# Best homelab apps to self-host

> The best homelab apps to self-host are Jellyfin for media servers, Immich for photo galleries and Syncthing for file sync & storage. Jellyfin leads with 57,817 GitHub stars. One pick per category: media servers, photo galleries, file sync & storage, password managers, home automation & IoT, network utilities & DNS, personal dashboards, self-hosting platforms, backup, music streaming, e-books and bookmarks & link sharing.

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Question | What are the best apps to run in a homelab? |
| Picks | 12 |
| Top pick | Jellyfin (57,817 stars) |
| Data as of | Oct 7, 2026 |
| Canonical URL | https://appsgit.com/best/homelab-apps |

## Ranked picks

- [Jellyfin](https://appsgit.com/apps/jellyfin) (57,817 stars, GPL-2.0, C#, Docker): Top pick for media servers: Jellyfin has 57,817 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,025 commits in the last year; it replaces Plex and Spotify.
- [Immich](https://appsgit.com/apps/immich) (115,648 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker): Top pick for photo galleries: Immich has 115,648 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,638 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Photos and Adobe Photoshop.
- [Syncthing](https://appsgit.com/apps/syncthing) (89,175 stars, MPL-2.0, Go, Docker): Top pick for file sync & storage: Syncthing has 89,175 GitHub stars, uses the MPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 223 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Drive and Dropbox.
- [Vaultwarden](https://appsgit.com/apps/vaultwarden) (68,572 stars, AGPL-3.0, Rust, Docker): Top pick for password managers: Vaultwarden has 68,572 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 181 commits in the last year; it replaces Bitwarden and 1Password.
- [Home Assistant](https://appsgit.com/apps/home-assistant) (91,266 stars, Apache-2.0, Python, Docker): Top pick for home automation & IoT: Home Assistant has 91,266 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 17,497 commits in the last year; it replaces IFTTT and Nest / SmartThings.
- [Pi-hole](https://appsgit.com/apps/pi-hole) (61,167 stars, EUPL-1.2, Shell, Docker): Top pick for network utilities & DNS: Pi-hole has 61,167 GitHub stars, uses the EUPL-1.2 license, ships a Docker image and had 215 commits in the last year.
- [Grafana](https://appsgit.com/apps/grafana) (77,096 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker): Top pick for personal dashboards: Grafana has 77,096 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 11,362 commits in the last year; it replaces Datadog and Grafana Cloud.
- [Coolify](https://appsgit.com/apps/coolify) (62,628 stars, Apache-2.0, PHP, Docker): Top pick for self-hosting platforms: Coolify has 62,628 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 4,939 commits in the last year; it replaces Heroku and Vercel.
- [Duplicati](https://appsgit.com/apps/duplicati) (15,062 stars, MIT, C#, Docker): Top pick for backup: Duplicati has 15,062 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,440 commits in the last year.
- [Navidrome Music Server](https://appsgit.com/apps/navidrome-music-server) (23,986 stars, GPL-3.0, Go, Docker): Top pick for music streaming: Navidrome Music Server has 23,986 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 814 commits in the last year; it replaces Spotify and Audible.
- [Audiobookshelf](https://appsgit.com/apps/audiobookshelf) (14,555 stars, GPL-3.0, JavaScript, Docker): Top pick for e-books: Audiobookshelf has 14,555 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 487 commits in the last year; it replaces Spotify and Kindle.
- [Karakeep](https://appsgit.com/apps/karakeep) (29,464 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker, AI features): Top pick for bookmarks & link sharing: Karakeep has 29,464 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 824 commits in the last year; it replaces Pocket.

## How this list was made

- One pick per category: media servers, photo galleries, file sync & storage, password managers, home automation & IoT, network utilities & DNS, personal dashboards, self-hosting platforms, backup, music streaming, e-books and bookmarks & link sharing.
- Within each category, apps are ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits.
- Archived projects and projects with no commit in the last two years are left out.

## FAQ

### Is Jellyfin free?

Yes. Jellyfin is open-source software released under the GPL-2.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.

### Can I self-host these apps with Docker?

Yes, all of them. Jellyfin, Immich and Syncthing publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose.

### Are all of these apps open source?

All 12 apps on this list are open source. You can self-host and modify each one under its license.

### Which of these apps is the most actively developed?

Home Assistant, with 17,497 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, 2026.9.4, from September 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.

## Related questions

- [What are the best self-hosted apps for privacy?](https://appsgit.com/best/privacy-focused-self-hosted-apps)
- [What are the best self-hosted alternatives to Google services?](https://appsgit.com/best/self-hosted-google-alternatives)
- [What are the best self-hosted alternatives to Microsoft products?](https://appsgit.com/best/self-hosted-microsoft-alternatives)
- [What are the best self-hosted apps written in Go?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-apps-in-go)
- [What are the best self-hosted apps written in Rust?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-apps-in-rust)
- [What are the best self-hosted apps written in Python?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-apps-in-python)
- [What are the best self-hosted apps written in TypeScript?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-apps-in-typescript)
- [What are the best self-hosted apps written in PHP?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-apps-in-php)

## See also

- [Open-source alternatives to Plex](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/plex)
- [Open-source alternatives to Spotify](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/spotify)
- [Open-source alternatives to Netflix](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/netflix)
- [Open-source alternatives to Audible](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/audible)
- [Open-source alternatives to Google Photos](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/google-photos)
- [Open-source alternatives to Adobe Photoshop](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/photoshop)
- [Navidrome vs Jellyfin](https://appsgit.com/compare/navidrome-music-server-vs-jellyfin)
- [Immich vs PhotoPrism](https://appsgit.com/compare/immich-vs-photoprism)
- [Immich vs Ente](https://appsgit.com/compare/immich-vs-ente)
- [Nextcloud vs Syncthing](https://appsgit.com/compare/nextcloud-vs-syncthing)
- [Vaultwarden vs Bitwarden](https://appsgit.com/compare/vaultwarden-vs-bitwarden)
- [Home Assistant vs openHAB](https://appsgit.com/compare/home-assistant-vs-openhab)
- [How to self-host Jellyfin with Docker Compose](https://appsgit.com/guides/jellyfin)
- [How to self-host Immich with Docker Compose](https://appsgit.com/guides/immich)
- [How to self-host Syncthing with Docker Compose](https://appsgit.com/guides/syncthing)
- [How to self-host Vaultwarden with Docker Compose](https://appsgit.com/guides/vaultwarden)

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Canonical page: https://appsgit.com/best/homelab-apps
Source: appsgit (https://appsgit.com), the app store for github. Data from the GitHub API, refreshed nightly.
Machine access: JSON API https://appsgit.com/api/v1/apps (OpenAPI: https://appsgit.com/openapi.json), MCP server https://mcp.appsgit.com/mcp, full index https://appsgit.com/llms-full.txt.