What is unraid-config-guardian?

Unraid Config Guardian is a Python-based disaster recovery tool built specifically for Unraid servers. It connects to the Docker API and reads the Unraid flash drive configuration to automatically generate complete documentation of your running homelab setup. The backup includes native Unraid XML container templates that can be dropped into the Docker tab, a docker-compose.yml for emergency fallback, a JSON file with system settings/shares/plugins, an automated restore.sh script, and a changes.log showing what changed since the last backup. It runs as a Docker container on Unraid (port 7842) with a web UI for manual backup generation and scheduling via cron. Installation is available via docker run, docker-compose, or Unraid Community Apps. The tool only backs up configuration — not application data — so a separate backup solution for appdata and media files is still required. Licensed under MIT.

Should you self-host unraid-config-guardian?

unraid-config-guardian scores 46/100 on selfhost.directory (how scoring works) and ranks #38 of 46 in Backup. It has 171 GitHub stars.

It shipped 8 stable releases in the past year. The latest, v1.6.1, came out on 16 March 2026. New versions land roughly every 7 days.

Setup is moderate: expect some configuration beyond a single command. An official Docker image is available. It is Other-licensed and written mostly in Python.

Its closest alternative on selfhost.directory is Restic (82/100, 36 862 stars). It scores higher overall, so compare the two before you pick. See unraid-config-guardian vs Restic side by side.

Features

Automated Restoration Script
Change Tracking
Configuration Backup
Docker Compose generation
Docker Template Generation
Notification support
Password Masking
Scheduled Backups
Web UI

How to install unraid-config-guardian

Install unraid-config-guardian with Docker

Unraid OS, Docker Engine

Environment variables

PUID, PGID, TZ, SCHEDULE, OUTPUT_DIR, MASK_PASSWORDS, INCLUDE_SYSTEM_INFO, DEBUG, WEBHOOK_URL, EMAIL_NOTIFICATIONS

docker run -d
--name unraid-config-guardian
--restart unless-stopped
-p 7842:7842
-v /mnt/user/appdata/unraid-config-guardian:/config
-v /mnt/user/backups/unraid-docs:/output
-v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro
-v /boot:/boot:ro
-e PUID=99 -e PGID=100
-e SCHEDULE="0 2 * * 0"
stephondoestech/unraid-config-guardian:latest

Requires Unraid OS with Docker enabled

Install unraid-config-guardian with Docker Compose

Unraid OS, Docker Engine, Docker Compose

Environment variables

PUID, PGID, TZ, SCHEDULE, BACKUP_LOCATION, MASK_PASSWORDS, INCLUDE_SYSTEM_INFO, DEBUG, WEBHOOK_URL, EMAIL_NOTIFICATIONS

version: '3.8'

services: unraid-config-guardian: build: . container_name: unraid-config-guardian restart: unless-stopped

environment:
  - PUID=99
  - PGID=100
  - TZ=America/New_York
  - DOCKER_HOST=tcp://docker-socket-proxy:2375
  - SCHEDULE=0 2 * * 0
  - BACKUP_LOCATION=/output
  - MASK_PASSWORDS=true
  - INCLUDE_SYSTEM_INFO=true
  - DEBUG=false

volumes:
  - /mnt/user/appdata/unraid-config-guardian:/config
  - /mnt/user/backups/unraid-docs:/output
  - /boot:/boot:ro

networks:
  - unraid-guardian

ports:
  - "7842:7842"

security_opt:
  - no-new-privileges:true

mem_limit: 1g
cpus: 0.5

healthcheck:
  test: ["CMD", "python", "src/health_check.py"]
  interval: 30s
  timeout: 10s
  retries: 3
  start_period: 40s

docker-socket-proxy: image: tecnativa/docker-socket-proxy:latest container_name: docker-socket-proxy restart: unless-stopped environment: - CONTAINERS=1 - IMAGES=1 - INFO=1 - NETWORKS=1 - VOLUMES=1 - POST=0 volumes: - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro networks: - unraid-guardian

networks: unraid-guardian: driver: bridge

Includes docker-socket-proxy for secure Docker API access