A lightweight, self-hosted start page & bookmark dashboard (homepage) for homes and small teams: grouped cards · LAN/WAN dual addresses · server monitoring · Docker management
Single-container deployment · SQLite storage · no external database · zero third-party PHP/Composer dependencies (vanilla PHP, no framework, no build step)
Author's running instance · Quick start · 中文说明 · Discord · Telegram
Most start pages are either bloated or single-user. ITSWE-Nav targets self-hosted homes and small teams: one container and you're done — SQLite instead of a database server, vanilla PHP with zero dependencies. The signature feature, dual-address cards (WAN + LAN) with one-click switching, is designed for the classic self-hosting scenario: you are outside, your NAS is inside.
- Multi-user: a built-in admin (admin / itswe) is created automatically on first visit — change that password right away; registered users are regular users (if every admin is deleted, the next registration takes over for recovery); role separation, create/reset/disable/delete accounts, dedicated sign-up page with optional e-mail, terms of service, e-mail verification codes for password recovery
- Groups & cards: unlimited groups, notes, drag-and-drop sorting / cross-group moves / keyboard ↑↓ nudging; long-press to edit on mobile
- LAN/WAN switching: every card can hold both a WAN and a LAN URL; the 🌐 button toggles Auto / LAN / WAN without a page reload; Auto mode matches the client IP against site-wide CIDR ranges and honours
X-Forwarded-Forbehind reverse proxies - Server monitoring: CPU, memory, disk, network throughput, load, uptime; a status strip on the panel polls every 30 s
- Docker management: container list, state, port mappings, start/stop/restart (optional
docker.sockmount) - Icon gallery: 4300+ Dashboard Icons and 3400+ Simple Icons served locally, searchable from the card editor
- Layered icon fallback: server-side proxied favicon → upload → gallery →
iconify:identifier → initial letter - Guest homepage: recommended sites + search for anonymous visitors (separate sets for Chinese and English), with a sign-up hint
- Bilingual UI: 中文 / English, browser-detected by default, overridable with
?lang=en|zh - Appearance: 6 gradient wallpapers, wallpaper via URL or upload (≤ 8 MB); dark mode follows the system
- Data ownership: full JSON backup export/import, card export to CSV / Netscape HTML, in-app iframe preview
- Security: CSRF protection everywhere, bcrypt hashes, login rate limiting, upload MIME sniffing + random file names, automatic incremental migrations (safe upgrades, rollback-friendly)
| Guest homepage | Card editor |
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| Icon gallery | Server monitor |
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| Login page | Mobile |
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mkdir itswe-nav && cd itswe-nav
curl -fsSLO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/showhoo/itswe-nav/main/docker-compose.yml
docker compose up -dThe bundled compose file builds from source. To run the prebuilt image, replace the
build: ./image:lines withimage: ghcr.io/showhoo/itswe-nav:1.0.1.
git clone https://github.com/showhoo/itswe-nav.git
cd itswe-nav
docker compose up -dOpen http://localhost:8080 and sign in as admin / itswe — change the password immediately. Registration is off by default — to let other members sign up, an admin enables it in Admin panel → Site settings → Open registration.
bash sync-gallery.sh # run in the compose directory; downloads 7700+ icons into data/gallery/Everything works without it: proxied favicons, uploads and iconify identifiers are independent of the gallery — only "pick from gallery" starts out empty.
⚠️ The default password is weak and exists only for first login. For public deployments: change it immediately, keep registration closed unless you intend to open it, and put the panel behind a reverse proxy. Don't need Docker management? Remove thedocker.sockline from the compose file.
| Document | Contents |
|---|---|
| Installation | compose / plain docker / non-root / reverse proxy (nginx, Caddy) / HTTPS |
| Configuration | every site setting, environment variables, ports and volumes |
| User guide | guest / member / admin walkthroughs, mobile gestures |
| FAQ | default password, gallery, LAN detection, SMTP, backups and more |
| Privacy | where data lives and every outbound request the panel can make |
| Item | Notes |
|---|---|
| Port | 8080 by default, change ports in compose |
| Data | everything lives in ./data (SQLite + uploads + caches) — back up that folder and you're done |
| docker.sock | enables the Docker admin tab; omit without affecting anything else |
| Language | browser-detected by default; pin to Chinese/English in admin → site settings |
| LAN ranges | defaults to 192.168.0.0/16,10.0.0.0/8,172.16.0.0/12, editable per site |
git pull && docker compose up -d --build- Schema changes apply automatically through incremental migrations on first request; migrations only add — rolling back to an older release stays compatible
- Backups: SQLite runs in WAL mode, so copying the database file directly may produce an inconsistent snapshot. Prefer:
- Admin panel → Server → Export backup (full JSON, includes password hashes — keep it safe)
- or
docker compose stop, then copy the wholedata/folder
Where are the monitoring / Docker features?
Admin panel → Server tab (admins only). The status strip is on by default. Docker management requires mounting docker.sock.Auto LAN/WAN detection picks the wrong address?
Behind a reverse proxy the panel reads the first X-Forwarded-For IP — make sure your proxy sets it. LAN ranges are editable in site settings (comma-separated CIDRs).No verification e-mail arriving?
Configure SMTP in site settings first (SSL/TLS/plain supported). Without SMTP, registration and password recovery still work — just without e-mail verification.See docs/faq.md for more.
The panel embeds no analytics, telemetry or remote checks. All data lives in your own data/ folder. The only outbound requests are icon-related (favicon fetching, gallery sync) — the full list is in docs/privacy.md.
ITSWE-Nav is free and MIT-licensed. The "Powered by" badge in the footer is this project's only promotion — it sits quietly at the bottom of every page, linking to www.itswe.com by default. Keeping that little line is the most tangible way to support the project. Thank you!
- The admin UI deliberately offers no switch to remove or edit the credit;
- If you truly must (e.g. strict corporate intranet policies), technically you can modify
www/lib/credit.phpand the database seed — may it be a considered decision, not a drive-by deletion; - When the credit is wiped, the admin panel shows a purely local reminder (no reporting, no functional impact).
Sites that keep the footer credit — PRs welcome to add yours (format: [Site](link) — one-line description):
- nav.itswe.com — the author's own instance
- (your site here)
Scan the QR code to join us — questions, ideas and contributions welcome.
| Discord | Telegram |
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| discord.gg/c2EyDFqPgR | t.me/itswenav |
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Issues and PRs welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for the development setup. Please run bash run-tests-ci.sh (55 coverage + 148 e2e + 8 migration assertions) before submitting.
- Widget cards (clock, system info)
- Partial backup restore (bookmarks only / users only)
- More languages
MIT © showhoo
Credits: VPS sponsored by Chuangwit; gallery icons from Dashboard Icons (MIT) and Simple Icons (CC0); favicon service by favicon.im; legacy <dialog> support via dialog-polyfill (MIT).