DashMachine vs Hajimari
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted dashboards & startpages options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | DashMachine | Hajimari |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 63 · Good |
| Category | Dashboards & Startpages | Dashboards & Startpages |
| License | Unlicense | MIT |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,264 | ★ 822 |
| First released | 2020 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Google homepage | Google homepage |
What are DashMachine and Hajimari?
DashMachine
DashMachine is a self-hosted application dashboard for organizing and accessing your services. It supports widgets, platform integrations, and themes to build a personalized homelab landing page.
- Application tiles and widgets
- Platform integrations
- Theming support
- Search functionality
Hajimari
Hajimari is a self-hosted startpage and dashboard for Kubernetes clusters. It auto-discovers applications from ingress annotations and presents them in a themeable grid alongside custom bookmarks and a built-in search bar.
- Kubernetes app auto-discovery
- Customizable bookmarks
- Built-in search bar
- Themeable interface
DashMachine vs Hajimari: key differences
DashMachine is written in Python, while Hajimari is built with Go. Licensing differs — Unlicense for DashMachine versus MIT for Hajimari. Hajimari is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for DashMachine.
Why pick each one
Choose DashMachine if…
- Flexible widget system
- Simple deployment
Watch out for
- Development has slowed
- Smaller community
Choose Hajimari if…
- Great Kubernetes integration
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- Less active development
- Fewer widgets than rivals
Frequently asked questions
Is DashMachine or Hajimari better?
Neither is universally better. DashMachine has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are DashMachine and Hajimari free and open-source?
Yes. DashMachine is licensed under Unlicense and Hajimari under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run DashMachine and Hajimari with Docker?
DashMachine: yes. Hajimari: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, DashMachine or Hajimari?
Hajimari has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for DashMachine. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.