are the main self-hosted PaaS options.
• Filebrowser Quantum replaced the maintenance-only original (now 2.x stable).
• Pocket ID, Gluetun, Dozzle, Karakeep, Dawarich, Actual Budget are common new defaults.
• Immich for photos (stable since v2.0, no longer beta), Valkey instead of Redis, Tailscale for family access still hold.

Getting started

1. Starter stack above (Dockge → DNS → dashboard → files → media)
2. Uptime Kuma + Dozzle
3. Vaultwarden + Tailscale
4. Backups before the data matters

Don’t install 125 containers on day one. Pick one goal from the table at the top, finish that stack, then expand. More apps: toolhunt.net self-hosted. For AI-specific GitHub projects (Ollama, OpenClaw, n8n, Langfuse, and friends), see top AI GitHub repos.