Glance: The Self-Hosted Dashboard Your Homelab Needs

For any homelab enthusiast, managing a growing collection of services, applications, and virtual machines can quickly become a juggling act, especially when something like Proxmox makes it so easy to build your own homelab. Remembering IP addresses, ports, and bookmarks for each self-hosted service is a chore. This is where a homelab dashboard comes in, and today, we’re taking a look at a fantastic option: Glance.

What is Glance and How Does it Work?

Glance is a lightweight, fast, and highly customizable self-hosted dashboard that puts all your important information in one place. It acts as a central hub for your homelab, giving you a single, beautiful interface to access all your services.

At its core, Glance works by pulling data from various sources through widgets. You configure these widgets to display information from your favorite services, news feeds, and more. All of this is done through simple YAML configuration files, making it incredibly flexible and easy to manage.

Glance dashboard – Image credit: glanceapp GitHub

Glance Features at a… Glance

Glance is packed with features that make it a powerful tool for any homelab:

Wide Range of Widgets: Display RSS feeds, subreddit posts, weather forecasts, YouTube and Twitch channels, stock prices, Docker container status, server stats, and more. You can even create your own custom widgets.
Fast and Lightweight: Glance is built to be efficient, with low memory usage and minimal dependencies. It loads quickly, even on less powerful hardware.
Highly Customizable: With different layouts, multiple pages, and extensive configuration options for each widget, you can tailor Glance to your exact needs.
Mobile-Friendly: Access your dashboard on the go with a responsive design that works great on phones and tablets.
Themable: Choose from a variety of pre-built themes or create your own with custom CSS to match your personal style.

Glance Mobile Dashboard – Image Credit: glanceapp GitHub

Why Your Homelab Needs a Dashboard

A dashboard is an essential tool for any serious homelabber. Here’s why:

Organization: A dashboard brings order to the chaos of managing multiple services. Instead of a messy bookmark bar, you get a clean, organized interface with everything in one place.
Efficiency: Save time and effort by having all your important links and information readily available. No more digging for IP addresses or remembering specific ports.
At-a-Glance Monitoring: Many dashboards, including Glance, offer integrations that let you see the status of your services without having to log in to each one individually.
Centralized Access: A dashboard provides a single point of entry to your entire homelab, making it easy to access your services from any device on your network.

How Glance Makes Your Homelab Better

Glance takes the benefits of a homelab dashboard and supercharges them:

Effortless Organization: With its widget-based system and customizable pages, Glance makes it easy to group and organize your services in a way that makes sense to you.
Ultimate Efficiency: By consolidating news feeds, service statuses, and links to your applications, Glance streamlines your workflow and saves you from opening dozens of browser tabs.
Powerful Monitoring: Keep an eye on your Docker containers, server stats, and more, all from a single, easy-to-read interface.
Your Homelab, Your Way: Glance’s extensive customization options mean you can create a dashboard that’s not just functional, but also a pleasure to use.

Quick Installation Guide

Getting started with Glance is a breeze, especially if you’re using Docker. Here’s a quick overview of the recommended installation method:

Create a glance directory on your server.
Download the template files using a simple curl command.
Edit the docker-compose.yml file to configure the port and volumes.
Customize the config/home.yml and config/glance.yml files to add your widgets and configure the layout.
Run docker compose up -d to start the Glance container.

For more detailed instructions, including manual installation and other methods, be sure to check out the official Glance documentation.

Conclusion

Glance is a powerful, flexible, and easy-to-use self-hosted dashboard that can transform the way you manage your homelab. By bringing all your services, feeds, and important information into a single, beautiful interface, Glance helps you stay organized, efficient, and in control. If you’re looking for a way to level up your homelab, give Glance a try—you won’t be disappointed.

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