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Installing Apps

HaLOS provides a container app store — a curated collection of applications packaged as Debian packages that run as Docker containers. Browse, install, and manage apps through the Cockpit web interface.

Container Apps Store

How it works

Each container app is a standard Debian package (.deb) that contains:

  • A Docker Compose file defining the container(s)
  • A systemd service that manages the container lifecycle
  • Docker labels for Traefik routing and Homarr dashboard integration

When you install an app, apt downloads the package, systemd starts the container, Traefik picks up the routing labels, and the app appears on your dashboard — all automatically.

Browsing the store

  1. Open Cockpit (via the dashboard tile or https://halos.local:9090/).
  2. Navigate to Container Apps in the left sidebar.
  3. Browse by category or use the search bar to find specific apps.

The store shows apps from all configured stores. The Marine variant adds a dedicated Marine App Store with curated marine applications.

Installing an app

  1. Click on an app to view its details (description, version, dependencies).
  2. Click Install.
  3. Wait for the package to download and the container to start (typically 30–60 seconds).
  4. The app appears on your Homarr dashboard and is accessible via its subdomain URL.

Managing installed apps

Start/Stop/Restart: Open Cockpit → Services. Find the service (named <app-name>-container.service) and use the controls to start, stop, or restart it.

View logs: Open Cockpit → Services → select the service → Logs tab. Or use the terminal:

sudo journalctl -u <app-name>-container.service -f

Check container status: Via the Cockpit terminal:

sudo docker ps

Removing apps

Remove an app like any Debian package:

Open Cockpit → Packages → find the package → Remove.

sudo apt remove <app-name>-container

Removing a package stops the container and removes it from the dashboard. Container data volumes are preserved by default — reinstalling the app restores its data.

To remove data volumes as well:

sudo apt purge <app-name>-container

Keeping apps updated

Container app packages are updated through the same APT mechanism as system packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

This updates both system packages and container apps to their latest versions.