Meet Your Pocket Quartermaster

HomeBox is a home inventory and organization system for people who are tired of rummaging through drawers asking themselves "didn't we already own one of these?".

Give every location a spot, every item a home, and print a QR-code sticker for anything that tends to wander. A quick scan on your phone shows you what's inside the box, when the warranty runs out, and where the receipt lives.

Written in Go, paired with an embedded SQLite database, and wrapped in a responsive UI that works just as happily on a phone in the garage as on a desktop in the office.

Why HomeBox Makes Life Easier

• Know exactly where your stuff is, down to the shelf and bin.
• Track warranties, receipts, manuals, and maintenance schedules in one place, so "is it still under warranty?" stops being a guessing game.
• Print QR-code labels once, scan them forever. Great for tool chests, server rooms, costume wardrobes, and hobby supplies.
• Plan purchases by keeping a running inventory of what you already own (and what you've already lent out).
• Keep a shared family inventory without handing anyone a spreadsheet they won't update.

Product Highlights

Locations, items, tags. Nest locations as deeply as you like (House > Garage > Workbench > Red Toolbox > Top Drawer). Tags support parents and children, so a "power tool" tag can live under "tools".

Rich item records. Photos, purchase date and price, warranty expiry, serial numbers, attached PDFs, and any custom fields you want to add. Asset IDs auto-increment so barcodes stay unique.

Fractional quantities. Half a roll of tape, 2.5 metres of cable, 0.75 kg of coffee beans. HomeBox speaks decimals, not just whole numbers.

Built-in label maker. Generate printable QR-code labels with your custom width, height, and font. Scan a label, HomeBox opens the item. That's the whole pitch.

Maintenance log. Record service history for the lawnmower, the furnace, the car, the 3D printer. Schedule the next service while you're there.

Import and export. Start from a spreadsheet via CSV import, back up to CSV whenever you want. Your data is yours.

Technical Specifications

• 📦 Upstream: sysadminsmedia/homebox
• 🐹 Stack: Go backend, Nuxt frontend, SQLite storage (PostgreSQL optional)
• 🔐 Auth: ElfHosted SSO in front, plus HomeBox's own local and OIDC login
• 📱 Interface: Responsive web UI that works on phones, tablets, and desktops
• 🏷️ Labels: Configurable QR-code label generation with custom dimensions and fonts
• 📤 Portable: CSV import, CSV export, REST API
• 📜 License: AGPL-3.0

Let ElfHosted Handle the Heavy Lifting for HomeBox

• One-click provisioning. Your HomeBox instance is ready in minutes, on your own subdomain, with backups, TLS, and single sign-on already configured.
• Daily backups included. Your inventory, uploads, and attachments are backed up automatically, so a broken finger on the delete button is not a crisis.
• No upkeep. Updates, security patches, and health monitoring are handled for you. Spend your time organising your actual stuff, not your homelab.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is HomeBox only for households?
No. People also use it for makerspaces, small businesses, lab supplies, prop and costume inventories, photography kit, and homelab hardware tracking. Any collection of things that benefits from "where is it and what's its story" fits.

Can I print QR-code labels from ElfHosted?
Yes. HomeBox generates PNG label files you can download and send to any label printer. Direct printing from the container is disabled on our shared infrastructure, but exporting and printing locally works great.

Can my family or team share one instance?
Yes. HomeBox supports multiple user accounts and groups, so you can share an inventory with housemates or co-workers while keeping individual logins.

What about attachments, like receipts or manuals?
Attach PDFs, images, and documents directly to each item. They're stored alongside your database on your instance.

How do I migrate my existing spreadsheet?
Use the CSV import in the Profile > Tools section. Map your columns to HomeBox fields, and you're done.

Does HomeBox work offline on my phone?
The web UI needs a connection to your HomeBox instance, but since it runs on ElfHosted with a public URL, any phone with internet access can scan a QR label and pull up the item page.

Is my data locked in?
Nope. Full CSV export and a REST API mean you can leave any time, taking your entire inventory with you.

Strong>Ready to finally find the thing?

Put your stuff on the map with HomeBox on ElfHosted. Seven-day trial, $1 to get started, cancel any time. Your future self (and the rest of the household) will thank you.