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f7f3afe05a
* feat(stacks): move discovered import candidates into place The guided import flow previewed loose and nested compose files but could not act on them, so it only told the user where to move files by hand. Add an opt-in "Move into place" action: relocate a loose-root file into its own <name>/ subfolder, or promote a nested stack directory one level up, so Sencho's filesystem discovery lists it as a stack. The file stays a plain compose file on disk; nothing is captured into a store. The move re-derives the candidate from a fresh scan and matches by location, validates the destination name and containment, resolves symlinks before the rename, and never overwrites an existing stack. Backend and frontend both gate the action on stack:create. Also fix the rescan flicker: scan results now stay on screen while a rescan runs (only the Rescan button shows progress) instead of the whole panel collapsing to a spinner, and an empty rescan surfaces a toast. * fix(stacks): make import-move destination creation atomic The loose-root branch created the destination directory with mkdir recursive after an access() existence precheck. If the destination appeared between the check and the create, recursive accepted the existing directory and the following rename could overwrite a same-named compose file inside it, so the intended conflict response never fired. Use a non-recursive mkdir so a destination that already exists raises a conflict instead of being merged into. Add a regression test that forces the precheck to miss and asserts the existing file is left intact. * fix(stacks): only offer not-yet-imported compose files in the import tab The import tab listed every compose file in the compose directory, including ones that are already stacks (a top-level subfolder with a compose file), which just duplicated the sidebar. The scan now skips those and surfaces only files that still need importing: a compose file loose at the compose-dir root, or one nested a folder too deep. Also harden the move-into-place write path that turns a stray file into a stack: a failed rename after the destination folder is created now rolls back the empty folder, so a retry is not blocked by a false "already exists" conflict, and the move switches on an exhaustive set of placements so a new one cannot silently take the wrong branch. The sidebar refreshes after a move so the imported stack appears right away, and the docs describe import as relocating a file, not capturing running containers. * fix(stacks): reject a nested import whose compose file escapes the base The move-into-place path for a nested compose file validated only the parent directory's real path, not the compose file itself. A directory that is real and inside the compose base but holds a compose file symlinked outside the base would survive the directory move and become a stack whose compose file still points outside the base, which the editor read path would then follow. The move now resolves the compose file too and refuses it unless it stays inside the resolved source directory, matching the loose-root check and the scan's preview reader. * fix(stacks): satisfy CodeQL path and log analysis in import-move The import-move write path built its destination directory from the user-provided stack name through resolveStackDir, whose containment barrier is wrapped in a helper that static analysis does not credit, so every filesystem sink on the destination was flagged as path injection. Re-establish the resolve-against-the-safe-base plus startsWith barrier inline at the sinks, matching the read and backup paths in the same file, and route the relocated file path through the same check. The name is already restricted to an alphanumeric, hyphen, and underscore allowlist, so the containment can never actually fail; this only makes the existing safety visible to the analyzer. Also log the move route's error as a sanitized message rather than the raw error object, so a name embedded in an error message cannot forge log lines.
Self-hosted Docker Compose management for one machine or a fleet.
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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.