How to Install Homebox (A Home Inventory for Warranties, Serial Numbers and Insurance)
After a burglary or a flood the insurer asks for a list of what you had, with proof. Before that, the questions are smaller: is the TV still under warranty, what's the laptop's serial number, which box in the loft has the Christmas lights. Homebox is a small inventory app: items with photos, receipts, serials, purchase date and warranty, organised by location and label, with QR codes you can stick on boxes. It's one container and five minutes a week.
Quick reference
| Task | What |
|---|---|
| Folder | ~/docker/homebox/compose.yaml |
| Web | http://server-ip:7745 |
| First user | register in the web UI, then turn registration off |
| Structure | Location → Item; labels across locations |
| Attach | photos, receipts (PDF), manuals |
| Labels | Tools → Generate labels → print QR stickers |
1. The compose file
mkdir -p ~/docker/homebox/data && cd ~/docker/homebox
nano compose.yaml
services:
homebox:
image: ghcr.io/sysadminsmedia/homebox:latest
container_name: homebox
ports:
- "7745:7745"
environment:
HBOX_LOG_LEVEL: info
HBOX_OPTIONS_ALLOW_REGISTRATION: "true"
HBOX_WEB_MAX_UPLOAD_SIZE: 50
TZ: Europe/London
volumes:
- ./data:/data
restart: unless-stopped
docker compose up -d
sudo ufw allow from 192.168.1.0/24 to any port 7745
Open http://192.168.1.50:7745, Register, create your account. Then set HBOX_OPTIONS_ALLOW_REGISTRATION: "false" and up -d. Invite the household from Profile → Group → Invite.
2. Locations first
Locations → Create: House → Living room, Kitchen, Garage, Loft; Loft → Box 1, Box 2. Nesting is allowed. Spend five minutes here; everything hangs off it.
3. Add items
Items → Create: name, location, a photo (phone camera straight in), purchase date and price, serial number, model, manufacturer, warranty expiry, notes. Attach the receipt PDF or a photo of it, and the manual. Labels (insurance, electronics, lend-able) cut across locations.
The quick way: walk round with the phone, photograph everything worth more than £50, type a name and location. Details later. The insurance claim only needs the photo and a rough value.
4. Find things
Search covers names, serials and notes. Locations shows what's where; a label shows everything tagged. The item page shows warranty status at a glance — and Reports → Bill of materials exports a CSV of everything with values, which is exactly what an insurer wants.
5. QR labels on the boxes
Tools → Generate labels: pick locations or items, print on sticker sheets, stick them on the loft boxes. Scan with the phone camera → that box's contents. Moving house becomes bearable.
6. Maintenance log
Each item has a Maintenance tab: boiler serviced, car MOT, filter changed. Date, cost, notes. Combined with a label service-due, it's a reminder system for the things that need looking after.
Back up
./data holds the SQLite database and every attachment. Nightly backup (tutorial 23) and, for insurance, an occasional Tools → Export to a ZIP stored off-site (tutorial 54) — the point of the inventory is to survive the event that destroys the server.
Troubleshooting
Uploads fail for a large PDF. HBOX_WEB_MAX_UPLOAD_SIZE (MB), and the proxy's client_max_body_size if proxied.
Can't register a second person. Registration is off; use the group invite link instead.
Photos sideways. Phone EXIF orientation; rotate before upload, or it's fixed in newer versions.
Lost the password. No reset email without SMTP configured; delete the user from the database as a last resort, or set up SMTP via HBOX_MAILER_* first.
Wrapping up
One container, locations, then a photo-walk round the house. Serial numbers and warranties stop living in a drawer, the loft boxes get QR codes, and the day the insurer asks "what did you have?" you export a CSV instead of trying to remember.
