What is linux-dash?

tariqbuilds/linux-dash — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-24

★ 10,590JavaScriptAudience · ops devopsComplexity · 2/5Setup · easy

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((linux-dash))
    What it shows
      CPU usage
      Memory stats
      Disk space
      Running processes
    Tech stack
      JavaScript
      Node.js
      Go
      Python
    Setup
      Clone and run
      Port 80 default
      Env var config
      No auth built in
    Use cases
      Server monitoring
      Home lab dashboard
      Dev environment view
      Quick health check

mindmap root((linux-dash)) What it shows CPU usage Memory stats Disk space Running processes Tech stack JavaScript Node.js Go Python Setup Clone and run Port 80 default Env var config No auth built in Use cases Server monitoring Home lab dashboard Dev environment view Quick health check

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Get a real-time view of your Linux server's CPU, memory, and disk in a browser without installing heavy monitoring software.

USE CASE 2

Monitor a home lab or development server by cloning the repo and running one command.

USE CASE 3

Check running processes and network activity on a remote server through a clean browser interface.

What is it built with?

JavaScriptNode.jsGoPythonPHP

How does it compare?

	tariqbuilds/linux-dash	brasilapi/brasilapi	fredriknoren/ungit
Stars	10,590	10,600	10,579
Language	JavaScript	JavaScript	JavaScript
Setup difficulty	easy	easy	easy
Complexity	2/5	2/5	2/5
Audience	ops devops	developer	developer

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

No built-in authentication, must add a reverse proxy with auth or a VPN before exposing to any network.

No license information was mentioned in the explanation.

So what is it?

Linux Dash is a lightweight web dashboard that shows information about a Linux server in a browser. You run it on the server itself, open a browser, and see a real-time view of the machine: things like CPU usage, memory, disk space, running processes, and network activity. The dashboard is designed to be simple and easy to read rather than comprehensive. The project is small by design. The whole thing takes under 400KB of disk space. Installation is a matter of cloning the repository and starting one of the included servers. You can run it with Node.js, Go, Python, or PHP, depending on what is already available on your machine. The Node.js version is listed as recommended, but all four options are included in the repo and work the same way from the browser's perspective. By default, the server starts on port 80, which on most Linux systems requires running it as root or with elevated privileges. You can change the port and the network interface it listens on using environment variables or command-line flags. The README includes a clear security note: Linux Dash has no built-in authentication or access control. Anyone who can reach the port where it is running can see your server's information. The project strongly recommends putting it behind some form of authentication before exposing it, whether that is a reverse proxy with a password, a VPN, or another mechanism of your choice. The project is v2.0 and the README is fairly brief, pointing to a separate wiki for more detailed documentation and a demo site to preview the interface.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

Walk me through cloning linux-dash and starting it with Node.js on my Ubuntu server.

Prompt 2

How do I change the default port linux-dash listens on from port 80 to 8080?

Prompt 3

I want to put linux-dash behind Nginx with HTTP basic authentication so it's not publicly accessible. Show me the Nginx config.

Prompt 4

How do I run linux-dash using the Go backend instead of Node.js?

Prompt 5

Linux-dash has no built-in auth. What are my options for securing it before I expose it on a public server?

Frequently asked questions