Configure Homebox

Env Variables & Configuration

Variable	Default	Description
HBOX_MODE	`production`	application mode used for runtime behavior can be one of: `development`, `production`
HBOX_WEB_PORT	7745	port to run the web server on, if you're using docker do not change this
HBOX_WEB_HOST		host to run the web server on, if you're using docker do not change this. see below for examples
HBOX_OPTIONS_ALLOW_REGISTRATION	true	allow users to register themselves
HBOX_OPTIONS_AUTO_INCREMENT_ASSET_ID	true	auto-increments the asset_id field for new items
HBOX_OPTIONS_CURRENCY_CONFIG		json configuration file containing additional currencies
HBOX_OPTIONS_ALLOW_ANALYTICS	false	Allows the homebox team to view extremely basic information about the system that your running on. This helps make decisions regarding builds and other general decisions.
HBOX_WEB_MAX_UPLOAD_SIZE	10	maximum file upload size supported in MB
HBOX_WEB_READ_TIMEOUT	10s	Read timeout of HTTP sever
HBOX_WEB_WRITE_TIMEOUT	10s	Write timeout of HTTP server
HBOX_WEB_IDLE_TIMEOUT	30s	Idle timeout of HTTP server
HBOX_STORAGE_CONN_STRING	file:///./	path to the data directory, do not change this if you're using docker
HBOX_STORAGE_PREFIX_PATH	.data	prefix path for the storage, if not set the storage will be used as is
HBOX_LOG_LEVEL	`info`	log level to use, can be one of `trace`, `debug`, `info`, `warn`, `error`, `critical`
HBOX_LOG_FORMAT	`text`	log format to use, can be one of: `text`, `json`
HBOX_MAILER_HOST		email host to use, if not set no email provider will be used
HBOX_MAILER_PORT	587	email port to use
HBOX_MAILER_USERNAME		email user to use
HBOX_MAILER_PASSWORD		email password to use
HBOX_MAILER_FROM		email from address to use
HBOX_DATABASE_DRIVER	sqlite3	sets the correct database type (`sqlite3` or `postgres`)
HBOX_DATABASE_SQLITE_PATH	./.data/homebox.db?_pragma=busy_timeout=999&_pragma=journal_mode=WAL&_fk=1&_time_format=sqlite	sets the directory path for Sqlite
HBOX_DATABASE_HOST		sets the hostname for a postgres database
HBOX_DATABASE_PORT		sets the port for a postgres database
HBOX_DATABASE_USERNAME		sets the username for a postgres connection (optional if using cert auth)
HBOX_DATABASE_PASSWORD		sets the password for a postgres connection (optional if using cert auth)
HBOX_DATABASE_DATABASE		sets the database for a postgres connection
HBOX_DATABASE_SSL_MODE	prefer	sets the sslmode for a postgres connection
HBOX_DATABASE_SSL_CERT		sets the sslcert for a postgres connection (should be a path)
HBOX_DATABASE_SSL_KEY		sets the sslkey for a postgres connection (should be a path)
HBOX_DATABASE_SSL_ROOT_CERT		sets the sslrootcert for a postgres connection (should be a path)
HBOX_OPTIONS_GITHUB_RELEASE_CHECK	true	check for new github releases
HBOX_LABEL_MAKER_WIDTH	526	width for generated labels in pixels
HBOX_LABEL_MAKER_HEIGHT	200	height for generated labels in pixels
HBOX_LABEL_MAKER_PADDING	32	space between elements on label
HBOX_LABEL_MAKER_FONT_SIZE	32.0	font size for label text
HBOX_LABEL_MAKER_PRINT_COMMAND		the command to use for printing labels. if empty, label printing is disabled. `{{.FileName}}` in the command will be replaced with the png filename of the label
HBOX_LABEL_MAKER_DYNAMIC_LENGTH	true	allow label generation with open length. `HBOX_LABEL_MAKER_HEIGHT` is still used for layout and minimal height. If not used, long text may be cut off, but all labels have the same size.
HBOX_LABEL_MAKER_ADDITIONAL_INFORMATION		Additional information added to the label like name or phone number
HBOX_THUMBNAIL_ENABLED	true	enable thumbnail generation for images, supports PNG, JPEG, AVIF, WEBP, GIF file types
HBOX_THUMBNAIL_WIDTH	500	width for generated thumbnails in pixels
HBOX_THUMBNAIL_HEIGHT	500	height for generated thumbnails in pixels

HBOX_WEB_HOST examples

Value	Notes
0.0.0.0	Visible all interfaces (default behaviour)
127.0.0.1	Only visible on same host
100.64.0.1	Only visible on a specific interface (e.g., VPN in a VPS).
unix?path=/run/homebox.sock	Listen on unix socket at specified path
sysd?name=homebox.socket	Listen on systemd socket

For unix and systemd socket address syntax and available options, see the anyhttp address-syntax documentation.

Private network example

Below example starts homebox in an isolated network. The process cannot make any external requests (including check for newer release) and thus more secure.

bash

❯ sudo systemd-run --property=PrivateNetwork=yes --uid $UID --pty --same-dir --wait --collect homebox --web-host "unix?path=/run/user/$UID/homebox.sock"
Running as unit: run-p74482-i74483.service
Press ^] three times within 1s to disconnect TTY.
2025/07/11 22:33:29 goose: no migrations to run. current version: 20250706190000
10:33PM INF ../../../go/src/app/app/api/handlers/v1/v1_ctrl_auth.go:98 > registering auth provider name=local
10:33PM INF ../../../go/src/app/app/api/main.go:275 > Server is running on unix?path=/run/user/1000/homebox.sock
10:33PM ERR ../../../go/src/app/app/api/main.go:403 > failed to get latest github release error="failed to make latest version request: Get \"https://api.github.com/repos/sysadminsmedia/homebox/releases/l
atest\": dial tcp: lookup api.github.com on [::1]:53: read udp [::1]:50951->[::1]:53: read: connection refused"
10:33PM INF ../../../go/src/app/internal/web/mid/logger.go:36 > request received method=GET path=/ rid=hname/PoXyRgt6ol-000001
10:33PM INF ../../../go/src/app/internal/web/mid/logger.go:41 > request finished method=GET path=/ rid=hname/PoXyRgt6ol-000001 status=0

Systemd socket example

In the example below, Homebox listens on a systemd socket securely so that only the webserver (Caddy) can access it. Other processes/containers on the host cannot connect to Homebox directly, bypassing the webserver.

File: homebox.socket

systemd

# /usr/local/lib/systemd/system/homebox.socket
[Unit]
Description=Homebox socket

[Socket]
ListenStream=/run/homebox.sock
SocketGroup=caddy
SocketMode=0660

[Install]
WantedBy=sockets.target

File: homebox.service

systemd

# /usr/local/lib/systemd/system/homebox.service
[Unit]
Description=Homebox
After=network.target
Documentation=https://homebox.software

[Service]
DynamicUser=yes
StateDirectory=homebox
Environment=HBOX_WEB_HOST=sysd?name=homebox.socket
WorkingDirectory=/var/lib/homebox

ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/homebox

NoNewPrivileges=yes
CapabilityBoundingSet=
RestrictNamespaces=true
SystemCallFilter=@system-service

Usage:

bash

systemctl start homebox.socket

Security Considerations

For postgreSQL in production:

Do not use the default postgres user
Do not use the default postgres database
Always use a strong unique password
Always use SSL (sslmode=require or sslmode=verify-full)
Consider using a connection pooler like pgbouncer

For SQLite in production:

Secure file permissions for the database file (e.g. chmod 600)
Use a secure directory for the database file
Use a secure backup strategy
Monitor the file size and consider using a different database for large installations

CLI Arguments

If you're deploying without docker you can use command line arguments to configure the application. Run homebox --help for more information.

Usage: api [options] [arguments]

OPTIONS
--mode/$HBOX_MODE                                                             <string>  (default: development)
--web-port/$HBOX_WEB_PORT                                                     <string>  (default: 7745)
--web-host/$HBOX_WEB_HOST                                                     <string>
--web-max-upload-size/$HBOX_WEB_MAX_UPLOAD_SIZE                               <int>     (default: 10)
--storage-conn-string/$HBOX_STORAGE_CONN_STRING                               <string>  (default: file:///./)
--storage-prefix-path/$HBOX_STORAGE_PREFIX_PATH                               <string>  (default: .data)
--log-level/$HBOX_LOG_LEVEL                                                   <string>  (default: info)
--log-format/$HBOX_LOG_FORMAT                                                 <string>  (default: text)
--mailer-host/$HBOX_MAILER_HOST                                               <string>
--mailer-port/$HBOX_MAILER_PORT                                               <int>
--mailer-username/$HBOX_MAILER_USERNAME                                       <string>
--mailer-password/$HBOX_MAILER_PASSWORD                                       <string>
--mailer-from/$HBOX_MAILER_FROM                                               <string>
--demo/$HBOX_DEMO                                                             <bool>
--debug-enabled/$HBOX_DEBUG_ENABLED                                           <bool>    (default: false)
--debug-port/$HBOX_DEBUG_PORT                                                 <string>  (default: 4000)
--database-driver/$HBOX_DATABASE_DRIVER                                       <string>  (default: sqlite3)
--database-sqlite-path/$HBOX_DATABASE_SQLITE_PATH                             <string>  (default: ./.data/homebox.db?_pragma=busy_timeout=999&_pragma=journal_mode=WAL&_fk=1&_time_format=sqlite)
--database-host/$HBOX_DATABASE_HOST                                           <string>
--database-port/$HBOX_DATABASE_PORT                                           <string>
--database-username/$HBOX_DATABASE_USERNAME                                   <string>
--database-password/$HBOX_DATABASE_PASSWORD                                   <string>
--database-database/$HBOX_DATABASE_DATABASE                                   <string>
--database-ssl-mode/$HBOX_DATABASE_SSL_MODE                                   <string>  (default: prefer)
--options-allow-registration/$HBOX_OPTIONS_ALLOW_REGISTRATION                 <bool>    (default: true)
--options-auto-increment-asset-id/$HBOX_OPTIONS_AUTO_INCREMENT_ASSET_ID       <bool>    (default: true)
--options-currency-config/$HBOX_OPTIONS_CURRENCY_CONFIG                       <string>
--options-github-release-check/$HBOX_OPTIONS_GITHUB_RELEASE_CHECK             <bool>    (default: true)
--options-allow-analytics/$HBOX_OPTIONS_ALLOW_ANALYTICS                       <bool>    (default: false)
--label-maker-width/$HBOX_LABEL_MAKER_WIDTH                                   <int>     (default: 526)
--label-maker-height/$HBOX_LABEL_MAKER_HEIGHT                                 <int>     (default: 200)
--label-maker-padding/$HBOX_LABEL_MAKER_PADDING                               <int>     (default: 32)
--label-maker-margin/$HBOX_LABEL_MAKER_MARGIN                                 <int>     (default: 32)
--label-maker-font-size/$HBOX_LABEL_MAKER_FONT_SIZE                           <float>   (default: 32.0)
--label-maker-print-command/$HBOX_LABEL_MAKER_PRINT_COMMAND                   <string>
--label-maker-dynamic-length/$HBOX_LABEL_MAKER_DYNAMIC_LENGTH                 <bool>    (default: true)
--label-maker-additional-information/$HBOX_LABEL_MAKER_ADDITIONAL_INFORMATION <string>
--thumbnail-enabled/$HBOX_THUMBNAIL_ENABLED                                   <bool>    (default: true)
--thumbnail-width/$HBOX_THUMBNAIL_WIDTH                                       <int>     (default: 500)
--thumbnail-height/$HBOX_THUMBNAIL_HEIGHT                                     <int>     (default: 500)
--help/-h    display this help message

Configure Homebox ​

Env Variables & Configuration ​

HBOX_WEB_HOST examples ​

Private network example ​

Systemd socket example ​

Configure Homebox

Env Variables & Configuration

HBOX_WEB_HOST examples

Private network example

Systemd socket example