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Introduction

AMUD (Advanced Modern Unified Dashboard) is a compiled, zero-dependency homelab control center and telemetry dashboard.

Unlike legacy dashboards (Heimdall, Homepage, Homarr) that run on heavy runtimes (PHP-FPM, Node.js) and rely on complex nested YAML configuration files, AMUD Dashboard is written in compiled Rust and persisted entirely in SQLite. Combined, the server and telemetry agent idle at 35MB to 100MB of RAM with sub-millisecond route execution.

System Architecture​

AMUD uses a decoupled client-server architecture to aggregate metrics and report container status in real-time.

AMUD Architecture Diagram

  1. amud-server: Axum-based web server that serves server-rendered HTML (via Alpine.js templates) and manages persistent state in SQLite.
  2. amud-agent: Standalone daemon installed on the homelab host. It queries host metrics, Proxmox VE containers, and Docker runtimes, streaming raw JSON payloads back to the server via UDS (amud.sock) or TCP.

Key Design Principles​

1. Minimal Resource Overhead​

  • Native Compilation: No PHP-FPM, JVM, or Node.js runtime environment is required. The binary compiles to native machine code to eliminate JVM/V8 startup and heap overhead.
  • Tokio background telemetry loops: Polling loops for system metrics and integrations (AdGuard, Pi-hole, Plex, Home Assistant) run concurrently on Tokio green threads. Live updates are pushed to WebSockets using a tokio::sync::watch channel.

2. Zero-YAML Configuration​

  • SQLite Persistence: Configuration is stored in an embedded SQLite database (configured in WAL mode for concurrent reads). Layouts, category tabs, and settings are configured directly via the UI, bypassing YAML syntax headaches.

3. Direct Telemetry Collection​

  • Zero Shell Subprocesses: amud-agent queries the Proxmox VE REST API natively using hyper and rustls for HTTPS requests, and reads the Docker daemon directly over the UNIX socket via hyperlocal. It avoids spawning heavy system call forks like pvesh or curl.

4. Admin vs. Guest Profiles​

  • Cryptographic Roles: built-in user roles. Admins see the full cluster control array; guests or family profiles get a clean, read-only dashboard layout out of the box.

Next Steps​

  • FAQ — common questions (install, RAM, YAML, comparisons)
  • Blog — guides and homelab notes (canonical source for cross-posts)
  • Dashboard Configuration — appearance, custom CSS, smart home, and media integrations
  • Security — Argon2id passwords, sessions, rate limits, HTTPS cookies
  • Troubleshooting — upgrades, IPC auth, database backups, and CSS resets