mythosaz/caddylander repository overview

⁠caddyLander

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caddyLander is a web-based Caddyfile editor and landing page generator that shares volumes with your Caddy container. You edit your Caddyfile in a browser, it validates before saving, and you get a simple service dashboard as a bonus.

⁠The Core Concept

caddyLander needs access to two directories that Caddy already uses:

That's it. caddyLander is a sidecar that edits Caddy's config files through a shared volume.

⁠What You Get

1. A Caddyfile Editor (/admin)

• Browser-based editing with syntax highlighting
• Validates syntax before saving (uses a vendored Caddy binary)
• Auto-formats on save
• Keeps timestamped backups (last 10)
• If validation fails, nothing gets written—your running config stays safe

2. A Landing Page (/)

• Renders links from content.json
• Supports grouping, icons, descriptions, theming
• Editable from the same admin UI

3. Password Protection

• Admin UI requires HTTP Basic Auth
• Set via ADMIN_PASSWORD environment variable (default: caddyLander)

⁠Volume Setup

You likely already have caddy_config and caddy_data from your Caddy install. You'll need to add one volume for landing page state:

docker volume create caddy_var

Then mount the shared volumes in both containers:

# Your existing Caddy container — add caddy_var
volumes:
  - caddy_config:/config
  - caddy_data:/data
  - caddy_var:/var/caddy    # ← add this

# caddyLander container — shares config and var
volumes:
  - caddy_config:/config    # caddyLander edits your Caddyfile here
  - caddy_var:/var/caddy    # landing page content.json lives here

caddyLander writes to /config/Caddyfile. Caddy reads from /config/Caddyfile. Same file.

⁠Caddy Integration

Point your wildcard catch-all at caddyLander:

*.example.com {
    reverse_proxy caddylander:8080
}

Load order matters—put specific routes first, wildcard last. Everything unmatched lands on your dashboard.

Optional: Direct admin access without the landing page:

caddylander.example.com {
    reverse_proxy caddylander:8080
    handle_path / {
        redir /admin.html
    }
}

⁠docker-compose Example

services:
  caddy:
    image: caddy:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
    volumes:
      - caddy_config:/config
      - caddy_data:/data
      - caddy_var:/var/caddy    # shared with caddyLander
    networks:
      - caddy_net

  caddylander:
    image: mythosaz/caddylander:main
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - ADMIN_PASSWORD=YourSecurePassword
    volumes:
      - caddy_config:/config    # edits your Caddyfile
      - caddy_var:/var/caddy    # landing page state
    networks:
      - caddy_net
    # Optional debug port:
    # ports:
    #   - "8386:8080"

volumes:
  caddy_config:
    external: true    # assuming these already exist
  caddy_data:
    external: true
  caddy_var:          # create this one: docker volume create caddy_var

networks:
  caddy_net:

⁠The Save Pipeline

When you save a Caddyfile edit:

1. Written to /tmp/caddyfile.upload
2. Formatted via caddy fmt --overwrite
3. Validated via caddy adapt
4. If valid: Promoted to /config/Caddyfile, backup created
5. If invalid: Error displayed, nothing written

Backups go to /config/backup/Caddyfile.old.YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS. Last 10 kept.

You still need to reload Caddy after saving. caddyLander edits the file; Caddy reads it on reload.

⁠content.json Format

All fields optional except name and url on items:

{
  "siteTitle": "My Services",
  "siteSubtitle": "Homelab Dashboard",
  "theme": "dark",
  "favicon": "/static/favicon.ico",
  "items": [
    {
      "name": "Service Name",
      "url": "https://service.example.com",
      "desc": "Optional description",
      "icon": "🚀",
      "group": "Infrastructure"
    }
  ]
}

On first run, if /var/caddy/content.json doesn't exist, a template is copied from the container.

⁠Quick Start (Local Testing)

docker build -t caddylander .
docker run -p 8386:8080 -v caddylander_data:/var/caddy caddylander

Visit http://localhost:8386 for the landing page, http://localhost:8386/admin for the editor.

⁠Screenshots

Admin Portal:

Landing Page:

⁠License

MIT — see LICENSE.