It’s a great thing to be able to manage all of your self-hosted applications from one dashboard. DashMachine makes this not only easy but also pleasing to the eyes! With this application you can bookmark and have easy access to your apps with icons for quick reference.

Features

creates a dashboard to view web pages

uses a single .ini file for configuration

dark mode/light mode and accent colors

custom backgrounds and icons

web interface to edit the config file and add image files

ability to open web pages in current tab, new tab or iframe

hideable sidebar with dragable reveal button

user login system

‘app templates’ which are sample config entries for popular self hosted apps

powerful plugin system for adding data from various sources to display on cards

multiple card types including collections and custom cards

multiple users, access groups, access settings

tagging system

Installation on Synology with Docker

Step 1. Open Docker and pull the latest DashMachine image called rmountjoy/dashmachine.

Step 2. Go to the image tab and wait for the image to download then double click it to launch it.

Step 3. Click advanced settings and proceed to setup the container.

Step 4. I usually tick the box that says “Enable auto-restart”. This helps if your NAS ever has a power interruption and restarts. It will also restart the container automatically.

Step 5. This can be where things get tricky but don’t sweat! I will break it down. This is where we are mounting the data or config files for the DashMachine application.

A. Click the Volume tab at the top.

B. Click the Add Folder button.

C. In the Docker folder, click Create Folder then add a folder called DashMachine.

D. Click the Select button.

Step 6. Phew! That wasn’t so bad! Now we have to mount the folder we just created to /dashmachine/dashmachine/user_data so enter that into the Mount path field. Then click the Port Settings tab. (don’t click Apply yet!)

Step 7. The DashMachine app ships on port 5000 by default…. but that’s a problem because DSM runs on port 5000 so that means we have to choose a different port. I chose 5050 and it works great! Leave the type as TCP and NOW you can click Apply then Next on the General Settings screen.

Step 8. This is a Summary of the docker container we created. Make sure the box that says “Run this container after the wizard is finished” is ticked then click Apply!

Now wait a few seconds then load it in your browser to make sure it works. With the settings we chose it will be yournasIPhere:5050. The default username and password is admin:admin. Now you are ready to start adding bookmarks!

You can edit the password within the web config or by using the Synology File Station. Remember that folder we mounted? This is where the application stores the files. Honestly, you’ll never have to mess with these because everything is editable via the DashMachine web config. This is great for people who want to do back-ups however.

Other Docker Installation Method

docker create \ --name=dashmachine \ -p 5000:5000 \ -v path/to/data:/dashmachine/dashmachine/user_data \ --restart unless-stopped \ rmountjoy/dashmachine:latest

To run in a subfolder, use a CONTEXT_PATH environment variable. For example, to run at localhost:5000/dash:

docker create \ --name=dashmachine \ -p 5000:5000 \ -e CONTEXT_PATH=/dash -v path/to/data:/dashmachine/dashmachine/user_data \ --restart unless-stopped \ rmountjoy/dashmachine:latest

Then open a web browser and go to localhost:5000

Default user/password

User: admin Password: admin

Updating

For python, use git. For docker, just pull the latest image and recreate the container.

Configuration

The user data folder is located at DashMachine/dashmachine/user_data. This is where the config.ini, custom backgrounds/icons, and the database file live. A reference for what can go into the config.ini file can be found on the settings page of the dashmachine by clicking the info icon next to ‘Config’.

Note

If you change the config.ini file, you either have to restart the container (or python script) or click the ‘save’ button in the config section of settings for the config to be applied. Pictures added to the backgrounds/icons folders are available immediately.

See more about the DashMachine project here:

Website – Github Repo