Plugins & a Tour of the Unraid Dashboard

The Web Page and How to Reach It

Unraid does not have a screen and mouse of its own that you use day to day. Instead, you control it from another computer, phone, or tablet by opening a web page in your normal browser.

Every Unraid server has an address on your home network. It is often the server's name followed by a dot and the word local, or a set of numbers your router hands it. If you are unsure of the exact address, the setup paperwork or your router's device list will show it.

• Open your usual web browser on a computer, phone, or tablet on the same home network.
• Type in the server's address and press Enter.
• When asked, sign in with the username and password you set during setup.
• You land on the control screen, with tabs across the top.

The Dashboard at a Glance

The Dashboard is the first screen many people land on, and it is meant to be a quick health check - a bit like the gauges on a car's dashboard.

You do not act on the Dashboard so much as glance at it. If everything is green and the temperatures look normal, you can smile and move on. If something turns red or shows a warning, that is your cue to look closer or give me a call.

• Temperatures - how warm the drives and the machine are running.
• Drives - a summary of your disks and whether they look healthy.
• Activity - how hard the processor and memory are working right now.
• Running items - which apps or virtual machines are switched on.

The Main Tab: Your Array and Drives

The Main tab is the heart of the machine. This is where your drives are listed and where the array - your pool of storage - is put together.

You will see your drives grouped into roles. There are data drives that hold your files, one or two parity drives that stand guard, and often a cache drive - usually a fast SSD - that catches new files before they settle onto the array.

• Data drives - each one holds whole files on its own. This is why you can mix drive sizes.
• Parity drive - a safety drive that lets Unraid rebuild a single failed data drive.
• Cache - a fast drive that speeds up new writes; the Mover tidies files onto the array later.

Starting and Stopping the Array

Your storage is only usable when the array is started. At the bottom of the Main tab you will find the controls that start and stop it.

Think of starting the array like turning the key in a car. When it is started, your shared folders come to life, apps can run, and files are available across your network. When it is stopped, everything storage-related pauses so the machine can be worked on safely.

• To use your files and apps, make sure the array shows as Started.
• You rarely need to stop it - only for certain maintenance or drive changes.
• If you do stop it, apps and shares go quiet until you start it again.
• Give it a moment after starting; it checks the drives before everything is ready.

The Shares Tab

A share is simply a named folder that appears on your network - like Movies, Photos, or Backups. The Shares tab is where these folders are created and managed.

Shares are how you and your family actually get to the files. On your other computers, these show up as folders you can open, drop files into, and stream from. The Shares tab lets you name them, decide who can see them, and set a few rules about where the files live.

• The name of the share, such as Documents or Media.
• Who is allowed to read or write to it.
• Whether new files pass through the fast cache drive first.

The Users Tab

The Users tab is where you set up the accounts and passwords that control who can reach your shares. It is a small tab with a big job: keeping your files private.

At the very least you have one main account - the administrator - that can change everything. You can add more accounts for family members and give each one its own password, so people only reach the folders you want them to.

• Give the main administrator account a strong, unique password.
• Create separate accounts for other people rather than sharing one login.
• Grant each account access only to the shares that person needs.

The Settings Area

The Settings area is the big drawer of dials and switches for the whole server. It looks busy, but the good news is you will only ever touch a small corner of it.

Settings is grouped into sections - things like network, disk behavior, the scheduler that runs the Mover, notifications, and more. Most of it is set sensibly out of the box. You dip in only when you want to change a specific behavior.

• Turning on notifications so the server can warn you by email.
• Setting how often the Mover tidies files off the cache.
• Occasional network or naming changes during setup.

The Apps Tab (Community Applications)

The Apps tab is your friendly app store, and it is one of the best things about Unraid. It is powered by an add-on called Community Applications, which many people install first.

Here you can search for and install all sorts of programs - media servers, photo tools, backup helpers, and more - usually with just a few clicks. Most of these apps run as small, self-contained packages called Docker containers, which keep each app tidy and separate from the others.

• Open the Apps tab and search for what you want, like a media server.
• Read the short description and pick a well-known, popular option.
• Click install and review the settings screen it shows you.
• Confirm, and Unraid downloads and sets it up for you.

The Docker Tab

Once you have installed a few apps, the Docker tab is where you see and manage them. Nearly every app you add lives here as a container.

A container is just a neat box that holds one app and everything it needs. On the Docker tab you can see which apps are running, start or stop them, and update them when a newer version comes out. Their settings are saved in a folder called appdata - which is exactly why appdata is worth backing up.

• Start or stop an app with a click.
• Update an app when it shows a new version is available.
• Remove an app you no longer use.

The VMs Tab

VM stands for virtual machine - a whole pretend computer running inside your server. The VMs tab is where you would create and manage one, if you ever want to.

A virtual machine lets your one server pretend to be a second, separate computer, running its own copy of Windows or another system. It is a powerful feature, but it is firmly in the optional, advanced column. Plenty of happy Unraid owners never turn it on at all.

• To run a full Windows desktop they can reach from anywhere in the house.
• To test software in a separate space without touching their main computer.
• For a specific program that needs its own operating system.

The Plugins Tab

The Plugins tab lists the add-ons that extend Unraid itself. Unlike apps in their tidy containers, plugins hook directly into the server, so this tab deserves a bit more care.

On this tab you can see which plugins are installed, check whether each has an update, and remove ones you no longer want. Community Applications - the very thing that gives you the Apps tab - is itself a plugin, and it is the usual first one people add.

• The plugins you currently have installed.
• Whether any of them have an update waiting.
• A button to remove a plugin you do not need.

The Tools Menu

The Tools menu is a grab-bag of one-off utilities and maintenance helpers. You will not visit it often, but it is handy to know it exists.

Inside Tools you will find things like system information, options for the boot USB drive, and various built-in helpers. Many plugins also drop their controls in here, so over time Tools becomes the home for occasional tasks that do not belong on any other tab.

• Details about the server's hardware and system.
• Options tied to the boot USB flash drive and the license.
• Extra tools added by plugins you install.

The Notifications Area

Your server can tell you when something needs attention - a warm drive, a finished task, or a warning. The notifications area is where these messages appear, usually behind a small bell or icon near the top.

This is one of the most useful features to switch on. A quiet server that speaks up only when there is a problem is exactly what you want. You can also have it send those alerts to your email, so you hear about trouble even when you are not looking at the screen.

• Turn on notifications in the Settings area.
• Choose to have important alerts emailed to you.
• Test it once so you know the alerts arrive.
• Then relax - the server will nudge you if something needs a look.

Plugins vs. Apps: The Difference

These two words get mixed up all the time, and the difference matters for safety. Here it is in plain terms.

In short: apps are safer to experiment with because each one is boxed off on its own. Plugins are more powerful but more sensitive, because they touch the server directly. That is why we are relaxed about trying apps and careful about adding plugins.

The Fix Common Problems Plugin

If you add only one plugin beyond Community Applications, make it this one. Fix Common Problems is a friendly watchdog that scans your server and warns you about things that are set up wrong or heading for trouble.

It checks your setup against a long list of known gotchas and then gives you plain-language warnings, often with a note about how to fix each one. For a beginner, it is like having an experienced friend glance over your shoulder now and then.

• It catches small mistakes before they become big ones.
• It explains issues in words, not riddles.
• It runs quietly and only speaks up when needed.

The Unassigned Devices Plugin

This plugin helps you use drives that are not part of the main array - for example, a USB drive you plug in to copy some files, or a spare disk you want to read on its own.

Out of the box, Unraid is focused on the array. Unassigned Devices adds a neat spot, usually on the Main tab, where these extra drives show up so you can mount them, copy from them, and safely unmount them when done. It is very handy for backups and for moving files in and out.

• Plugging in a USB drive to copy files on or off.
• Reading a spare drive without adding it to the array.
• Sending backups to a separate drive kept just for that.

The Appdata and Flash Backup Plugin

Here is a plugin that quietly protects you from a bad day. It backs up the two most precious little pieces of your server: your app settings (appdata) and the configuration on the boot USB (the flash drive).

Your files on the array are only half the story. The appdata folder holds the settings for all your apps, and the flash drive holds the recipe for how your whole server is put together. If either is lost, rebuilding by hand is a headache. A backup plugin makes copies on a schedule so you never have to think about it.

• Re-setting up every app from scratch after a mishap.
• Losing your server's configuration if the USB fails.
• Long, stressful rebuilds that a five-minute restore would fix.

Keeping Plugins Updated and Not Over-Installing

The final lesson of the tour is about restraint. A short list of well-chosen, up-to-date plugins keeps your server steady. A long, dusty pile of them invites problems.

Prefer plugins that are actively looked after by their makers. An abandoned plugin that has not been touched in years can quietly break with a future Unraid update, so it is worth pruning those away.

• Keep the list short. Only add a plugin you have a real reason for.
• Stick to well-known ones from the trusted sources in Community Applications.
• Keep them updated - check the Plugins tab now and then for updates.
• Remove what you do not use. An unused plugin is just extra risk.

What's in the 27-page PDF

• How to open the control screen and what each tab does
• The Dashboard, the Main tab, and how to start or stop the array
• Shares, Users, Settings, and the Tools menu
• The Apps tab, the Docker tab, and the VMs tab
• The difference between plugins and apps
• A few trusted plugins worth adding, and how to not overdo it

Why I wrote this

I write these as printable handouts because a guide you can keep in a drawer beats a web page you have to find again. No jargon, no judgment, no rushing. If you'd rather have someone sit beside you and go through it together, that's a flat $99 first visit with the 30-day follow-up included — serving Portage County from Atwater, Ohio. — Bill