Organizr is a self-hosted application designed to help users centralize and manage access to their other self-hosted tools and services. It acts as a unified dashboard where you can organize and seamlessly switch between apps like Plex, Sonarr, and Radarr. With its extensive customization options and the ability to self-host, Organizr empowers users to take full control of their home server environment. In this guide, we’ll walk you through installing Organizr, configuring Nginx as a reverse proxy, enabling logging, setting up backups, performing updates, and leveraging its unique features to get the most out of it.
Installing Organizr
📦 Docker/Docker Compose Setup
The most efficient way to deploy Organizr is via Docker. Below is a docker-compose.yml file tailored for Organizr:
version: '3.8'
services:
organizr:
image: organizr/organizr
container_name: organizr
ports:
- "8080:80" # Map external port 8080 to Organizr's internal port 80
volumes:
- ./organizr-config:/config # Persist Organizr config to a local directory
environment:
- TZ=America/New_York # Adjust timezone
restart: unless-stopped
Run these commands to deploy Organizr with Docker Compose:
mkdir -p ~/organizr && cd ~/organizr
nano docker-compose.yml # Paste the above YAML into this file
docker-compose up -d
🚀 Manual Installation
For those who prefer a manual setup on a Linux server, follow these steps:
- Install dependencies (PHP, SQLite, and Nginx):
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y php-cli php-sqlite3 php-curl php-xml unzip nginx
- Download Organizr and set up permissions:
cd /var/www
sudo wget https://github.com/causefx/Organizr/archive/refs/heads/master.zip
sudo unzip master.zip && sudo mv Organizr-master organizr
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/organizr
- Configure PHP and Nginx (covered in the next section).
Start the application:
sudo php -S 0.0.0.0:8080 -t /var/www/organizr
Configuring Nginx as a Reverse Proxy
🌐 Nginx Configuration
To route traffic to Organizr, create an Nginx server block:
server {
listen 80;
server_name organizr.yourdomain.com;
location / {
proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8080;
proxy_set_header Host $host;
proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
}
}
Save the configuration to /etc/nginx/sites-available/organizr, then enable it:
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/organizr /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx
🔒 SSL/TLS Setup
Secure your Organizr instance with Let's Encrypt:
sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d organizr.yourdomain.com
Automate SSL certificate renewals:
sudo crontab -e
0 0 * * * certbot renew --quiet
🛠️ Testing and Reloading Nginx
Always test configurations before reloading:
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx
Logging and Debugging Organizr
🗃️ Enabling Debug Logs
To enable debug logging in Organizr, modify the config.php file (found in /config for Docker or /var/www/organizr for manual setups):
$config['DEBUG'] = true;
📄 Viewing Logs
- Docker:
docker logs organizr
- Manual Setup: Check logs in
/var/log/nginx/error.logor/var/www/organizr/logs/.
🛠️ Troubleshooting Common Issues
Inspect logs for errors like 401 Unauthorized or 504 Gateway Timeout. Often, misconfigured Nginx headers or incorrect permissions are the root cause. Adjust Nginx headers or run:
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/organizr
📤 Exporting Logs
To send logs to an ELK Stack, configure Filebeat to forward /config/logs or /var/www/organizr/logs depending on your setup.
Backup and Restore
🗂️ File-Based Backups
Backup all configurations and files:
tar -czvf organizr-backup.tar.gz /path/to/organizr/config
🔄 Database Backups
Export SQLite data:
sqlite3 /path/to/organizr/config/db.sqlite ".backup organizr-db-backup.sqlite"
📅 Automated Backup Scripts
Create a cron job for periodic backups:
crontab -e
## Add:
0 2 * * * tar -czvf ~/organizr-backup-$(date +\%F).tar.gz /path/to/organizr/config
Updating and Upgrading Organizr
⬆️ Updating Docker Images
Pull the latest image and redeploy:
docker-compose pull && docker-compose up -d
🛠️ Manual Updates
If self-hosted manually, download and replace the files:
cd /var/www/organizr
sudo wget https://github.com/causefx/Organizr/archive/refs/heads/master.zip -O organizr-update.zip
sudo unzip organizr-update.zip -d /tmp && sudo rsync -av /tmp/Organizr-master/ /var/www/organizr/
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/organizr
🔍 Checking for Updates
Visit Organizr’s GitHub page or enable notifications for updates.
Leveraging Organizr’s Unique Features
🔧 Enabling APIs
Organizr’s API allows for integrations with third-party tools. To enable it:
-
Go to Organizr’s settings and enable the API.
-
Use the API with tools like
curl:
curl -X GET "http://organizr.yourdomain.com/api/v2/some_endpoint" -H "Authorization: Bearer <your_token>"
🌟 Advanced Configurations
-
LDAP Integration: Organize user authentication by connecting to an LDAP server.
-
Custom Themes: Modify CSS in the settings interface for a personalized UI.
Wrapping Up
This guide has covered every aspect of deploying, configuring, and managing Organizr, from installation to backups and updates. By following these steps, you can fully control and customize your central dashboard, making it a powerful tool for managing your self-hosted apps. Start implementing the provided examples today to unlock the full potential of Organizr!
