Your tiny homelab butler.
A single Go binary for running a small home server without babysitting it.
HomeButler helps you answer the boring but painful questions every homelab eventually creates:
- What is running on my server right now?
- Which container owns this port?
- Why did this service restart at 3 AM?
- Is my backup actually restorable?
- Can I install this self-hosted app without hand-writing another compose file?
- Can I let an AI assistant inspect my server without handing it a full SSH shell?
No daemon required. No database. No always-on web service. Just one Go binary you can use from the terminal, scripts, a web dashboard, or AI tools.
The design goal is simple: give humans and agents a narrow, structured interface to the server. HomeButler returns readable summaries and JSON instead of asking you to trust a black-box shell session.
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Higangssh/homebutler/main/install.sh | sh
brew install Higangssh/homebutler/homebutler
homebutler init
Use it right away:
homebutler status # CPU, memory, disk, uptime
homebutler docker list # running containers
homebutler inventory scan # containers + ports + topology
homebutler report # butler-style health report + change summary
homebutler install uptime-kuma # deploy a self-hosted app
homebutler backup drill uptime-kuma # verify a backup actually restores
homebutler watch tui # terminal dashboard
homebutler serve # web dashboard at http://localhost:8080
Machine-readable output is available everywhere:
homebutler status --json
homebutler inventory scan --json
homebutler report --json
Install apps— deploy Uptime Kuma, Jellyfin, Pi-hole, Gitea, Portainer, and more with one command** Map your server**— see containers, exposed ports, system ports, and service topology** Run a doctor check**— diagnose resource pressure, stopped containers, public ports, backup hygiene, notifications, and report baseline readinessCatch crashes— save logs before/after Docker, systemd, or PM2 restarts and detect flapping loops** Verify backups**— boot backups in isolated containers before you trust them** Use it anywhere**— CLI, JSON, web dashboard, or MCP for AI agents without giving them SSH
Self-hosting is not hard because one docker compose up
is hard. It is hard because the maintenance never ends: ports collide, containers restart silently, backups look fine until restore day, and every server becomes a slightly different snowflake.
HomeButler is a small operations toolkit for that messy middle.
Those are great dashboards. HomeButler is CLI-first, scriptable, JSON-friendly, air-gap friendly, and safe to copy onto any server. Use it when you want commands you can run from a terminal, cron job, SSH session, CI script, or AI agent — especially when you care more about “what changed?” than another graph.
homebutler report
homebutler report --keep 7 # retain only the latest 7 snapshots
homebutler report --no-save # preview without writing a snapshot
report
gives you a concise butler-style summary of your homelab: current health, warnings, notable changes since the previous snapshot, and suggested next commands. On the first run, HomeButler creates a baseline under ~/.homebutler/reports/snapshots/
; later runs compare against the latest snapshot. Old snapshots are pruned automatically (--keep 30
by default) so reports do not grow forever.
homebutler doctor
homebutler doctor --strict # non-zero exit if warnings/failures are found
homebutler doctor --json # automation / MCP friendly
doctor
is a read-only preflight for the problems homelab users usually discover too late: high disk or memory usage, stopped containers, public bind ports, stale or missing backups, missing notifications, and whether report
has a baseline for change detection.
— Deploy self-hosted apps in seconds. Pre-checks Docker, ports, and duplicates. Generateshomebutler install uptime-kuma
docker-compose.yml
automatically.[See all available apps →]
homebutler inventory scan
homebutler inventory export --format mermaid
homebutler --json inventory scan
inventory scan
gives you a quick map of what is running on a server: system health, Docker containers, app ports, and system ports. Docker-published ports are connected back to the container that owns them, so local forwarding details like Colima/Lima stay understandable.
🏠 Home Network
Server homelab (192.168.1.10)
Summary ✅ 1 running · ⚪ 1 stopped · 🌍 2 public ports · 🔒 4 local ports
📦 Containers (2)
├─ ⚪ vaultwarden · not started
│ └─ image vaultwarden/server:latest
└─ ✅ api-server · running
├─ image my-api:latest
└─ exposes :8080 → 8080/tcp
🌐 App Ports (1)
└─ 🌍 :8080/tcp · api-server
Use Mermaid export when you want a diagram for GitHub, Obsidian, docs, or an AI assistant:
graph TD
home["🏠 Home Network"] --> homelab["🖥 homelab<br/>192.168.1.10"]
homelab --> c1["📦 api-server<br/>running"]
homelab --> p1["🌍 :8080/tcp<br/>api-server"]
c1 -. exposes .-> p1
— A real-time web dashboard embedded in the single binary viahomebutler serve
go:embed
. Monitor all your servers, Docker containers, open ports, alerts, and Wake-on-LAN devices from any browser. Dark theme, auto-refresh every 5 seconds, fully responsive.
✨ Web Dashboard Highlights #
Server Overview— See all servers at a glance with color-coded status (green = online, red = offline)** System Metrics**— CPU, memory, disk usage with progress bars and color thresholds** Docker Containers**— Running/stopped status with friendly labels ("Running · 4d", "Stopped · 6h ago")** Top Processes**— Top processes sorted by CPU/memory with zombie detection** Resource Warnings**— Visual CPU, memory, and disk thresholds in the dashboard** Network Ports**— Open ports with process names and bind addresses** Wake-on-LAN**— One-click wake buttons for configured devices** Server Switching**— Dropdown to switch between local and remote servers** Zero dependencies**— No Node.js runtime needed. Frontend is compiled into the Go binary at build time
homebutler serve # Start on port 8080
homebutler serve --port 3000 # Custom port
homebutler serve --demo # Demo mode with realistic sample data
Your container crashed at 3 AM — but why? homebutler watch
catches it the moment it happens, saves the dying logs, figures out the cause, and tells you if it's happening over and over.
Supported backends: Docker (real-time event stream) · systemd (polling) · PM2 (polling)
homebutler watch add nginx # Interactive: choose Docker / systemd / PM2
homebutler watch add --kind docker nginx # or specify directly
homebutler watch add --kind systemd nginx.service
homebutler watch add --kind pm2 my-api
homebutler watch list # See what you're watching
homebutler watch start # Foreground, Ctrl+C to stop
homebutler watch start --interval 10s # Custom poll interval (default 30s)
When a crash is detected, you'll see:
[03:14:22] INCIDENT: nginx (incident nginx-20260410-031422.581-7a2124)
Crash: OOM — process killed by SIGKILL (oom, confidence: high)
⚠ FLAPPING: acute (3 restarts in short window)
homebutler watch history # List all incidents
homebutler watch show <incident-id> # Full details
watch show
output includes:
Pre-death logs— what the process printed right before it died** Post-restart logs**— what happened after the restart** Crash analysis**— category (oom / panic / segfault / timeout / dependency / error), reason, confidence level, matched log patterns** Flapping status**— if the process is stuck in a crash loop
Every incident is automatically analyzed using exit codes and log patterns:
| Signal | Exit Code | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| SIGKILL | 137 | OOM Killer or forced kill |
| SIGSEGV | 139 | Segmentation fault (memory corruption) |
| SIGTERM | 143 | Graceful shutdown request |
| — | 1 | Application error |
| — | 0 | Clean exit (may be intentional restart) |
Log patterns like panic:
, Out of memory
, Connection refused
, FATAL
, and timeout
are matched automatically to help identify the root cause.
Detects when a process is stuck in a restart loop (e.g., crash → restart → crash again):
Acute— 3+ restarts within 10 minutes (something is broken right now)** Chronic**— 5+ restarts within 24 hours (slow recurring issue)
Flapping incidents are tagged [FLAPPING]
in history and highlighted in watch show
.
Notifications are disabled by default, which is useful for air-gapped or closed networks where everything runs locally.
A minimal example in ~/.config/homebutler/config.yaml
:
notify:
telegram:
bot_token: "your-bot-token"
chat_id: "your-chat-id"
watch:
enabled: true
notify_on: flapping
cooldown: 5m
flapping:
short_window: 10m
short_threshold: 3
long_window: 24h
long_threshold: 5
alerts:
cpu: 90
memory: 85
disk: 90
rules:
- name: cpu-spike
metric: cpu
threshold: 90
action: notify
Legacy ~/.homebutler/watch/config.json
is still read as a fallback for watch-specific settings, and legacy alerts.yaml
notify/webhook provider settings are still accepted for older setups.
watch.enabled: true
— allow watch notificationswatch.notify_on: flapping
— notify only when repeated restart loops are detectedwatch.notify_on: incident
— notify on every incidentwatch.notify_on: all
— notify on both incidents and flappingwatch.notify_on: off
— disable watch notifications without removing provider configwatch.cooldown: 5m
— suppress duplicate notifications for the same event fingerprint during the cooldown windowwatch.flapping
— optional advanced tuning for restart-loop detection
homebutler watch remove nginx # Stop watching
homebutler watch check # One-shot check (no continuous monitoring)
— A terminal-based dashboard powered by Bubble Tea. Monitors all configured servers with real-time updates, color-coded resource bars, and Docker container status. No browser needed.homebutler watch tui
Use natural language when you want automation.MCP clients can call homebutler tools to check server status, list Docker containers, inspect ports, or run operational workflows.[See screenshots & setup →]
Deploy self-hosted apps with a single command. Each app runs via docker compose with automatic pre-checks, health verification, and clean lifecycle management.
homebutler install list
homebutler install uptime-kuma
homebutler install uptime-kuma --port 8080
homebutler install jellyfin --media /mnt/movies
homebutler install status uptime-kuma
homebutler install uninstall uptime-kuma
homebutler install purge uptime-kuma
~/.homebutler/apps/
└── uptime-kuma/
├── docker-compose.yml ← auto-generated, editable
└── data/ ← persistent data (bind mount)
Pre-checks— Verifies docker is installed/running, port is available, no duplicate containers** Compose-based**— Each app gets its owndocker-compose.yml
you can inspect and customizeData safety—uninstall
stops containers but keeps your data;purge
removes everythingCross-platform— Auto-detects docker socket (default, colima, podman)
| App | Default Port | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
uptime-kuma |
|||
| 3001 | Self-hosted monitoring tool | ||
plex |
|||
| 32400 | Plex Media Server | --media /path to mount media dir |
|
vaultwarden |
|||
| 8080 | Bitwarden-compatible password manager | ||
filebrowser |
|||
| 8081 | Web-based file manager | ||
it-tools |
|||
| 8082 | Developer utilities (JSON, Base64, Hash, etc.) | ||
gitea |
|||
| 3002 | Lightweight self-hosted Git service | ||
jellyfin |
|||
| 8096 | Media system (movies, TV, music) | --media /path to mount media dir |
|
homepage |
|||
| 3010 | Modern homelab dashboard | ||
stirling-pdf |
|||
| 8083 | All-in-one PDF tool (merge, split, convert, OCR) | ||
speedtest-tracker |
|||
| 8084 | Internet speed test with historical graphs | ||
mealie |
|||
| 9925 | Recipe manager and meal planner | ||
pi-hole |
|||
| 8088 | DNS ad blocking | ||
adguard-home |
|||
| 3000 | DNS ad blocker and privacy | ||
portainer |
|||
| 9443 | Docker management GUI | ||
nginx-proxy-manager |
|||
| 81 | Reverse proxy with SSL and web UI |
homebutler install jellyfin --media /mnt/movies
homebutler install pi-hole
homebutler install portainer
homebutler install nginx-proxy-manager
homebutler install <app> --port 9999
Port conflict detection— Checks if the port is already in use before install** DNS mutual exclusion**— Warns if pi-hole and adguard-home are both installed** Docker socket warning**— Alerts when an app requires Docker socket access (portainer)** OS-specific guidance**— Linux gets systemd-resolved fix, macOS gets lsof command** Post-install tips**— DNS setup, HTTPS access, default credential warnings
Want more apps?
[Open an issue]or see[Contributing].
homebutler <command> [flags]
Commands:
status System status (CPU, memory, disk, uptime)
doctor Diagnose health, exposure, backups, and readiness
docker list List running containers
install <app> Install a self-hosted app (docker compose)
alerts Show current alert status
watch tui TUI dashboard (monitors all configured servers)
watch add/list/remove Manage watched containers
watch check/start One-shot or continuous restart detection
watch history/show Browse restart history
serve Web dashboard (browser-based, go:embed)
Flags:
--json JSON output (default: human-readable)
--server <name> Run on a specific remote server
--all Run on all configured servers in parallel
--port <number> Port for serve command (default: 8080)
--config <path> Config file (auto-detected, see Configuration)
Run homebutler --help
for all commands.
📋 All Commands & Flags #
Commands:
init Interactive setup wizard
status System status (CPU, memory, disk, uptime)
doctor Diagnose health, exposure, backups, and readiness
watch tui TUI dashboard (monitors all configured servers)
watch add <name> Add container to restart watch list
watch list Show watched containers
watch remove <name> Remove container from watch list
watch check One-shot restart check
watch start Continuous restart monitoring loop
watch history List restart history (alias: incidents)
watch show <id> Show restart details with logs
serve Web dashboard (browser-based, go:embed)
docker list List running containers
docker restart <n> Restart a container
docker stop <n> Stop a container
docker logs <n> Show container logs
wake <name> Send Wake-on-LAN packet
ports List open ports with process info
ps Show top processes (alias: processes)
ps --sort mem Sort by memory instead of CPU
ps --limit 20 Show top 20 (default: 10, 0 = all)
network scan Discover devices on LAN
alerts Show current alert status
alerts --watch Continuous monitoring with real-time alerts
trust <server> Register SSH host key (TOFU)
backup Backup Docker volumes, compose files, and env
backup list List existing backups
backup drill <app> Verify backup restores correctly (isolated)
backup drill --all Verify all apps in backup
restore <archive> Restore from a backup archive
upgrade Upgrade local + all remote servers to latest
deploy Install homebutler on remote servers
install <app> Install a self-hosted app (docker compose)
install list List available apps
install status <a> Check installed app status
install uninstall Stop app (keep data)
install purge Stop app + delete all data
mcp Start MCP server (JSON-RPC over stdio)
version Print version
Flags:
--json JSON output (default: human-readable)
--server <name> Run on a specific remote server
--all Run on all configured servers in parallel
--port <number> Port for serve command (default: 8080)
--demo Run serve with realistic demo data
--watch Continuous monitoring mode (alerts command)
--interval <dur> Watch interval, e.g. 30s, 1m (default: 30s)
--config <path> Config file (auto-detected, see Configuration)
--local Upgrade only the local binary (skip remote servers)
--local <path> Use local binary for deploy (air-gapped)
--service <name> Target a specific Docker service (backup/restore)
--to <path> Custom backup destination directory
--archive <path> Specific backup archive for drill
--all Verify all supported apps (backup drill)
🌐 Web Dashboard #
homebutler serve
starts an embedded web dashboard — no Node.js, no Docker, no extra dependencies.
homebutler serve # http://localhost:8080
homebutler serve --port 3000 # custom port
homebutler serve --demo # demo mode with sample data
One-command Docker backup — volumes, compose files, and env variables.
homebutler backup # backup everything
homebutler backup --service jellyfin # specific service
homebutler backup --to /mnt/nas/backups/ # custom destination
homebutler backup list # list backups
homebutler restore ./backup.tar.gz # restore
⚠️ Database services should be d before backup for data consistency.
📖 ** Full backup documentation →** — how it works, archive structure, security notes.
alerts
still exists for CPU, memory, and disk threshold checks, but it is an advanced flow and not the recommended first step for new users.
homebutler alerts --watch # default: 30s interval
homebutler alerts --watch --interval 10s # check every 10 seconds
homebutler alerts history # view alert history
homebutler notify test # test your notification channels
Default thresholds: CPU 90%, Memory 85%, Disk 90%. Start with watch
, then add alerts
only if you specifically want threshold-based checks.
"Having a backup" and "being able to restore" are different things.
Backup Drill boots your backup in an isolated Docker environment and verifies the app actually responds — like a fire drill for your data.
homebutler backup drill uptime-kuma # verify one app
homebutler backup drill --all # verify all apps
homebutler backup drill --json # machine-readable output
homebutler backup drill --archive ./file # use a specific backup
What happens:
- Finds the latest backup archive
- Verifies archive integrity (
tar
validation) - Creates an isolated Docker network + random port
- Boots the app from backup data
- Runs an HTTP health check
- Reports pass/fail and cleans up everything
🔍 Backup Drill — uptime-kuma
📦 Backup: ~/.homebutler/backups/backup_2026-04-04_1711.tar.gz
📏 Size: 18.6 MB
🔐 Integrity: ✅ tar valid (8 files)
🚀 Boot: ✅ container started in 0s
🌐 Health: ✅ HTTP 200 on port 58574
⏱️ Total: 2s
✅ DRILL PASSED
Zero risk — runs in a completely isolated environment. Your running services are never touched.
Supports health checks for: nginx-proxy-manager
, vaultwarden
, uptime-kuma
, pi-hole
, gitea
, jellyfin
, plex
, portainer
, homepage
, adguard-home
.
homebutler init # interactive setup wizard
📖 ** Configuration details →** — config file locations, watch/notify options, and advanced alert thresholds.
Manage multiple servers from a single machine over SSH.
homebutler status --server rpi # query specific server
homebutler status --all # query all in parallel
homebutler deploy --server rpi # install on remote server
homebutler upgrade # upgrade all servers
📖 ** Multi-server setup →** — SSH auth, config examples, deploy & upgrade.
Built-in MCP server — manage your homelab from any AI tool with natural language.
{
"mcpServers": {
"homebutler": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "homebutler@latest"]
}
}
}
Works with Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, Cursor, Windsurf, and any MCP client.
📖 ** MCP server setup →** — supported clients, available tools, agent skills.
brew install Higangssh/homebutler/homebutler
Automatically installs to PATH. Works on macOS and Linux.
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Higangssh/homebutler/main/install.sh | sh
Auto-detects OS/architecture, downloads the latest release, and installs to PATH.
npm install -g homebutler
Downloads the Go binary automatically. Use npx -y homebutler@latest
to run without installing globally.
go install github.com/Higangssh/homebutler@latest
git clone https://github.com/Higangssh/homebutler.git
cd homebutler
make build
rm $(which homebutler) # Remove binary
rm -rf ~/.config/homebutler # Remove config (optional)
Goal: Engineers manage servers from chat — not SSH.Alert fires → AI diagnoses → AI fixes → you get a summary on your phone.
homebutler is the tool layer in an AI ChatOps stack. It doesn't care what's above it — use any chat platform, any AI agent, or just your terminal.
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Layer 3 — Chat Interface │
│ Telegram · Slack · Discord · Terminal · Browser │
│ (Your choice — homebutler doesn't touch this) │
└──────────────────────┬───────────────────────────┘
│
┌──────────────────────▼───────────────────────────┐
│ Layer 2 — AI Agent │
│ OpenClaw · LangChain · n8n · Claude Desktop │
│ (Understands intent → calls the right tool) │
└──────────────────────┬───────────────────────────┘
│ CLI exec or MCP (stdio)
┌──────────────────────▼───────────────────────────┐
│ Layer 1 — Tool (homebutler) ← YOU ARE HERE │
│ │
│ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ ┌─────────┐ │
│ │ CLI │ │ MCP │ │ Web │ │
│ │ stdout │ │ stdio │ │ :8080 │ │
│ └────┬────┘ └────┬────┘ └────┬────┘ │
│ └────────────┼────────────┘ │
│ ▼ │
│ internal/* │
│ system · docker · ports · network │
│ wake · alerts · remote (SSH) │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Three interfaces, one core:
| Interface | Transport | Use case |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | ||
| Shell stdout/stderr | Terminal, scripts, AI agents via exec |
|
| MCP | ||
| JSON-RPC over stdio | Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, Cursor, any MCP client | |
| Web | ||
HTTP (go:embed ) |
||
Browser dashboard, on-demand with homebutler serve |
All three call the same internal/
packages — no code duplication.
homebutler is Layer 1. Swap Layer 2 and 3 to fit your stack:
Terminal only→homebutler status
(no agent needed)Claude Desktop→ MCP server, Claude calls tools directly** OpenClaw + Telegram→ Agent runs CLI commands from chat Custom Python bot**→subprocess.run(["homebutler", "status", "--json"])
n8n / Dify→ Execute node calling homebutler CLI
No ports opened by default. CLI and MCP use stdin/stdout only. The web dashboard is opt-in (homebutler serve
, binds 127.0.0.1
).
Now: CLI + MCP + Web dashboard — you ask, it answers.
Goal: Full AI ChatOps — infrastructure that manages itself.
Contributions welcome! Please open an issue first to discuss what you'd like to change.