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Runtipi is a free, open-source tool for managing self-hosted apps on a home server. It has a web dashboard where you install, update, configure and back up apps, and each app runs in its own Docker container. You install it on a 64-bit Linux system with one command.

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What Runtipi does well

  • It gives you an app store on a Linux host you already have.
  • Installing, updating and, according to its documentation, backing up an app happens in one dashboard.
  • It needs no special hardware or image.
  • It is a focused tool. It manages apps and leaves the rest of the host to you.

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What kombify is

kombify defines the homelab as a whole: sign-in, access policy, routing, backup and updates, in one declarative file. StackKits plans, applies and verifies it. Techstack is the app that operates it.

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How they relate

kombify and Runtipi both start from a Linux host and one command. Runtipi centres on the app catalog. kombify centres on the definition around the apps. The kombify catalog lists Runtipi as a planned alternative engine for the Marketplace use case, an app store on your homelab. That integration is in development. Its module and its lifecycle evidence do not exist yet, and kombify does not install Runtipi today.

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Limits of kombify today

  • kombify is before 1.0 and releases often.
  • Compatibility is still being verified. See OS compatibility for the current rows.
  • The catalog is curated and listed in the use-case catalog. It has no Plex and no Sonarr or Radarr family. If your setup depends on such apps, Runtipi’s catalog may suit you better today.
  • Bringing your own Compose project under the homelab’s sign-in, routing and backup is not implemented.

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What kombify does today

  • Passkey sign-in through Pocket ID, with no default passwords.
  • An explicit access policy per service.
  • Restore into an isolated staging copy.
  • Updates that take a snapshot first.
  • Plan, apply and verify from one definition.
  • A local MCP server on every install for your own AI agent.

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When to choose which

  • Choose Runtipi if you want a store with many apps on a Linux host and a simple dashboard to manage them.
  • Choose kombify if you want identity, access policy and backup defined for the whole homelab and repeatable on another server.
  • If you already run Runtipi, you can keep it. kombify does not manage its apps.
Last reviewed: 2026-11-10