* refactor(settings): split System Limits and regroup the hub System Limits had grown into a grab-bag of host alert thresholds, Docker cleanup, and mesh data-plane controls under one mislabeled section. Split it into Host Alerts, Docker & Storage, and Fleet Mesh, and split Developer into Developer Diagnostics and Data Retention. Reorganize the sidebar into ten domain groups: Personal, Access, Infrastructure, Monitoring, Notifications, Automation, Organization, Security, Operations, Help. Each section now saves only its own keys, so a concurrent edit in one section no longer clobbers another. Data Retention sends the audit-log window only on a paid plan, matching the field's existing visibility, so a Community save no longer fails on a key the operator cannot set. NumberChip moves to a shared module and the toggle reuses the existing shared component. The /settings API is unchanged. * test(settings): cover registry structure and per-section save payloads Add structural invariants for the ten-group registry (every item maps to a real group, ids are unique, the System Limits and Developer splits land in the right groups with the right gates, renamed labels and the Registries paid gate hold) and per-section payload tests asserting each split section patches only its own keys, including the Community path where Data Retention omits the paid audit-log key. * docs(settings): document the regrouped settings hub Rewrite the settings reference for the ten-group layout, replace the System Limits page with Host Alerts, Docker & Storage, and Fleet Mesh, and document the prune-on-update, reclaimable-space banner, and mesh auto-recreate settings that were previously undocumented. Update the Settings navigation breadcrumbs across the feature docs and refresh the affected screenshots. * fix(settings): show Access sections as instance-global, not operator-scoped License, Users, SSO, and API Tokens are instance-global settings but the masthead scope label rendered them as operator-scoped because it keyed off the old Identity group. Only Personal sections (account, appearance) are operator/browser-scoped now; everything else reads as global. Also add a compile-time exhaustiveness guard to the section switch so a future SectionId added without a matching case fails the build instead of silently rendering a blank panel. * docs(settings): remap remaining settings breadcrumbs to the new groups Update the navigation breadcrumbs that still pointed at the removed Identity, Alerts, and Advanced groups: API Tokens and Users now sit under Access, Webhooks under Automation, Labels under Organization, App Store under Infrastructure, Appearance under Personal, and scan policies under Security > Vulnerability Scanning. Correct the settings reference scope note so Access reads as global. * docs(settings): remap renamed-section breadcrumbs across feature docs Sweep every feature, operations, getting-started, and reference page for navigation paths that still named the renamed settings sections, and point them at the current ones: Security becomes Security > Vulnerability Scanning, Notifications becomes Notifications > Channels, Routing becomes Notifications > Notification Routing, and Developer becomes Operations > Developer Diagnostics (with its retention windows under Operations > Data Retention). App Store moves under Infrastructure and the four-group overview in the getting-started intro is rewritten to the ten groups. Separators each page already used are preserved.
Self-hosted Docker Compose management for one machine or a fleet.
Docs · Website · Discussions · Sponsor
Note
Sencho is currently in public beta on the path to v1.0. Core workflows are actively tested, but early users should review the known limitations and avoid deploying it blindly on critical infrastructure without testing in their own environment first.
What Sencho is
Sencho is for homelab operators, small DevOps teams, and platform engineers who run services on Docker Compose, want a graphical interface without giving up file-on-disk workflows, and need to manage more than one machine without SSH gymnastics or a VPN.
It runs as a single container on your hardware and gives you a UI for the work you currently do over SSH on compose stacks: deploying, editing files, watching logs, restarting containers, browsing volumes, and recovering from failures. Your compose files stay on the host filesystem and remain the source of truth.
A Sencho instance is autonomous. To manage another machine, you install a second Sencho on it and connect them with a long-lived API token; the primary dashboard then acts as an authenticated HTTP and WebSocket proxy across your fleet. Use TLS, a VPN, or a private network for any untrusted link. Each node still uses its local Docker socket (see Quick start), but Sencho does not require SSH and does not expose a remote Docker socket on the network. For nodes behind NAT or strict firewalls, the Pilot Agent establishes a single outbound WebSocket tunnel to the primary, so the remote host opens no inbound port at all.
Most capabilities are free in the Community tier. A few advanced governance, security, and fleet-control features ship in the paid Admiral tier; pricing lives at sencho.io/pricing.
What Sencho is not (yet)
Sencho is a Docker Compose control plane focused on homelab and small-fleet operators. It is intentionally not:
- A Kubernetes scheduler or replacement.
- A reverse proxy. Front Sencho with your existing proxy (Caddy, Traefik, nginx) for TLS and authentication on the public edge.
- A monitoring stack. Sencho surfaces container and host metrics in the dashboard but does not replace Prometheus, Grafana, or your existing alerting pipeline.
- A CI / CD pipeline. Use webhooks, the API, or Git-sourced stacks to connect Sencho to your build system.
See KNOWN_LIMITATIONS.md for the current limitation list.
Tier coverage: All bullets below are available in the free Community tier unless marked (Admiral). Full breakdown at sencho.io/pricing.
Capabilities
Stacks
- Full Compose lifecycle: create, deploy, restart, stop, pull
- Monaco editor with diff preview before save and one-click rollback
- Git-sourced stacks pulled and synced from any repository
- File explorer for compose, env, and supporting files
- Stack labels for grouping and bulk operations
- App Store with LinuxServer.io templates
Observability
- Aggregated log search and stream across every container in the fleet
- Live container stats, health checks, and image-update notifications
- Threshold alerts for CPU, memory, and network
- Read-only audit log of every action (Admiral)
- Network topology view of containers, networks, and nodes
Fleet
- Multi-node management via authenticated HTTP and WebSocket proxy
- Fleet view with grid and topology layouts
- Fleet snapshots of compose and env across the fleet
- Pilot Agent for nodes behind NAT or strict firewalls
- Node compatibility checks before deploying
Automation
- Auto-heal policies for failed containers
- Auto-update policies for image rollouts
- Scheduled operations on cron
- Webhooks on stack lifecycle events
- Blueprints: declarative fleet templates with drift detection (Admiral)
- Encrypted Fleet Secrets pushed to labeled nodes (Admiral)
Security
- SSO: custom OIDC, presets for Google, GitHub, and Okta, plus LDAP and Active Directory
- Two-factor authentication with TOTP and backup codes
- RBAC with admin (full control) and viewer (read-only) roles; deployer, node-admin, and auditor roles plus scoped permissions (Admiral)
- Vulnerability scanning via Trivy on every tier with VEX-based suppression; SARIF export and SBOM upload (Admiral)
- Private registries and deploy enforcement for non-compliant images (Admiral)
- API tokens for automation
Operations
- Host console in the browser (Admiral)
- Off-site stack archives via custom S3 (every tier) or Sencho Cloud Backup (Admiral) for managed storage
- Notification routing to Slack, Discord, email, and webhooks
- Global search across stacks, containers, and services
- Resources view for images, volumes, and networks with scoped prune actions
Before you install
Sencho talks to Docker through the host's /var/run/docker.sock. Mounting this socket grants Sencho the same privilege as sudo docker on the host. This is the same model used by Portainer, Dockge, Komodo, and other Compose dashboards. If your threat model requires stricter isolation, see running with a non-root container user and front Sencho with a reverse proxy that enforces authentication.
Quick start
Sencho runs in a single container.
services:
sencho:
image: saelix/sencho:latest
container_name: sencho
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "1852:1852"
volumes:
- /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
- ./data:/app/data
# 1:1 Compose Path Rule: the host path MUST match the container path
- /opt/docker:/opt/docker
environment:
- COMPOSE_DIR=/opt/docker
- DATA_DIR=/app/data
docker compose up -d
Open http://your-server:1852 and create your admin account.
Always front Sencho with a TLS-terminating reverse proxy in production. See the self-hosting guide for hardening, environment variables, and reverse-proxy examples.
Run with docker run instead
docker run -d --name sencho \
-p 1852:1852 \
-v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
-v sencho_data:/app/data \
# 1:1 Compose Path Rule: the host path MUST match the container path
-v /opt/docker:/opt/docker \
-e COMPOSE_DIR=/opt/docker \
saelix/sencho:latest
For the full walkthrough, see the quickstart guide.
Adding remote nodes
To manage a second machine, install Sencho on it the same way, then add it from the primary dashboard with its URL and a long-lived API token. The primary proxies authenticated HTTP and WebSocket requests to the remote instance. The remote node does not run SSH for Sencho, does not expose its Docker socket on the network, and does not run a separate agent process. The local Sencho on each node manages its own Docker through the standard socket mount described in Quick start. Nodes behind NAT or strict firewalls can opt into the Pilot Agent for outbound-only connectivity.
See the multi-node guide for the full token-bearer flow.
Screenshots
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Telemetry and data handling
Sencho does not emit telemetry, analytics, or crash reports. The only outbound traffic is license validation against Lemon Squeezy, and only when a paid license key is activated. Community-tier instances make no outbound calls to Sencho-controlled endpoints. Stack metadata, container inventory, and user activity never leave your instance.
Documentation, community, and license
- Documentation: docs.sencho.io
- If something breaks: the Recovery guide covers getting back to a working state when Sencho, a deploy, sign-in, Docker, or a node fails.
- Community: GitHub Discussions
- Contributing: CONTRIBUTING.md
- Security: SECURITY.md. Do not open public issues for security vulnerabilities.
- License: Business Source License 1.1. Free for most self-hosted production use under the BSL Additional Use Grant; see LICENSE and the license FAQ for exact terms. Converts to Apache 2.0 on 2030-03-25.



