App Management
The App Dashboard is the page you will use most in the QuickBox Pro dashboard. It is where you monitor and control your installed applications, install new software, and manage package operations. The dashboard page operates in two modes: Application Control for day-to-day management and Package Management for installing and removing software.
Overview
70+ Applications
Browse and install from a catalog of media servers, download clients, automation tools, and more
Service Controls
Start, stop, and restart application services directly from the dashboard
System Metrics
At-a-glance CPU, memory, and disk usage displayed above your application list
Download Activity
Monitor live download progress from torrent and NZB clients in a slide-out panel
Config & Backups
View and edit application configuration files, and create or restore backups
Real-Time Logs
Watch installation, removal, and update progress streamed live in the browser
Application Control
Application Control is the default mode when you open the App Dashboard. It shows all of your installed applications with their current status and provides controls to manage them.
System metrics overview
At the top of the page, a metrics bar displays your server’s current resource usage:
- Storage — Disk usage gauge with toggles for System, Quota, and Cloud views (see below)
- CPU — Current CPU utilization with core and thread count
- Memory — Current memory usage with total capacity
- Download Activity — A button that opens the download browser panel (see below)
Storage widget
The Storage card shows disk usage as a gauge with a used / total figure, a percentage badge, and a free-space line. It supports up to three views, shown as toggle buttons when more than one view is available:
| View | What it shows | When it appears |
|---|---|---|
System | Filesystem usage on the mount that contains the user's home directory — total, used, and free bytes. | Always available. |
Quota | Per-user disk quota usage — how much of the assigned quota the user has consumed. | Visible when QuickBox disk quotas are installed on the server. |
Cloud | Total, used, and free bytes on the user's rclone cloud mount (Dropbox, Google Drive, or Uloz.to). | Visible when rclone is installed for the user. |
The System / Quota / Cloud toggle buttons appear for admin users when more than one view is available. Regular users see a static label showing their current view. All users see the same gauge data.
Cloud Sync footer
When rclone is installed for a user, a Cloud Sync row appears at the bottom of the Storage card. It shows:
- The configured cloud provider (Dropbox, Google Drive, or Uloz.to)
- An encrypted-remote indicator (lock icon) when encryption is active
- The time of the last successful upload (for example, “2h ago”)
- A Manage button that opens the rclone control modal
The Manage modal gives access to the same operations as the qb user rclone CLI command — upload now, view logs, remove a stale lock, and re-authorize OAuth credentials — without leaving the dashboard.
For full rclone setup and configuration instructions, see the rclone application page.
Application list
Below the metrics bar, your installed applications are displayed in either a list or grid view. Each application entry shows:
- Application name and icon
- Status — Whether the service is running, stopped, or in an error state
- Version — The installed version number
- Port — The port the application listens on
- Action buttons — Controls for managing the application
You can filter applications by status (All, Running, Stopped) and switch between list and grid views using the controls at the top of the application panel.
Managing services
Each installed application has action buttons for service control:
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
Start | Start the application's service if it is stopped |
Stop | Stop the application's service |
Restart | Stop and then start the service |
Launch | Open the application's web interface in a new tab |
Click the application’s name or the launch icon to open its web interface directly. Most applications run behind a reverse proxy at a path like https://your-server/app-name .
Application details
Click the expand arrow on any application to reveal additional details and management options:
- Configuration files — View and edit the application’s configuration and nginx reverse proxy files directly in the browser
- SQLite databases — Browse application database files for troubleshooting
- Backups — Create configuration backups, nginx backups, or full backups. Restore from a previous backup or delete old backups.
Configuration file editing is controlled by a feature flag. If you do not see the edit option, ask your server admin to enable the Config Editing feature flag in Settings > General > Feature Flags.
Application Backups
The Application Backups tab lists every backup that has been created for your applications, with controls to download, restore, and delete them — and a button to create a new one. The same backup controls are also available inline when you expand an application in Application Control.
Backing up an application
Click Back up an app to open the backup picker, then choose an installed application and a backup type:
| Backup type | What it captures |
|---|---|
Full Backup | A complete backup of the application — its install directory, data, and configuration. The exact contents depend on the application. |
Config Only | Just the application's configuration file(s). |
Nginx Only | Just the application's nginx reverse proxy config. Offered only when expanding an application that has an nginx config — the standalone picker offers Full and Config Only. |
Created backups appear in the Application Backups list. Each entry can be downloaded to your computer, restored back over the live application, or deleted.
Where backups are stored
Backups are written to the owner’s QuickBox software namespace on the server:
/home/<username>/.QuickBox/software/<app>/backup/Who can back up whom
What you can see and act on in Application Backups depends on your role:
| Role | Can back up / view / download / delete backups for |
|---|---|
System Admin | Everyone — all admins and all standard users, plus their own apps. |
Admin | Standard users and themselves only — not other admins, and not the System Admin. |
User | Their own applications only. |
The System Admin never appears to anyone below that role anywhere in Application Backups — not in the owner picker, the backups listing, or the download and delete actions. An Admin can act for standard users and for themselves, but never for another Admin or the System Admin.
Download Activity
The download activity panel slides out from the right side of the App Dashboard. Click the download icon in the system metrics bar to open it.
This panel shows live download progress from your torrent and NZB clients (rTorrent, qBittorrent, Deluge, Transmission, SABnzbd, NZBGet). Each download entry displays the file name, progress percentage, download speed, and torrent metadata. The panel updates in real time so you can monitor active transfers without switching to individual application interfaces.
Open download folder
For torrent clients (Deluge, qBittorrent, rTorrent, Transmission), the Download Activity panel includes an Open download folder link. It opens a per-user file index of the completed downloads on disk for that client in a new tab — useful for grabbing a single finished file without loading the full web client. NZB clients (SABnzbd, NZBGet) do not have this link.
Package Management
Switch to Package Management mode using the tab at the top of the App Dashboard. This mode provides a software catalog for installing, removing, reinstalling, and updating applications.
The applications you see in Package Management are determined by your group membership. Admins see the full unfiltered catalog and can operate on any user’s packages, while regular users see only the applications their assigned group allows. If you do not see an application you expect, ask your server admin to check your group’s application categories.
Browsing the catalog
Applications are organized into 11 categories:
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
Media Management | Sonarr, Radarr, Lidarr, Bazarr, Readarr, Medusa |
Media Servers | Plex, Jellyfin, Emby, Tautulli, Subsonic |
Media Requests | Overseerr, Jellyseerr, Ombi, Requestrr |
Download Clients | qBittorrent, rTorrent, Deluge, Transmission, SABnzbd |
Indexers & Trackers | Prowlarr, Jackett, Autobrr, NZBHydra2 |
Automation & Tools | FileBot, FlexGet, Unpackerr, Autoscan |
File Management | Nextcloud, Syncthing, FileBrowser, Duplicati |
E-Books & Comics | Calibre, Kavita, Komga |
Remote Access | noVNC, X2Go |
Communication | The Lounge, Quassel, ZNC |
Utilities & System | Let's Encrypt, WireGuard, Fail2ban, Netdata |
Click a category to browse its applications, or use the search field to find a specific application by name.
Installing an application
- Switch to Package Management mode
- Browse or search for the application you want to install
- Click the Install button on the application card
- Admin users can select the target user who will own the application. Regular users install applications for their own account.
- Confirm the installation
The dashboard streams the installation log in real time so you can follow the progress. When the installation completes, the application appears in your Application Control panel.
Removing an application
- Find the installed application in Package Management mode
- Click the Remove button
- Confirm the removal
The removal process is also streamed live. Once complete, the application is removed from the server and no longer appears in the Application Control panel.
System-wide packages like VPN and SSL can be installed by any user whose group allows it, but only admin users can remove them. This protects shared infrastructure from accidental removal.
Reinstalling and updating
- Reinstall — Removes and reinstalls the application, which can resolve configuration issues. Your data directories are preserved unless you explicitly choose a clean install.
- Update — Updates the application to the latest available version.
Both operations stream progress in real time and notify you when they complete.
CLI equivalents
Every package operation in the dashboard has a corresponding CLI command:
| Dashboard Action | CLI Command |
|---|---|
Install an application | qb install <app> -u <username> |
Remove an application | qb remove <app> -u <username> |
Reinstall an application | qb reinstall <app> -u <username> |
Update an application | qb update <app> -u <username> |
The dashboard runs the same underlying installation scripts as the CLI. The difference is in the experience: the dashboard provides a visual catalog, real-time log streaming, and point-and-click controls, while the CLI is better suited for automation and scripting. Both produce identical results.
For full details on CLI flags and options for each application, see the CLI Reference and individual Application documentation pages.
Best practices
Do
- Check the system metrics bar before installing new applications to ensure you have sufficient disk space and memory
- Use the Application Control panel to verify services are running after installation
- Create configuration backups before making changes to application settings
- Install applications for specific users with
-u usernameto maintain proper file ownership and service isolation - Monitor the download activity panel to keep track of active transfers across all download clients
Don't
- Don't remove an application while it is actively processing downloads or media — stop the service first
- Don't install the same application for multiple users unless the application supports multi-instance operation
- Don't ignore installation errors — check the log output and resolve issues before proceeding
- Don't edit application configuration files while the service is running unless the application supports hot reloading
FAQ
journalctl -u service-name -f from the command line./opt/v4-dashboard/var/log/username/. You can also view them from the System Logs page under System Administration.Related pages
Per-application installation guides and configuration reference
Cloud storage sync — Dropbox, Google Drive, and Uloz.to installation and configuration
Command-line reference for qb install, remove, update, and more
Manage which applications users can access through group membership
Control administrative capabilities including cross-user package operations
Detailed server health monitoring and diagnostics
Account settings, security, and notification preferences
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