Infrastructure vs container integrations
What Unraid, TrueNAS, Synology, and Portainer each expose in Kochab, and when to use which.
Kochab can talk to your stack in two different ways. App APIs (Sonarr, Radarr, Plex, and the rest) reach the service directly. Host APIs reach the machine that runs Docker. Those host paths overlap on containers, but they expose very different things.
This page is about what each host integration exposes, not a feature roadmap. If something is listed under “Not exposed,” the upstream product may still do it in its own UI; Kochab simply does not surface it through that connection type today.
Quick pick
| Your setup | Add this in Kochab |
|---|---|
| Unraid tower | Unraid (infra + Unraid-native Docker) |
| TrueNAS SCALE | TrueNAS (pools, apps, VMs, standalone containers) |
| Synology NAS | Synology (DSM storage, system stats, Container Manager) |
| Docker on plain Linux, Proxmox, or multiple hosts | Portainer (one server, many environments) |
Add Sonarr, Radarr, Plex, and the rest as separate services regardless. Kochab always uses their own APIs for library, queue, and activity data.
Do not double up on the same Docker socket
If Unraid, TrueNAS, or Synology is already in your stack, use that native infra entry for containers on that box. Also adding Portainer pointed at the same socket gives you two container lists for the same host with different capabilities and no extra benefit.
Portainer is for hosts without a Kochab infra client, or for additional Docker hosts (a VPS, a second machine, edge nodes via Portainer agents).
Comparison: host integrations
| Capability | Unraid | TrueNAS SCALE | Synology DSM | Portainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Storage / array / pools | Yes | Yes (ZFS) | Yes (volumes) | No |
| CPU, RAM, network | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Disk / sensor temperatures | Yes | Yes | Partial (when DSM exposes them) | No |
| Parity / pool health alerts | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| VMs | No | Yes (start/stop/restart) | No | No |
| SCALE catalog apps | No | Yes (start/stop/restart, redeploy) | No | No |
| Multi-host Docker | No | No | No | Yes (environments) |
| Container list | Yes | Yes (apps + standalone) | Yes (Container Manager) | Yes |
| Start / stop / restart | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pause / unpause | Yes | Standalone containers only | No | Yes |
| Log tail | Yes | Apps (when supported) | Yes | Yes |
| Pull image + recreate (update) | Yes | App redeploy / restart | No | No |
| Autostart toggle | Yes | No | No | No |
| Container icons in list | Yes (Unraid icon URL) | No | No | No |
Unraid native
Best for: Unraid towers where you want array health, temps, and Docker in one place.
Exposes: GraphQL-backed infrastructure (array, parity, cache disks, SMART-ish temps), system metrics, and Unraid’s Docker UI (not raw Engine JSON). Containers get start/stop/restart, pause/unpause, logs, autostart, and Update when Unraid reports a newer image.
Does not expose: VM control, multi-host Docker, or Portainer-style environment switching. Sonarr/Radarr/etc. are still separate Kochab services on their own ports.
TrueNAS SCALE native
Best for: SCALE hosts where you care about ZFS pools, apps, and VMs alongside containers.
Exposes: Pool capacity and health, system load, disk temperatures, alerts, catalog apps (start/stop/restart; redeploy where the API supports it), VMs, and standalone containers outside catalog apps.
Does not expose: Unraid-style parity array semantics, multi-host Docker, or container image update for standalone containers the way Unraid does. App updates are redeploy/restart shaped, not “pull latest tag” buttons on every row.
Synology DSM native
Best for: Synology NAS owners who want storage and Container Manager without another layer.
Exposes: Volume utilization, CPU/RAM/uptime, network throughput, and Container Manager list with start / stop / restart and log tail.
Does not expose: Pause/unpause (DSM returns errors on many versions), image pull/recreate, autostart toggles, VM control, or ZFS-style pool detail. Temperature tiles appear only when DSM exposes the sensors Kochab reads.
Portainer
Best for: Multiple Docker hosts, agents, or edge nodes through one Portainer server.
Exposes: Environment picker (local Docker, remote agent, edge), shared container list with filter/search, lifecycle actions (start/stop/restart/pause/unpause), and log tail per container.
Does not expose: NAS storage, SMART, array/parity, VMs, or TrueNAS catalog apps. No container detail screen with live CPU/memory stats. No pull-and-recreate update button yet. Container icons follow raw Docker metadata, not Unraid’s iconUrl passthrough.
App services are separate
Sonarr on Unraid is still added as Sonarr in Kochab (port 8989 + API key). The Unraid entry does not substitute for Sonarr’s library, queue, or search APIs. The same applies to every *arr, download client, Plex, and Seerr instance.
See Service setup guides for per-app connection steps.