TrueNAS added LXC, and the second mini PC is finally going away
XDA published a piece this week about retiring the second mini PC that used to sit next to a home NAS running lightweight services. TrueNAS SCALE finally added first-class LXC containers, which meant Home Assistant, Uptime Kuma, Vaultwarden, and Frigate could move onto the NAS and free up an entire physical box.
That is only half the story. The reason LXC works this well is a decade of tooling on Linux around Linux Containers, and the seven LXC container management apps below are the interfaces home lab operators actually use to run them. Some are all-in-one platforms like Proxmox VE. Some are lightweight web UIs. All seven run on desktop or a headless Linux server and are on this list because operators keep recommending them in the same reply threads.
What to look for in an LXC container management app
Four criteria separate a rescue tool from a nice-to-have.
- Native LXC support, not just Docker with LXC bolted on.
- Storage backend flexibility (ZFS, btrfs, LVM, ext4).
- Snapshotting and rollback without a full container rebuild.
- A backup or export path that survives a host reinstall.
Every pick below covers at least the first three.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | License | LXC-native | Web UI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proxmox VE | Full virtualization stack | Free, GPL | Yes | Yes |
| Incus | Modern LXC/LXD fork | Free, Apache 2.0 | Yes | Optional |
| Cockpit | Web console for any Linux server | Free, LGPL | Via Podman | Yes |
| Portainer | Docker + Kubernetes UI | Free CE, paid Business | Container-only | Yes |
| TrueNAS SCALE | NAS + LXC + apps | Free, custom | Yes (v25) | Yes |
| LXD Web UI | Direct LXD/Incus dashboard | Free, Apache 2.0 | Yes | Yes |
| Cosmos Server | Compose-based home lab UI | Free | No, Docker only | Yes |
The apps
1. Proxmox VE, the reference LXC platform
Proxmox VE is the platform most home lab tutorials use as their example, for good reason. It runs LXC and QEMU/KVM side by side on the same host, ships a mature web UI, and has one of the biggest community wikis on the internet for LXC container tuning.
Where it falls short: the free tier nags with a subscription banner on login. Bare-metal install requires a full host, not a VM inside another OS.
Pricing: free with community repository. Enterprise support subscriptions from about €110 per CPU per year.
Platforms: Debian-based bare-metal install; web UI is browser-based.
Download: proxmox.com
Bottom line: the pick if you are starting a home lab from scratch and want one platform for both VMs and LXC.
2. Incus, the community fork of LXD
Incus is the community-maintained fork of LXD after Canonical restructured licensing. It carries the same container-and-VM story and is the direction the LXC upstream project itself now points to for a full manager.
Where it falls short: the primary interface is CLI. The web UI is a separate project.
Pricing: free, Apache 2.0.
Platforms: Linux (Debian, Fedora, Alpine packages), snap install still available.
Download: linuxcontainers.org
Bottom line: the pick if you want the closest-to-upstream LXC experience without the Canonical account requirement.
3. Cockpit, the general Linux web console
Cockpit is a browser-based admin console for any Linux server. With the Podman module it manages OCI containers, and with the Machines module it handles KVM VMs. It does not natively run LXC yet but sits on the same server and reads the state cleanly.
Where it falls short: LXC-specific management still requires the CLI or a plugin. Cockpit’s strengths are storage, networking, and the SSH terminal in the browser.
Pricing: free, LGPL.
Platforms: Linux server (Debian, Fedora, RHEL, openSUSE).
Download: cockpit-project.org
Bottom line: install alongside Proxmox or a plain LXC host as the “everything else” management surface.
4. Portainer, the Docker-first UI
Portainer is the most-installed Docker UI in the home lab space and now handles Kubernetes and Podman as well. It does not manage LXC directly, but on a Proxmox host you will run Portainer inside an LXC container to control the Docker services running elsewhere.
Where it falls short: true LXC support is not on the roadmap. The Business tier gates some of the more useful multi-node features.
Pricing: free Community Edition. Business tier from $749 per year for three nodes.
Platforms: Linux, Windows, macOS, runs anywhere Docker or Kubernetes runs.
Download: portainer.io
Bottom line: the pick if the containers you actually run are Docker, not LXC, but you want a browser UI for them.
5. TrueNAS SCALE, the NAS-plus-LXC story
TrueNAS SCALE is the reason this article exists. The 25.x release cycle brought native LXC support, so a home NAS is now a legitimate home lab base. iX Systems designed the workflow around app catalogues so that adding an LXC container is close to one click.
Where it falls short: the LXC catalogue is younger than Proxmox’s community pool. Custom container images take more setup than they do in Proxmox.
Pricing: free, community and enterprise editions.
Platforms: bare-metal on x86-64.
Download: truenas.com
Bottom line: the pick if you already run TrueNAS and were considering a second mini PC. Do this instead.
6. LXD Web UI, a direct dashboard for containers
LXD Web UI is a browser dashboard maintained by the Canonical LXD project that talks directly to LXD or Incus over their REST API. Create containers, attach terminals, watch metrics, snapshot, and roll back without leaving the tab.
Where it falls short: it is a UI-only project. Cluster management still lives on the CLI for anything advanced.
Pricing: free, Apache 2.0.
Platforms: any browser; UI is served by LXD or Incus.
Download: linuxcontainers.org
Bottom line: the pick if Incus or LXD is your backend and you want a purpose-built UI on top of it.
7. Cosmos Server, the compose-first home lab console
Cosmos Server is a newer entrant that wraps Docker compose, reverse proxying, and identity management into one home lab console. It is not LXC-native, but it is what a lot of operators install on top of a Proxmox LXC container that runs Docker.
Where it falls short: no LXC management directly. The project is still under active v0.x development.
Pricing: free, MIT license.
Platforms: Docker on Linux, Windows via WSL2.
Download: cosmos-cloud.io
Bottom line: the pick as the top layer of a stack where LXC is the base and Docker services live inside.
How to pick the right one
If you are starting fresh, install Proxmox VE as the base and pick from Cockpit, Portainer, or LXD Web UI for the services inside. If you already run TrueNAS SCALE and want to consolidate boxes, use TrueNAS SCALE’s new LXC support and skip the second host entirely. If you want the closest-to-upstream Linux Containers experience, use Incus with the LXD Web UI dashboard. If you mostly run Docker services, put Portainer inside an LXC container and let it drive them.
Cosmos Server is the pick when the home lab has grown past a single stack and you want a friendly front page for family members.
FAQ
Are LXC containers safer to run than Docker on a NAS? Not automatically. LXC and Docker use the same kernel isolation primitives (namespaces and cgroups). LXC is closer to a lightweight VM and Docker is closer to a single app; the safety comes from how you configure them, not which one you pick.
Can Proxmox and Incus run on the same host? Yes, but it is unusual. Most operators pick one manager per host to avoid competing snapshots.
Does TrueNAS SCALE replace Proxmox for home lab use? For a lot of setups, yes. TrueNAS 25.x now handles the containers that used to justify a second box.
Which of these tools works on an ARM Raspberry Pi? Incus, Cockpit, Portainer, and LXD Web UI all run on ARM64 Linux distributions. Proxmox VE and TrueNAS SCALE are x86-64 only.
Can I back up an LXC container without shutting it down? Proxmox and Incus both support live snapshots on ZFS or btrfs storage. Cold backups (with the container stopped) are safer for databases.
