Homeio
YunoHostYunoHostvsHomeio
⌘KAlternative to YunoHost

YunoHost integrates. Homeio containerises.

YunoHost turns a fresh Debian into a well-integrated server for a household or a small group, with SSO, shared accounts and email. The cost is its own packaging: an app has to be packaged before you can install it. Homeio runs anything with a Docker image, for a single admin, on the Linux you already have.

Homeio
Homeio app store, where every app is a Docker Compose stack
⌘1Differences

What changes if you switch.

  • 01Any Docker image or compose file runs, catalog or not.
  • 02New upstream versions arrive when the image does, not when a package is updated.
  • 03Installs on an existing Debian, Ubuntu or Raspberry Pi OS.
  • 04Host tools in the same desktop: files, disks, USB drives, Samba, metrics.
  • 05Cron-scheduled restarts, image pulls, scripts and backups.
  • 06Tailscale and Cloudflare Tunnel in Settings, and two-factor login.
⌘2Side by side

Job by job.

NeedIn Homeio
Run an app nobody packaged

Paste its compose file or docker run command. It installs like any catalog app.

YunoHost: package it yourself, or wait for one.

Accounts for the household

One admin account. Multi-user with roles is planned for 2.0.

YunoHost: users, groups and SSO across apps.

Host your own email

Not built in.

YunoHost ships a full mail stack.

Keep the OS you have

Installs on your current system, x86_64 or ARM64.

YunoHost recommends a fresh, dedicated Debian.

Debug a failing app

Live container logs with level badges and keyword filter; restart or redeploy from the desktop.

YunoHost: systemd services and their journal.

Recurring jobs

A cron scheduler for app restarts, image pulls, backups and scripts, with failure notifications.

Backups

Weekly archive of the database, /DATA and the compose stacks, restored from Settings.

YunoHost has per-app and system backups built in.

Reach it from outside

Tailscale for the dashboard, Cloudflare Tunnel to publish single apps on your domain.

YunoHost expects a domain and open ports, and manages certificates.

⌘?FAQ

Questions people ask before switching.

How is Homeio different from YunoHost?

YunoHost installs apps as native Debian services from its own packaging scripts, with a shared user directory, single sign-on and an email server. Homeio runs every app as a Docker Compose stack and is built for one administrator. The practical question is whether you want the YunoHost ecosystem's integration or Docker's portability.

When is YunoHost the better choice?

When several people need accounts, when you want one login across apps, or when you want to host your own email. YunoHost does all three out of the box. Homeio has one account and no SSO, and it does not run a mail server.

Why would I pick Docker over YunoHost packages?

Coverage and speed. Any app with a Docker image can run in Homeio: paste its compose file or its docker run command. A new upstream version is available as soon as its image is published. On YunoHost, an app needs a package, and updates arrive when the package maintainer ships them. For popular apps that works well; for niche ones it can mean waiting or packaging it yourself.

Do I need a fresh install?

No. Homeio installs on an existing Debian, Ubuntu or Raspberry Pi OS system. YunoHost recommends a dedicated, fresh Debian because it configures Nginx, users, DNS and mail system-wide.

Does Homeio have single sign-on?

No. Each app keeps its own login. If you want SSO in front of your apps, Authelia or Authentik run fine as Compose apps; you wire them up yourself.

Does Homeio back up like YunoHost does?

Both have backups built in. Homeio archives its database, everything under /DATA and your compose stacks weekly, keeps the last seven, and restores from Settings. Like YunoHost's local archives, they sit on the same machine until you copy them elsewhere.

What does Homeio add for the host?

A desktop-style file manager with a Monaco editor, Samba shares and SMB mounts, USB drives, a partition manager, live CPU, memory, disk and network metrics, a cron scheduler, two-factor login, and Tailscale and Cloudflare Tunnel in Settings.

Is Homeio free?

Yes, and both use the same licence: Homeio and YunoHost are free software under the AGPL-3.0. Since 1.9.5, Homeio sends an anonymous ping twice a day, with public totals at homeio.app/stats; HOMEIO_TELEMETRY=false turns it off.

⌘3Next step

Try it next to what you run now.

The demo needs no install. On a spare machine or a VM, the Docker install takes a few minutes and listens on port 12026, so it does not fight your current setup for port 80.

⌘4Keep reading