I’ve run a whole lot of Docker containers, however these 5 have by no means wanted fixing
I’ve been homelabbing for over 5 years at this level, and it is protected to say I’ve run a whole lot of Docker containers over time. However, there are 5 stand-out containers in my homelab that I’ve merely by no means needed to restore.
Plex
It’s my media heart of selection
I’m a huge Plex advocate. I’ve tried Jellyfin previously, however it just doesn’t click with me like Plex does.
Plex was the very first container I launched in my homelab back in January 2021, and I’ve been actively utilizing Plex for over a decade at this level indirectly, form, or type.
For me, Plex is the center of my homelab. Without it, I would not be writing about homelabbing content material at present. But, it is also one of the crucial steady apps in my homelab. I’ve by no means had a problem with it in all my years of working it. It simply does what it must and does not complain.
Any points I’ve had have at all times been self-inflicted, like working it in a digital machine and attempting to move via my built-in graphics from Proxmox to Plex—that was a nightmare, however not due to any fault with the Plex container.
If I needed to identify my most dependable container in my homelab, it could undoubtedly be Plex.
Nginx Proxy Manager
I could not run my homelab with out it
Nginx Proxy Manager, or NPM as it is also referred to as, is true up there with Plex in its reliability. I want to make use of reverse proxies for my homelab’s exterior entry over Cloudflare Tunnels primarily as a result of it is what I began with and what I do know properly.
With NPM, I can add a brand new self-hosted reverse proxy in about 10 seconds as a result of I’m so well-versed at it at this level. I’ve over two dozen reverse proxies working via it, and it is actually by no means given me any issues.
The few occasions I’ve had an issue, it usually needed to do with one thing else on the community, and never NPM itself. NPM has been rock-steady for me and I’ve by no means needed to actually restore something about it, exterior of fixing a number of Let’s Encrypt certificates that received corrupted throughout a server transfer one time.
Audiobookshelf
This audiobook server has been rock-solid
On this listing, Audiobookshelf is among the newer containers in my homelab, but it surely has turn into one of the crucial dependable containers in my homelab.
If you’ve got by no means heard of Audiobookshelf, it is an open-source Audible replacement, mainly. It does not really deal with sourcing audiobooks like Audible does, but it surely handles the playback aspect of issues.
I left Audible a couple of 12 months and a half in the past for Audiobookshelf and have not regarded again. Like Plex, Audiobookshelf merely runs within the background and handles every thing that I would like it to with none fuss.
I truthfully have not had a single downside with Audiobookshelf, which is fairly loopy contemplating it has over a dozen customers on it and two separate libraries. Any issues that I’ve ever had had been from third-party cellular apps, making the service itself one thing I’ve by no means needed to fuss with.
Tautulli
It runs so easily I neglect it is there more often than not
Alongside Plex, I’ve been working Tautulli because the starting of my homelab journey. It’s a companion app to Plex and mainly retains a log of what was watched, when it was watched, who watched it, and what’s being watched proper now.
Tautulli does much more than simply that, however that is primarily what I take advantage of it for. I’ve by no means as soon as needed to mess with Tautulli after setting it up. It’s only a dependable container that sits again and collects info for me.
In truth, I had forgotten how lengthy I’ve had Tautulli working as a result of I hardly ever give it some thought. A couple of months in the past, I wanted to downsize my Plex server’s catalog to avoid wasting area, and Tautulli began surfacing knowledge from 5 or extra years in the past. It was spectacular to me, and a testomony to how dependable this container has been in my homelab.
Speedtest-Tracker
There once I want it, working when I’m not serious about it
Speedtest-Tracker is a container that I truthfully do not take into consideration usually. I hardly ever examine it, however I know that it runs reliably and is there once I want it.
When would I would like it? If I’m ever noticing slower networking speeds or different network-related points, I can examine Speedtest-Tracker to see what it’s exhibiting traditionally. Is this a one-off downside, or is my networking velocity slower across the identical time day-after-day?
Speedtest-Tracker simply sits there, silently amassing knowledge for me with out me having to consider it in any respect.
The greatest Docker containers are those you generally neglect are even there
I’ve loads of Docker containers that I’m consistently messing with for one motive or one other. Those containers are those that trigger me essentially the most headache.
The greatest Docker containers in my homelab are those that I hardly take into consideration, and I actually assume that is how each homelab needs to be.


