Getting Support¶

Community Support Channels¶

💬 Discord Community (Primary)¶

Join our active Discord server for real-time help:

Channels: - #general - General discussion - #support - Technical support - #local-mode - Local Mode specific help - #full-mode - Full Mode specific help - #app-requests - Request new applications - #showcase - Show off your setup

🐛 GitHub Issues (Bug Reports)¶

For bug reports and feature requests: https://github.com/smashingtags/homelabarr-ce/issues

Issue Templates: - Bug Report - Feature Request - Documentation Issue - Application Request

💬 GitHub Discussions (Q&A)¶

For questions and community discussions: https://github.com/smashingtags/homelabarr-ce/discussions

Before Asking for Help¶

🔍 Check Documentation First¶

Quick Start Guide - guides/quick-start.md
Installation Guides - install/install.md or install/local-mode.md
FAQ Section - guides/faq.md
Application Docs - apps/apps.md

🔧 Basic Troubleshooting¶

# Check Docker status
sudo systemctl status docker

# Check container status
docker ps -a

# Check container logs
docker logs <container-name>

# Check disk space
df -h

# Check network connectivity
ping google.com

What Information to Provide¶

📝 Essential Information¶

When asking for help, always include:

System Information:

# Operating System
lsb_release -a

# Docker version
docker --version
docker compose version

# Available resources
free -h
df -h

HomelabARR Information:

# Installation mode
echo "Mode: [Full/Local]"

# Container status
docker ps --format "table {{.Names}}\t{{.Status}}\t{{.Ports}}"

# Recent logs (if applicable)
docker logs <problematic-container> --tail 50

💬 How to Ask Good Questions¶

Be Specific
What exactly are you trying to do?
What did you expect to happen?
What actually happened?
Provide Context
What installation mode are you using?
What steps led to the issue?
Has this ever worked before?
Include Error Messages
Copy/paste exact error messages
Include relevant log output
Use code blocks for formatting
Show What You've Tried
What troubleshooting steps have you attempted?
What documentation have you consulted?

Common Support Categories¶

📦 Installation Issues¶

Common Problems: - Docker not installed or running - Permission denied errors - Network connectivity issues - Domain/DNS configuration problems

Quick Fixes:

# Fix Docker permissions
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

# Restart Docker service
sudo systemctl restart docker

# Check firewall
sudo ufw status

📦 Container Issues¶

Common Problems: - Containers not starting - Port conflicts - Permission errors - Image pull failures

Diagnostic Commands:

# Check container status
docker ps -a

# View container logs
docker logs <container-name>

# Check port usage
sudo netstat -tulpn | grep :<port>

# Restart container
docker restart <container-name>

🌐 Network Issues¶

Common Problems: - Can't access applications - Traefik routing issues - SSL certificate problems - Cloudflare configuration

Network Diagnostics:

# Check Docker networks
docker network ls

# Inspect network
docker network inspect <network-name>

# Test connectivity
curl -I http://localhost:<port>

🔐 Authentication Issues¶

Common Problems: - Authelia login problems - 2FA setup issues - Password reset needs - Permission denied errors

Auth Troubleshooting:

# Check Authelia logs
docker logs authelia

# Verify configuration
docker exec authelia cat /config/configuration.yml

Self-Help Resources¶

📚 Documentation¶

Installation Guides - Step-by-step setup instructions
Application Docs - Individual app configuration
Troubleshooting Guides - Common issue solutions
Architecture Docs - System design and networking

🌐 Community Resources¶

Discord Chat History - Search previous discussions
GitHub Issues - Review closed issues for solutions
Reddit Communities - r/selfhosted, r/homelab
YouTube Tutorials - Community-created guides

🛠️ Diagnostic Tools¶

# System health check script
./scripts/health-check.sh

# Container validation
./scripts/validate-containers.sh

# Network connectivity test
./scripts/network-test.sh

Response Time Expectations¶

Discord Support¶

Active Hours: Typically 6-24 hours
Community Response: Often immediate during peak hours
Maintainer Response: 1-3 days for complex issues

GitHub Issues¶

Bug Reports: 1-7 days depending on severity
Feature Requests: 1-4 weeks for evaluation
Documentation: 1-3 days for corrections

Escalation Process¶

Level 1: Community Support¶

Discord #support channel
GitHub Discussions
Community troubleshooting

Level 2: Maintainer Support¶

GitHub Issues with detailed information
Direct maintainer involvement
Code-level debugging

Level 3: Critical Issues¶

Security vulnerabilities
Data loss scenarios
System-breaking bugs

Contributing Back¶

📝 Documentation Improvements¶

If you solve an issue, consider: - Updating the FAQ - Writing a troubleshooting guide - Improving existing documentation - Recording a tutorial video

🐛 Bug Reports¶

Help improve the project by: - Reporting reproducible bugs - Providing detailed diagnostics - Testing proposed fixes - Confirming issue resolution

💬 Community Support¶

Become a community helper by: - Answering questions in Discord - Sharing your experience - Mentoring new users - Contributing to discussions

Support Guidelines¶

What We Support¶

✅ Official installation methods
✅ Documented configurations
✅ Current stable releases
✅ Ubuntu/Debian Linux systems
✅ Standard Docker environments

What We Don't Support¶

❌ Modified/custom installations
❌ Unsupported operating systems
❌ Third-party modifications
❌ Commercial support requests
❌ Illegal content/activities

Professional Support¶

For organizations requiring: - Commercial Support: Contact maintainers for enterprise options - Custom Development: Paid development services available - Training/Consulting: Professional services for large deployments - Priority Support: Faster response times for critical systems

Emergency Contacts¶

Security Issues¶

For security vulnerabilities, email: - Security Team: security@homelabarr.dev (planned) - Current Contact: GitHub private security advisory

Critical System Issues¶

For immediate help with critical problems: 1. Discord #support with @Admin ping 2. GitHub issue with "Critical" label 3. Direct maintainer contact (in extreme cases)

Support Team¶

Maintainers¶

@smashingtags - Project Lead & Maintainer

Remember: Our community thrives on mutual help and respect. Be patient, be helpful, and be kind!

Support Development¶

If HomelabARR CE has helped you build your perfect media server setup, consider supporting ongoing development:

☕ Support on Ko-fi - Help keep HomelabARR CE growing!

Your support helps with: - 🔧 New feature development - 🐛 Bug fixes and maintenance - 📚 Documentation improvements - 🚀 Infrastructure costs

🚀 Join our Discord | 🐛 Report Issues | 💬 Discussions | ☕ Support Development