sencho/docs/features/overview.mdx

---
title: Features Overview
description: A high-level tour of everything Sencho can do, organized by area.
---

Sencho is a self-hosted cockpit for Docker Compose. The catalog below groups Sencho's features by area, mirroring the Features navigation, so you can scan the surface at a glance and jump into the deep-dive page for the parts you care about. Tier callouts are inline with each entry; if no tier is mentioned, the feature is available on every Sencho installation.

<Frame>
  <img src="/images/overview/dashboard-hero.png" alt="Sencho Home dashboard: the Healthy masthead with running container count, fleet-wide CPU, and memory, the CPU sparkline and memory, disk, and network gauge tiles, and the Stack health table sorted by load." />
</Frame>

## Stacks

<Frame>
  <img src="/images/overview/stack-anatomy.png" alt="A stack open in the editor: the action toolbar, the container card with CPU and memory sparklines, the live log stream, and the right-hand panel on the Networking tab showing exposure intent, network memberships, published ports, and a runtime drift check. The full tab strip (Anatomy, Activity, Dossier, Drift, Environment, Networking, Doctor, Storage) is visible across the top of the panel." />
</Frame>

### Stack management

Deploy, start, stop, restart, update, and remove Docker Compose stacks through a point-and-click interface. Right-click any stack in the sidebar for a context menu that groups actions by purpose: inspect, organize, lifecycle, and destructive operations. [Learn more →](/features/stack-management)

### Editor

Full in-browser Monaco editor for `compose.yaml` and `.env` files with syntax highlighting. Toggle edit mode, save to disk, or save and deploy in one step. The container panel shows per-container live stats (CPU, RAM, network), with buttons to open the app, stream logs, or launch a terminal. [Learn more →](/features/editor)

### Stack file explorer

Browse, preview, and download files inside a stack's directory from the dashboard with any signed-in role. Write actions (upload, edit, rename, move, create folders, change permissions, and delete) require stack edit permission. [Learn more →](/features/stack-file-explorer)

### Stack activity

Every stack has its own event log showing deploys, restarts, starts, stops, image updates, and drift, each event attributed to the user or system that triggered it. The most recent 50 events load immediately and new events stream in live without a page refresh; pagination fetches older events on demand. [Learn more →](/features/stack-activity)

### Stack Dossier

The **Dossier** tab in the right-hand Anatomy panel turns each stack into living documentation. Sencho fills in the operational facts it derives from your Compose file, and you add what it cannot infer (purpose, owner, access URLs, network, recovery steps), then export the whole thing as Markdown. [Learn more →](/features/stack-dossier)

### Drift Detection

The **Drift** tab compares the Compose file on disk against the live Docker runtime and reports exactly where they diverge: a missing service, an undeclared container, a changed image, or different published ports. The check is read-only and keeps a short history of what it has seen. [Learn more →](/features/stack-drift)

### Compose Doctor

The **Doctor** tab runs a preflight check before you deploy. It renders the effective Compose model and reports common failure modes (unset variables, port conflicts, missing bind paths, a mounted Docker socket, a moving `latest` tag) grouped by severity, with a clear fix for each. It is advisory and never blocks a deploy. [Learn more →](/features/compose-doctor)

### Compose Networking

The **Networking** tab shows how a stack is networked and exposed: its networks, each service's published ports and bindings, and a per-stack or per-service exposure intent (internal, LAN, reverse proxy, public, and more) that Sencho uses to flag when the Compose file disagrees. [Learn more →](/features/compose-networking)

### Environment & secrets guardrails

The **Environment** tab inventories every variable a stack uses, where each one comes from (Compose interpolation versus container injection), and whether it looks like a secret, all from variable names so no value is ever exposed. It flags missing and duplicate variables and can block a deploy when a required variable has no value. [Learn more →](/features/environment-guardrails)

### Storage portability

The **Storage** tab lists every mount a stack depends on, classifies each one (bind, named, anonymous, tmpfs, or Docker socket) with its read-only flag, and gives the stack a single portability verdict so you know what will break if you move or restore it. [Learn more →](/features/compose-storage)

### Stack labels

Tag stacks with custom colored labels like `production`, `staging`, or `media-server`. Filter the sidebar by label, identify stacks at a glance, and bulk-action a label to deploy, stop, or restart every stack that carries it. [Learn more →](/features/stack-labels)

### Stack sidebar

Manage, group, and pin your stacks from the primary sidebar, organized by label. Pinned stacks sit in a dedicated `PINNED` group at the top, the context menu groups actions by purpose (Inspect, Organize, Lifecycle, Destructive), and bulk mode (press `B`) acts on a hand-picked subset at once. [Learn more →](/features/sidebar)

## Deployment

### Deploy progress

Stream live output from stack actions in a structured log view with stage badges (PULL, BUILD, CREATE, START, STOP). Choose a modal or an inline band; it auto-dismisses on success and minimizes to a status pill that persists across navigation. [Learn more →](/features/deploy-progress)

### Atomic deployments

Sencho snapshots your compose and environment files before applying changes. If containers crash within a few seconds of deploy, the previous configuration is restored automatically. [Learn more →](/features/atomic-deployments)

### Health-Gated Updates

Before an update, a readiness dialog gives a single verdict (Ready, Ready with warnings, Review required, Blocked, or Unknown) drawn from Compose Doctor, drift, container health, the pending image change, rollback backup, and node disk. After the update lands, a health gate watches the containers for an observation window and records whether it held. [Learn more →](/features/health-gated-updates)

### Deploy enforcement

Block deploys that violate a scan policy before `docker compose up` runs, with an admin bypass path and a full audit trail. The pre-flight gate enumerates images and rejects a deploy when any image meets or exceeds the policy's severity threshold. [Learn more →](/features/deploy-enforcement)

### Git sources

Link a stack to a Git repository and keep one or more compose files in sync via manual pulls or webhook triggers. Merge a base file with environment overrides in order, review a diff before applying, create stacks directly from a repo, and optionally sync sibling `.env` files. [Learn more →](/features/git-sources)

### App Store

Browse pre-configured application templates. Filter by category (Media, Automation, Development, and more), configure environment variables, volumes, and ports, and deploy with a single click. Point the template source at your own registry when you want. [Learn more →](/features/app-store)

### Blueprints

Fleet-wide compose templates that Sencho keeps in sync across the nodes you choose. One declaration covers many nodes via label selectors, drift detection always runs, and stateful blueprints get a confirmation prompt before first deploy and before eviction. [Learn more →](/features/blueprint-model)

## Resources

### Resources hub

View and manage all Docker images, volumes, and networks. Resources are classified as Managed (owned by a Sencho stack), External (part of another Compose project), or Unused / Reclaimable (safe to prune). Run scoped prune operations against Sencho-managed resources only, or target all Docker resources when needed. [Learn more →](/features/resources)

## Observability

### Dashboard

The Home view shows real-time system stats at a glance: active and exited containers, Docker network activity, and host resource usage (CPU, RAM, disk), with historical CPU and RAM charts over the last 24 hours. A Docker Run converter turns any `docker run` command into a Compose stack. [Learn more →](/features/dashboard)

### Global search

Jump to any page, node, or stack from anywhere with `Ctrl+K` (`Cmd+K` on macOS). The palette groups results into Pages, Nodes, and Stacks, fans out across every online node, and keeps your hands on the keyboard. [Learn more →](/features/global-search)

### Global observability

The **Logs** view aggregates output from every container across every stack into a single scrollable stream. Filter by stack, log level (stdout/stderr), or keyword, and switch to developer mode for real-time SSE streaming instead of polling. [Learn more →](/features/global-observability)

### Alerts & notifications

Configure threshold-based alerts (CPU, memory, network, restart count) per stack and route notifications to Discord, Slack, or any generic webhook. Alerts are evaluated every 30 seconds with configurable duration and cooldown, and per-stack [routing rules](/features/alerts-notifications#notification-routing) send each stack's alerts to the right channel. [Learn more →](/features/alerts-notifications)

### Audit log

Track every mutating action across your Sencho instance with a searchable trail: who deployed, stopped, deleted, or changed settings, with timestamps, user attribution, and node context. The recent 14-day window is available on every installation. Admiral adds CSV and JSON export, anomaly detection, and configurable retention. [Learn more →](/features/audit-log)

## Fleet

<Frame>
  <img src="/images/overview/fleet-topology.png" alt="Fleet view in grid layout: the fleet masthead showing aggregate CPU, memory, and container counts across all nodes, the tab strip (Overview, Snapshots, Status, Map, Deployments, Routing, Federation, Actions, Secrets), and the node grid with per-node container counts and CPU, RAM, and disk usage bars." />
</Frame>

### Multi-node support

Add remote Sencho instances as nodes. Every dashboard operation (stack management, logs, stats) works identically whether you target your local machine or a server across the world, using a transparent HTTP proxy model with no SSH or shared Docker sockets. [Learn more →](/features/multi-node)

### Pilot Agent

Add remote nodes behind NAT, residential networks, or corporate firewalls without exposing any inbound port. The agent runs in a container on the remote host and holds an outbound WebSocket tunnel to your primary instance; every request rides through it. [Learn more →](/features/pilot-agent)

### Sencho Mesh

Connect containers across nodes by hostname over the Pilot tunnel so a multi-node fleet feels like one machine. Opt a stack into the mesh and its services become reachable from any other meshed stack at a stable hostname, with no VPN or firewall changes. Admiral. [Learn more →](/features/sencho-mesh)

### Fleet View

Monitor your whole infrastructure from one screen. The Fleet view shows every node with health metrics, container counts, and resource usage in a grid or topology layout, plus a read-only Map of how stacks, services, networks, volumes, and ports relate across the fleet. [Learn more →](/features/fleet-view)

### Fleet Dossier

Export your entire homelab as a single Markdown archive. The **Export Dossier** action in the Fleet view walks every node and stack, pairs the facts Sencho derives with the notes you wrote in each [Stack Dossier](/features/stack-dossier), and produces a browsable `homelab-dossier.zip` to commit to Git or store with your backups. Admin-only. [Learn more →](/features/fleet-dossier)

### Fleet Federation

Operator-driven placement controls for fleets running Blueprints. Cordon a node to mark it unschedulable for new work, or pin a blueprint to a specific node to override selector matches. Cordon affects new placements only; existing deployments keep running. [Learn more →](/features/fleet-federation)

### Fleet Actions

Run fleet-wide bulk operations from one tab: stop every stack carrying a label across all nodes, assign a label to selected stacks across nodes (creating it where missing), or prune Docker resources fleet-wide. Admin-only. [Learn more →](/features/fleet-actions)

### Fleet Sync

When several Sencho instances run as a fleet, the control instance is the source of truth for security configuration and replicates scan policies and CVE suppressions to every remote automatically. Replicas show the rules read-only and reject direct writes with `403 Forbidden`. [Learn more →](/features/fleet-sync)

### Fleet Secrets

Centralized, encrypted, versioned env-var bundles you push to labeled nodes' stacks. Bundles are encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM, every save bumps a version, and every push records a per-node diff in the audit log using overlay merge semantics. Admiral. [Learn more →](/features/fleet-secrets)

### Fleet-wide backups

Create point-in-time snapshots of every compose and environment file across all nodes, stored centrally and browsable by node and stack. Restore an individual stack from any snapshot with optional one-click redeploy, even to a remote node. Manual and scheduled snapshots are both included. [Learn more →](/features/fleet-backups)

### Remote updates

Check for outdated nodes and trigger over-the-air updates from the Fleet view. When the control instance runs a newer version than a remote, a one-click update pulls the latest image and recreates the container; an **Update all** action covers the whole fleet at once. [Learn more →](/features/remote-updates)

### Node compatibility

When you manage nodes running different Sencho versions, the dashboard detects each node's capabilities and disables features an older instance does not support, so unsupported actions stay hidden instead of failing. [Learn more →](/features/node-compatibility)

### Host console

Open an interactive terminal on the host OS directly in the browser with full xterm.js emulation and color support. No SSH client required; admin-only. [Learn more →](/features/host-console)

## Automation

### Scheduled operations

Automate recurring maintenance like stack restarts, fleet snapshots, system prunes, scans, and image updates. Use the simple point-and-click mode for one-time or common recurring schedules, or switch to a full cron expression for precise control. Every run is logged with full history so you always know what ran and when. [Learn more →](/features/scheduled-operations)

### Auto-Update Policies

Review pending container updates across your fleet with risk badges (`Safe · patch`, `Review · minor`, `Blocked · major`, `Digest rebuild`) and one-line changelog previews on a single board. The hero counts how many updates are ready to apply without review and surfaces major version bumps as a separate count. [Learn more →](/features/auto-update-policies)

### Auto-Heal Policies

Automatically restart containers that fail Docker healthchecks for longer than a threshold. Each policy ships with safety rails: a cooldown period, an hourly restart cap, recent-user-action suppression, and auto-disable on repeated restart failures. [Learn more →](/features/auto-heal-policies)

### Webhooks

Trigger stack actions from external CI/CD pipelines over HTTP. Create a webhook targeting a specific stack and action, then call it from GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or anything that can send a POST. Requests are authenticated with HMAC-SHA256 signatures. [Learn more →](/features/webhooks)

## Security & Identity

<Frame>
  <img src="/images/overview/security-overview.png" alt="The Security page: the 'Action needed' masthead with critical and high CVE counts and last scan time, the tab strip (Overview, Images, Compose risks, Secrets, Policies, Suppressions, History, Scanner setup), the actionable findings summary listing fixable CVEs, detected secrets, and exposed images, and the 30-day risk trend chart." />
</Frame>

### Two-factor authentication

Protect your account with a time-based one-time password (TOTP) from an authenticator app and ten single-use backup codes for sign-in recovery. Enroll by scanning a QR code or typing the secret; on every sign-in, Sencho asks for the current six-digit code after your password passes. [Learn more →](/features/two-factor-authentication)

### RBAC & user management

Create unlimited accounts with read-only Viewer access to dashboards, logs, and file contents, while keeping deploy and edit locked to admins. Community includes the Admin and Viewer roles; Admiral adds three more (Deployer, Node Admin, Auditor) plus scoped permissions per stack or node. [Learn more →](/features/rbac)

### SSO & LDAP authentication

Authenticate with your existing identity provider. Custom OIDC (Authelia, Keycloak, Authentik, any spec-compliant provider) and preset providers for Google, GitHub, and Okta are built in. Admiral adds LDAP / Active Directory. SSO runs alongside password login and auto-provisions accounts on first sign-in with configurable role mapping. [Learn more →](/features/sso)

### API tokens

Generate scoped API tokens for CI/CD pipelines, scripts, and automation workflows. Each token carries a permission level (Read Only, Deploy Only, or Full Admin) so you can follow the principle of least privilege. [Learn more →](/features/api-tokens)

### Security

A primary surface in the top navigation that brings your security posture into one command center, scoped to the active node. An overview masthead reports your current posture (Action needed, Monitoring, or Secure), and tabs cover image findings, Compose risks, secrets, scan policies, suppressions, scan history, and scanner setup. [Learn more →](/features/security)

### Vulnerability scanning

Scan container images for known CVEs with [Trivy](https://trivy.dev). Install Trivy with one click from the Security page Scanner setup tab on first use; the [setup guide](/operations/trivy-setup) covers bind-mounted and air-gapped alternatives. Manual scanning, secret and misconfiguration detection, scan comparison, scheduled scans, CVE suppressions, scan policies that gate deploys, SARIF export, single-scan SBOM export, and auto-update of the managed Trivy binary are all available on every tier. [Learn more →](/features/vulnerability-scanning)

### CVE suppressions

Accept known-benign vulnerabilities so scan results stay focused on findings that actually need action. Suppressed findings remain in the database and raw counts but are visually dimmed in scan drawers and comparison sheets with your reason shown, optionally expiring after a specified number of days. [Learn more →](/features/cve-suppressions)

### Private registries

Store credentials for private Docker registries: Docker Hub organizations, GHCR, and self-hosted registries. Admiral adds AWS ECR. Sencho injects them automatically during deploy and pull, refreshing ECR's short-lived tokens on every operation. [Learn more →](/features/private-registries)

## Platform & licensing

### Appearance

Personalize Sencho's look: choose a theme (Dim, OLED, Light, or Auto) and one of eight accent colors, fine-tune contrast, border brightness, and the ambient glow, swap the interface and data fonts, and set the text size. Every choice is saved to the current browser. [Learn more →](/features/appearance)

### Licensing & billing

Community is the complete self-hosted control plane, free forever, including the full vulnerability-scanning and deploy-enforcement suite. Admiral adds governance and fleet control for teams: advanced RBAC, audit log export and retention, Fleet Secrets, Sencho Mesh, and more. Manage your license, view subscription details, and access the billing portal from Settings. [Learn more →](/features/licensing)