Every home lab I build now starts with the same 5 Docker containers

Published Aug 26, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT Beginning his professional journey in the tech industry in 2018, Yash spent over three years as a Software Engineer. After that, he shifted his focus to empowering readers through informative and engaging content on his tech blog – DiGiTAL BiRYANi. He has also published tech articles for MakeTechEasier. He loves to explore new tech gadgets and platforms. When he is not writing, you’ll find him exploring food. He is known as Digital Chef Yash among his readers because of his love for Technology and Food. After years of self-hosting, I've learned that building a new server is easier when I don't start from zero. I've tried countless Docker containers over the years, but a few have become part of my standard setup. I now install the same five containers first, regardless of what I plan to run on that server. They aren't necessarily the most exciting tools in my homelab, but they solve the small problems that come up again and again. Having them ready also means I can get to the fun part faster instead of rebuilding the same foundation every time. These are the five Docker containers I install first. Nginx Proxy Manager My front door for every service Nginx Proxy Manager is usually one of my first containers because it makes managing web access much easier. It gives me a simple web interface to create proxy hosts without writing Nginx configuration files by hand. I can point a domain or subdomain to any service running on my server and manage everything from one place. It also supports SSL certificates, so I can enable HTTPS without dealing with complicated certificate commands. Another feature I like is access control. I can set basic authentication for services that I don't want to expose publicly. I can also enable or disable proxy hosts whenever I need to. The interface keeps things simple, too. I can see my proxy hosts, edit their settings, and manage certificates without digging through configuration files. For me, Nginx Proxy Manager removes a lot of the small setup work that usually comes with running several web-based services. Uptime Kuma My homelab's early warning system Uptime Kuma is the container I use to make sure my services are actually running. I don't want to find out something's down only when I need it, so I let Kuma keep an eye on everything for me. I can add a service by entering its address and choosing how I want it checked. It supports HTTP, HTTPS, TCP, Ping, DNS, and other monitoring methods, which covers most of the services I run. I can also set the check interval and decide how many failed checks should trigger an alert. The notification options are another reason I keep it around. I can connect services like email, Telegram, Discord, Slack, and more, so I know when something goes offline. The dashboard gives me a quick view of what is online, what is down, and how each service has been performing over time. Scrutiny A health check for my storage I would rather catch storage problems early than deal with them after a drive fails. That's where Scrutiny fits into my homelab. It gives me a simple dashboard for checking the health of my hard drives and SSDs. Scrutiny reads SMART data from supported drives and turns it into easy-to-understand information. I can check details such as drive temperature, power-on hours, health status, and SMART attributes without digging through command-line tools. The historical data is particularly useful. I can look back at previous readings and see how a drive's health and temperature have changed over time. This makes unusual changes easier to spot. I can also see all my drives in one place instead of checking them individually. Scrutiny doesn't try to do too much, and that's what I like about it. It gives me the storage health information I need without adding another complicated system to manage. Portainer Control panel for Docker Managing Docker containers from the command line is fine when I'm setting up one or two services. Once my homelab grows, though, I prefer having a visual way to manage everything. That's where Portainer comes in. Portainer gives me a web interface for managing my Docker environment. I can see all my containers, images, networks, and volumes without running separate commands for each one. Starting, stopping, restarting, or removing a container only takes a few clicks. I also use it when deploying new containers. Portainer lets me create stacks from Docker Compose files, edit existing stacks, and check their status from the same interface. The container logs are easy to access as well, which saves me from switching back to the terminal when I need to troubleshoot something. I don't need Portainer for every Docker task, but having everything visible in one dashboard makes day-to-day container management much easier for me. Duplicati The backup layer I never skip A homelab can have plenty of useful services, but none of them matter if I lose the data behind them. That's why Duplicati is one of the containers I install early. I use it to create scheduled backups without managing them manually every time. Duplicati lets me choose exactly what I want to back up, where I want to store it, and how often the backup should run. It supports destinations such as local folders, network storage, and several cloud providers. I can also set retention rules so older backups don't keep filling up my storage. Another feature I like is encryption. My backup files can be encrypted before they leave my server, which is useful when I store copies on another machine or cloud service. Duplicati also keeps backup history and reports, so I can check whether scheduled jobs completed successfully. It gives me a simple way to automate an important part of my homelab without constantly thinking about backups. My homelab starting point After years of self-hosting, these five containers have become my starting point. They handle the basics I need before I start adding other services. I don't install them because every homelab needs the same setup. I install them because they make building and managing a new server easier. Once these are running, I have a solid foundation to build on. From there, I can add the apps I actually need without rebuilding the basics every time. It's a simple starting routine, but it has saved me plenty of setup time over the years.