Homelab Companion

Support

Homelab Companion connects your iPhone to a compatible self-hosted Ubuntu gateway. You need iOS 17 or later, Face ID or Touch ID, a gateway API token, and network access to your gateway.

Can’t connect?

1. Check that your gateway is running and reachable from your iPhone.
2. Connect Tailscale when using a Tailscale address. For local LAN fallback, connect to your trusted home network and allow local-network access in iOS Settings.
3. Check the gateway address and enter the API token privately in app Settings. An unauthorized response usually means the gateway rejected the token; ask its operator to verify or rotate it.

Unlocking the app

Set up Face ID or Touch ID in iOS Settings. The app requires biometric authentication before displaying private server data and before sensitive actions. It locks when moved to the background.

Container logs and controls

Your gateway must have the compatible logs and control components installed. Available actions depend on the gateway’s allowlist and the container’s state. Stop and restart can interrupt services. If an action times out, refresh its status before deciding whether to try again.

Ignored storage warnings

Ignoring a mount excludes its storage-pressure alerts from Overview status on that iPhone. It does not free disk space or change the server. You can restore warnings in Settings.

What to include in a support request

Include the app version, iOS version, steps to reproduce the issue, and a redacted error message. Never send API tokens, SSH keys, passwords, or unredacted container logs. Remove private server information from screenshots.

Privacy policy

Effective September 8, 2026 · Publisher: Robert Ruppelt

This policy covers Homelab Companion and this support website. The app connects directly to the gateway you configure. This website is informational: it does not connect to your homelab or ask you to enter a gateway token.

Information on your iPhone

Your API token is stored in the iOS Keychain with device-only, while-unlocked accessibility. Gateway preferences and ignored storage mounts are stored locally. Server readings and container logs are displayed in memory rather than saved as app files. iOS performs Face ID and Touch ID authentication; the app receives the result, never your biometric data.

Information sent to your gateway

The app sends authenticated requests, including your API token, to your configured gateway. Container actions include the container name, action, reason, and a unique request identifier. The gateway retains action audit records, including timestamps, actions, targets, and reasons, and request identifiers and results to prevent duplicate actions. Server and network logs may also contain connection metadata. Container logs can contain information produced by the software running in those containers.

The gateway operator controls access to server-side information and its retention and deletion. These practices depend on the gateway deployment; the app does not automatically delete gateway records. Contact your operator about server-side records. If Robert Ruppelt operates your gateway, use the contact email below.

Tracking and analytics

The app includes no advertising or third-party analytics SDKs and does not track you across apps or websites. This support site includes no advertising, analytics scripts, forms, or embedded third-party content.

Website hosting and support email

Cloudflare delivers and protects this website and may process connection information such as IP addresses, requested URLs, and browser information to provide those services. See Cloudflare’s privacy policy for its practices.

If you email support, Robert Ruppelt receives your email address and the information you choose to send. That information is used to answer your request and handle related support or privacy issues, and may be retained for follow-up. You can request deletion by email; some records may need to be retained where required by law.

Connection safety

Use Tailscale or an HTTPS gateway. Local LAN HTTP does not encrypt your token or server data in transit and should only be used on a trusted network. The app does not embed SSH or administrator credentials.

Your choices

Ask your gateway operator to rotate the API token to revoke access and to handle deletion requests for server records. Removing the app is not a substitute for revoking a token: Keychain items may persist after app deletion. You can contact the publisher to ask about or request deletion of information supplied through support.

Contact and policy changes

For privacy questions, contact Robert Ruppelt at mrzzz21@gmail.com. Updates to this policy will appear here with a revised effective date.