The Docker tab in the Unraid web dashboard leaves much to be desired. There are no customization options besides being able to drag individual containers into position (though this does more than just change the visual hierarchy). Unbeknownst to me, there has been a plugin available for the past year with the sole goal of helping Unraid users organize their Docker containers, and it goes by the name Docker Folder.
Being able to spin up Docker containers on Unraid is one of its best features. But docker management on Unraid is still rather basic and can’t yet compete with Docker Compose in terms of functionality. There is no way of updating or restarting a certain stack of containers or multi-container Docker applications. For example, were you to restart the MQTT broker Mosquitto, you would have to manually restart other containers, which depend on it and might have lost connection.
How to use Docker Folder on Unraid
Unsurprisingly, the Docker Folder plugin is found in Unraid’s Community Apps. Simply search for the plugins name, and it should be the first result. After the installation is done, there is no further configuration needed.
With the Docker Folder plugin installed, you can now head in to the Docker tab and scroll all the way down to the bottom, where you now will find the option titled “Add Folder”. Click on this button to get started.
You now have the option of choosing which applications you want to include in the newly created folder. To add them, simply hit the toggle next to the application’s name. Here you can also add an icon, which I suggest you do to visually distinguish individual folders. The icon can even be an animated SVG file, and you will find a number of community submission in this thread in the Unraid forum.
Before saving the folder, you might want to add buttons to its contextual menu. These buttons will appear when you click on its icon and will allow you to start, stop, and restart all applications in that folder. The option “Docker Sub Menu” even gives you the possibility to open an individual container’s menu without having to expand the folder.
Docker Folder should be on every Unraid machine
Docker Folder has quickly become one of my favourite plugins for Unraid and I suggest you give it a try if you are using the Docker functionality. It doesn’t just clean up your Docker tab but also gives you some much-needed functionality which vanilla Unraid doesn’t offer. Docker Folder is an open-source plugin, developed by community member GuildDarts.
