Homer with Docker Compose

What Homer needs

Only figures Homer's own documentation publishes, each linked to the page it is on. Where the project gives no number, this page does not invent one.

On top of this, Caddy (the reverse proxy in the file) is a single small container.

Which hardware Homer has images for

Read from each image's manifest list in its registry (anonymous, read-only) when this page was built. An app counts for a CPU only if every one of its images lists it.

• x86-64 PC or NAS (linux/amd64): every image has a build.
• Raspberry Pi 4/5, 64-bit OS (linux/arm64): every image has a build.
• Raspberry Pi 3 or Zero 2 W, 32-bit OS (linux/arm/v7): every image has a build.

A manifest says an image exists for a CPU, not how well Homer runs on it: a build for arm64 or arm/v7 can still be too slow or need more memory than the board has. The RAM and disk Homer publishes are in the table above and, for a whole set of apps against a Raspberry Pi, on Will it run on my machine?. A tag like latest can move to a new digest after the date checked.

docker-compose.yml

This is exactly what the builder writes for Homer alone on example.org: the official definition with its published ports removed and Caddy added in front.

# docker-compose.yml built at dankhost.com for: Homer
# Each app block is its official compose definition. Only the names were prefixed with
# the app slug (services, containers, volumes, bind folders, .env variables) so any set of
# apps can share one file; other differences are listed under "Changed:" in each block.
# Only Caddy publishes ports. Secrets live in .env next to this file.

services:
  # ---- Caddy: the one reverse proxy, HTTPS certificates from Let's Encrypt ----
  # Source: https://caddyserver.com/docs/running (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Source: https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden/wiki/Using-Docker-Compose (checked 2026-09-23)
  # Caddyfile goes in ./caddy/Caddyfile. Fixed address 172.30.0.2 so apps can trust it exactly.
  caddy:
    image: "caddy:2"
    container_name: "caddy"
    restart: "unless-stopped"
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
      - "443:443/udp"
    volumes:
      - "./caddy:/etc/caddy"
      - "caddy-data:/data"
      - "caddy-config:/config"
    networks:
      proxy:
        ipv4_address: "172.30.0.2"

  # ---- Homer (homer.example.org) ----
  # Source: https://github.com/bastienwirtz/homer/blob/main/README.md (checked 2026-10-08)
  # Source: https://github.com/bastienwirtz/homer/blob/main/docs/configuration.md (checked 2026-10-08)
  # Changed: Removed the documented '8080:8080' port and container_name; Caddy reaches homer:8080 on the proxy network.
  #          The config folder, /path/to/config/dir in the README, is ./assets next to this file.
  homer:
    image: "b4bz/homer"
    container_name: "homer"
    volumes:
      - "./homer/assets:/www/assets"
    user: "1000:1000"
    environment:
      INIT_ASSETS: "1"
    restart: "unless-stopped"
    networks:
      proxy: {}

networks:
  # Pinned so the trusted-proxy address given to each app (172.30.0.2) is exact.
  # If "docker compose up" reports "Pool overlaps", change 172.30.0 here, in Caddy's
  # ipv4_address and in every trusted-proxy value to a free 172.x.0 range.
  proxy:
    ipam:
      config:
        - subnet: "172.30.0.0/24"
          ip_range: "172.30.0.128/25"
          gateway: "172.30.0.1"

volumes:
  caddy-data:
  caddy-config:

Caddyfile save as caddy/Caddyfile

Caddy gets and renews the HTTPS certificate for homer.example.org by itself once the DNS record points at your server and ports 80 and 443 reach it.

# Caddyfile built at dankhost.com. Save it as ./caddy/Caddyfile next to docker-compose.yml.
# Caddy gets and renews a Let's Encrypt certificate for each name below by itself,
# once the DNS records point at this server and ports 80 and 443 reach it.

# Homer
homer.example.org {
	reverse_proxy homer:8080
}

Already running nginx, Nginx Proxy Manager, Caddy or Traefik? The reverse-proxy settings Homer needs, for all four, each cited to Homer's own docs.

.env

Homer needs no secret here; the builder adds nothing you have to fill in by hand.

# .env for Homer, from dankhost.com/app/homer/. Nothing here is secret.
# Keep this file private (chmod 600).
# None of the chosen apps needs a variable here.

Changes from the official file

Besides prefixing every service, container, volume, folder and variable with homer (so any set of apps can share one file), these are all the differences from what the project documents:

• Removed the documented '8080:8080' port and container_name; Caddy reaches homer:8080 on the proxy network.
• The config folder, /path/to/config/dir in the README, is ./assets next to this file.

Notes for Homer behind the proxy

• Create ./homer/assets before the first start and give it to uid 1000 (sudo chown 1000:1000 ./homer/assets): the container runs as 1000:1000 and, with INIT_ASSETS=1, writes an example config.yml and icons there. Then edit config.yml; Homer re-reads it when you reload the page.
• Homer has no login and no server side: anyone who reaches the address sees your links. If the page should stay private, put a password on the proxy or reach it only from your network.
• The image has no tag, which is latest.

Back it up

Homer publishes no backup procedure. Everything it has is the assets folder: config.yml and your icons.

Below is the BACKUP.md the builder writes next to the compose file above: which of its folders and volumes hold data, what to copy with which container stopped, and a restore check. Pick more apps in the builder and it covers them all in one file.

# BACKUP.md built at dankhost.com for: Homer

What to copy from the docker-compose.yml built with this file, the database dump each project documents (rewritten for the service names in that file), what to copy with which container stopped, and how to check the result. Run every command in the folder that holds docker-compose.yml.

The folders are owned by the containers' users: put sudo in front of tar if it says "Permission denied". Named volumes live under /var/lib/docker/volumes, not next to the compose file, so they are copied through a throwaway ubuntu container (Docker's documented --volumes-from method). tar makes a full copy each run; for large folders an incremental tool (restic, borg, rsync) saves time and space.

Never run "docker compose down -v" on this file: it deletes the named volumes of every app in it.

## Before you start

    BACKUP=/mnt/backup/selfhost   # change this: a disk or machine other than this server's system disk
    mkdir -p "$BACKUP"

## Every time: the three stack files

    tar czf "$BACKUP/stack-files.tar.gz" docker-compose.yml .env caddy

.env holds the database passwords and secret keys the apps were set up with; keep this archive as private as the data.

## Caddy (the reverse proxy)

Caddy's docs: 'The data directory must not be treated as a cache.' It holds the TLS certificates and their private keys; without it Caddy has to ask Let's Encrypt for every certificate again.

- caddy-data (named volume, /data in caddy)
  BACK UP: TLS certificates, private keys, OCSP staples.
- caddy-config (named volume, /config in caddy)
  SKIP: the last active configuration, kept for 'caddy run --resume', which this setup does not use: it starts from the Caddyfile.
- ./caddy (/etc/caddy in caddy)
  IN stack-files.tar.gz: the Caddyfile, copied with the stack files above.

Copy (Caddy keeps serving while you copy):

    docker run --rm --volumes-from caddy -v "$BACKUP":/backup ubuntu tar cvf /backup/caddy-data.tar /data

Restore check:

    tar tf "$BACKUP/caddy-data.tar" > /dev/null && echo OK
    docker run --rm --volumes-from caddy -v "$BACKUP":/backup ubuntu bash -c "cd /data && tar xvf /backup/caddy-data.tar --strip 1"

Sources:
- Caddy docs: Conventions, Data directory: https://caddyserver.com/docs/conventions#data-directory (checked 2026-09-24)
- Docker docs: Volumes, Back up, restore, or migrate data volumes: https://docs.docker.com/engine/storage/volumes/#back-up-restore-or-migrate-data-volumes (checked 2026-09-24)

## Homer

Homer publishes no backup procedure. Everything it has is the assets folder: config.yml and your icons.

What this compose mounts:
- ./homer/assets (/www/assets in homer)
  BACK UP: config.yml and the icons and images it uses.

1. Copy (Homer keeps running):
   Homer never writes to the folder after the first start, so copying it while Homer runs is safe.

    tar czf "$BACKUP/homer-assets.tar.gz" ./homer/assets

Restore check:

    tar tzf "$BACKUP/homer-assets.tar.gz" > /dev/null && echo OK

Put a copy back (with Homer stopped):

    tar xzf "$BACKUP/homer-assets.tar.gz"   # recreates ./homer/assets; move the old folder aside first

Put ./homer/assets back and run docker compose up -d.

Sources:
- Homer README (docker-compose, INIT_ASSETS, PORT, uid 1000): https://github.com/bastienwirtz/homer/blob/main/README.md (checked 2026-10-08)
- Docker docs: Volumes, Back up, restore, or migrate data volumes: https://docs.docker.com/engine/storage/volumes/#back-up-restore-or-migrate-data-volumes (checked 2026-10-08)

Update it

What docker compose pull does depends only on how each image line in the compose file above is tagged. For Homer as this page writes it:

What Homer's docs say about updating

Homer publishes no update procedure for this setup; the steps below are Docker's generic method.

The steps

1. Back up first, as in Back it up above. An update can migrate Homer's data on its first start; the copy is the way back.
2. Download the new images. Running containers are not touched yet:

   docker compose pull

3. Recreate the containers whose image changed. Volumes and bind-mounted folders stay as they are:

   docker compose up -d

4. Watch Homer start (Ctrl+C stops following the log, not the app):

   docker compose logs -f homer

5. Optional: remove the old images the pull left without a tag. This covers every stack on the machine, not only this one:

   docker image prune

Docker's reference for these commands: Docker docs: docker compose pull checked 2026-09-30; Docker docs: docker compose up (recreates changed containers, keeps volumes) checked 2026-09-30; Docker docs: docker image prune checked 2026-09-30

Locked out? Reset the admin password

Homer has no accounts and no login, so there is no password to reset.

Homer is "a very simple static homepage": static files read from one config.yml, with no users and no server-side code. Anyone who can reach the address can see it, so if you want a password, put it on the proxy. Source: Homer README (a static homepage; docker-compose) read 2026-10-08; Homer docs: Configuration (one config.yml in /assets) read 2026-10-08

Sources

Every page below was fetched on the date shown.

• Homer on GitHub (repository description) checked 2026-10-08 (what it does)
• Homer README (docker-compose, INIT_ASSETS, PORT, uid 1000) checked 2026-10-08 (compose definition and proxy settings, backup plan)
• Homer docs: Configuration (one config.yml in /assets) checked 2026-10-08 (compose definition and proxy settings)
• Caddy docs: Keep Caddy running (Docker Compose section) checked 2026-09-23 (Caddy)
• Vaultwarden wiki: Caddy with HTTP challenge (uses the caddy:2 image) checked 2026-09-23 (Caddy)
• Docker docs: Volumes, Back up, restore, or migrate data volumes checked 2026-10-08 (backup plan)
• Caddy docs: Conventions, Data directory checked 2026-09-24 (backup plan)
• Docker docs: docker compose pull checked 2026-09-30 (update steps)
• Docker docs: docker compose up (recreates changed containers, keeps volumes) checked 2026-09-30 (update steps)
• Docker docs: docker image prune checked 2026-09-30 (update steps)

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