A self-hosted dashboard for keeping local and public service links together in one clear interface.

Matrix Home was created for my own homelab to provide a fast home page for services that may have both a local address and a public address. It supports multiple visual themes, JSON backup and restore, quick search and a compact editing workflow.

Warning

Matrix Home is under active development. Many changes and a complete visual and structural restyling are planned. Features, configuration and stored data may change before the project reaches a stable release.

Project Status

Field	Current state
Maturity	🟡 Active Development
Used in my homelab	✅ Yes
Recommended for production	❌ Not yet
Setup difficulty	🟡 Intermediate
Documentation	🟡 In progress
Current version	1.3.10

Why It Exists

Homelab services are often available through two different routes: a fast local URL at home and a protected public URL when away. Matrix Home keeps both destinations in the same entry, instead of forcing separate bookmarks or duplicate dashboard items.

Features

• Separate local and public URLs for each service.
• Matrix, Dark, Light, Retro and automatic themes.
• Quick search by typing anywhere on the page.
• Sorting by site or group.
• Add, edit and remove entries from the web interface.
• JSON import and export.
• Persistent storage through a Docker volume.
• Health endpoint for container monitoring.

Interface

Matrix theme	Retro theme	Light theme

Installation

Docker

docker run -d \
  --name matrix-home \
  -p 8070:8070 \
  -v matrix-home-data:/app/data \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  issuluca/matrix-home:latest

Open http://localhost:8070 after the container starts.

Docker Compose

Clone the repository and start the included Compose configuration:

git clone https://github.com/issu-lab/matrix-home.git
cd matrix-home
docker compose up -d --build

The persistent Docker volume stores the dashboard data independently from the container.

Basic Usage

Open the menu in the upper-right corner to:

• enable edit mode;
• import or export the link collection;
• select a visual theme;
• check the current protection setting.

Each link can contain:

{
  "SITO": "SERVICE NAME",
  "GROUP": "HOMELAB",
  "LOCAL": "http://192.168.1.10",
  "CLOUD": "https://service.example.com"
}

LOCAL and CLOUD are independent and either one may be omitted.

Data and Backup

Dashboard entries are stored in /app/data/links.json inside the container. When the supplied Docker volume is used, the data remains available after upgrades or container replacement.

The recommended backup method is the built-in JSON export. A complete volume backup can also be created with:

docker cp matrix-home:/app/data ./matrix-home-backup

Security Notice

Caution

The current protection toggle is not a complete authentication system. The application must not be exposed directly to the internet.

For remote access, place Matrix Home behind a trusted access layer such as:

• Cloudflare Access;
• an authenticated reverse proxy;
• a private VPN.

The authentication and access-control model will be redesigned before Matrix Home is considered suitable for broader use.

Current Limitations

• The interface and internal structure still reflect an early personal version.
• Configuration and validation need to be made more consistent.
• The current access-control mechanism is not suitable for direct public exposure.
• Upgrade and migration behavior is not yet formally guaranteed.
• Documentation will evolve together with the application.

Planned Improvements

• Complete visual and usability restyling.
• A single action that can present local and public destinations clearly.
• Revised authentication and security model.
• Cleaner configuration and data handling.
• Better responsive behavior on desktop and mobile.
• More consistent editing, import and export workflows.
• Structured documentation and upgrade notes.

Local Development

Matrix Home requires Node.js 22 or later.

git clone https://github.com/issu-lab/matrix-home.git
cd matrix-home
npm install
npm start

The development server listens on http://localhost:8070 by default. Set PORT to use a different port.

License

Released under the MIT License.

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Part of iSSU Open Homelab — built for my homelab and shared as it evolves.