---
title: "Deploy Dashy — Open Source Homer & Homarr Alternative on Railway"
description: "Self Host Dashy. Open Source Start Page with Widgets & Themes"
category: "Analytics"
url: https://railway.com/deploy/dashy
---

# Deploy Dashy — Open Source Homer & Homarr Alternative on Railway

Self Host Dashy. Open Source Start Page with Widgets & Themes

**[Deploy Dashy — Open Source Homer & Homarr Alternative on Railway on Railway](https://railway.com/template/dashy)**

- **Creator:** Heimdall
- **Category:** Analytics
- **Total deploys:** 2

## Template content

### Dashy https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/homarr-labs/dashboard-icons/png/dashy.png

- **Image:** lissy93/dashy:latest
- **Start command:** `/bin/sh -c 'test -f /app/user-data/conf.yml || echo cGFnZUluZm86CiAgdGl0bGU6IERhc2h5CnNlY3Rpb25zOiBbXQo= | base64 -d > /app/user-data/conf.yml; yarn start'`
- **Public domain:** Yes

## Documentation

![Dashy logo](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Lissy93/dashy/master/docs/assets/status-check-demo.gif)

# Deploy and Host Dashy

Dashy is an open-source, self-hosted dashboard for your homelab — a single, beautiful interface for organizing all your services, links, and widgets. It replaces scattered browser bookmarks with a fully customizable start page complete with service status checks, 50+ pre-built widgets, multiple themes, and a built-in UI editor, all configured from a single YAML file. 
Self-hosting Dashy on Railway takes seconds: this one-click template deploys the `lissy93/dashy` image with a persistent volume at `/app/user-data` pre-wired, so your `conf.yml` and custom icons survive every redeploy. A starter config is automatically written on first boot — open the dashboard and start customizing immediately.

![Dashy Railway architecture](https://res.cloudinary.com/asset-cloudinary/image/upload/v1773563585/Dashy_railway_arch_opfk8z.png)

## Getting Started with Dashy on Railway

Once the deploy finishes, click the public Railway URL to open your Dashy instance. You'll land on a minimal starter dashboard generated automatically from the built-in base config. To begin customizing, click the settings cog in the top-right corner and select **Config Editor** to edit your `conf.yml` directly in the browser, or choose **UI Config** for the visual drag-and-drop editor. Add sections and items for each service you want to link. Your configuration is saved to `/app/user-data/conf.yml` on the attached volume, so changes persist across restarts. To add user authentication, set `appConfig.auth` in your YAML with a SHA-256-hashed password.

![Dashy dashboard screenshot](https://res.cloudinary.com/asset-cloudinary/image/upload/v1773563585/Dashy_dashboard_rtmd9d.png)

## About Hosting Dashy

Dashy is a privacy-respecting, fully open-source homelab dashboard built by Alicia Sykes ([@Lissy93](https://github.com/Lissy93/dashy)) and licensed under MIT. It solves the problem of scattered bookmarks across dozens of self-hosted services by centralizing access in one place.

Key features:

- **50+ built-in widgets** — Docker stats, GitHub activity, weather, uptime, RSS feeds, and more
- **Service status indicators** — per-item health checks with response time on hover
- **Visual UI editor** — configure and preview changes without touching YAML
- **Theming engine** — dozens of built-in themes plus full custom CSS and CSS variable support
- **Multiple views** — default grid, minimal browser startpage, and workspace (multi-app iframe) modes
- **Auth & multi-user** — built-in basic auth, Keycloak, and other SSO provider support
- **PWA support** — installable as a progressive web app with basic offline access
- **Web search** — query DuckDuckGo, Google, or any custom engine directly from the dashboard

## Why Deploy Dashy on Railway

Railway removes all the operational overhead so you can focus on building your perfect dashboard:

- Persistent volume keeps your `conf.yml` and custom icons safe across deployments
- Auto-generated starter config means zero manual setup on first boot
- Public HTTPS URL out of the box — no reverse proxy needed
- One-click redeploys when you update your config or the image
- No Docker volume or port mapping to manage yourself

## Common Use Cases

- **Homelab launchpad** — centralize access to Nextcloud, Grafana, Portainer, Pi-hole, and other self-hosted services from one tab
- **Team internal portal** — shared dashboard for a small team's internal tools, docs, and monitoring links
- **Browser start page** — use Dashy's minimal view as a fast-loading new-tab replacement with web search
- **Service health monitor** — use status indicators and widgets to keep an eye on uptime across your entire stack without opening each service individually

## Dashy vs Homer vs Homarr

| Feature | Dashy | Homer | Homarr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open source | ✅ MIT | ✅ Apache 2.0 | ✅ MIT |
| UI editor | ✅ Full visual editor | ❌ YAML only | ✅ Drag-and-drop GUI |
| Widgets | ✅ 50+ built-in | ⚠️ Limited | ✅ ~20 integrations |
| Status checks | ✅ Per-item | ❌ | ✅ |
| Auth / multi-user | ✅ + SSO/Keycloak | ❌ | ✅ |
| Resource usage | Medium | Very low | Medium |
| Self-hostable | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |

Dashy is the right pick when you want deep theming, a rich widget ecosystem, and a visual editor. Homer wins on raw simplicity; Homarr wins on GUI-first setup with zero YAML.

## Dependencies for Dashy

- **Dashy** — `lissy93/dashy:latest` ([GitHub](https://github.com/Lissy93/dashy) · [Docker Hub](https://hub.docker.com/r/lissy93/dashy))
- **Volume** — `/app/user-data` for persistent `conf.yml`, custom icons, and user assets

### Environment Variables Reference

| Variable | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| `NODE_ENV` | Set to `production` to run the optimised build | Yes |

> No database or secrets are needed. All configuration lives in `conf.yml` on the mounted volume.

### Deployment Dependencies

- **Runtime**: Node.js 18+ (LTS 20.x recommended for bare-metal; handled by the Docker image on Railway)
- **GitHub**: https://github.com/Lissy93/dashy
- **Docker Hub**: https://hub.docker.com/r/lissy93/dashy
- **Docs**: https://dashy.to/docs

## Minimum Hardware Requirements for Dashy

| Resource | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 1 vCPU | 1 vCPU |
| RAM | 512 MB | 1 GB |
| Disk | 512 MB | 1 GB |
| Node.js | 18.x | 20.x LTS |

Dashy runs comfortably on low-powered hardware including Raspberry Pi 3+. On Railway, the default Starter plan is sufficient for personal and small-team use.

## Self-Hosting Dashy

**Docker (quickest):**

```
docker run -d \
  -p 4000:8080 \
  -v $(pwd)/user-data:/app/user-data \
  --name dashy \
  --restart=always \
  lissy93/dashy:latest
```

Your dashboard is then available at `http://localhost:4000`. Place your `conf.yml` in `./user-data/` before starting, or let Dashy generate a starter config on first run.

**Bare metal:**

```
git clone https://github.com/Lissy93/dashy.git && cd dashy
yarn install
yarn build
yarn start
```

Requires Node.js 18+. The app listens on port `8080` by default.

## Is Dashy Free?

Dashy is 100% free and open source under the MIT license — there are no paid tiers, no SaaS subscription, and no feature paywalling. On Railway, the only cost is your infrastructure: the Hobby plan starts at $5/month and is more than enough to run Dashy comfortably. There is no official cloud-hosted version; self-hosting is the only way to use it.

## FAQ

**What is Dashy?**
Dashy is an open-source, self-hosted homepage and dashboard for homelabs. It lets you organize all your services, links, and monitoring widgets in a single customizable interface, replacing browser bookmarks with a purpose-built start page.

**What does this Railway template deploy?**
It deploys a single Dashy container (`lissy93/dashy:latest`) with a persistent volume mounted at `/app/user-data`. A starter `conf.yml` is written automatically on first boot if one doesn't exist, so the dashboard is usable immediately with no manual setup.

**Why is a volume attached at `/app/user-data`?**
Dashy stores its configuration (`conf.yml`), custom icons, and other user assets in `/app/user-data`. Without a persistent volume, all customizations would be lost every time the container restarts or redeploys. The volume ensures your dashboard survives deploys.

**Can I edit my dashboard config without restarting the container?**
Yes. Dashy's built-in UI Config Editor and Config Editor (YAML) allow live edits that are saved directly to `conf.yml` on the volume. Changes take effect on page refresh without any container restart.

**Does Dashy support user login / authentication?**
Yes. Dashy has built-in basic auth with SHA-256 password hashing, multi-user support with granular permissions, and SSO integration via Keycloak and other providers. Configure it under the `appConfig.auth` key in your `conf.yml`.

**Can I run multiple pages or sub-dashboards?**
Yes. You can define additional pages in `conf.yml` under the `pages` key, each pointing to a separate local or remote YAML config file. This is useful for separating work, homelab, and personal services.


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Open this page in a browser: https://railway.com/deploy/dashy