Onboarding Wizard
When you first log in to Companion Hub, the onboarding wizard guides you through setting up your self-hosted ecosystem. It detects services already running on your machine and recommends open-source alternatives you can install with one click.
The wizard only appears once — after completing or skipping it, you’ll go straight to the dashboard on future logins.
Welcome
The wizard starts with a welcome screen offering two paths:
- Scan for existing services — Detects Docker containers and other services already running on your machine, then recommends alternatives.
- Skip — Goes straight to the dashboard so you can browse the App Store yourself.
Discover
If you chose to scan, the wizard queries Docker for running containers and maps them to categories of proprietary software. It then presents a curated list of open-source alternatives, organised by category:
- Utilities — Office suites, note-taking, document signing
- Social & Communication — Chat, video conferencing, email
- Development — Project management, code editors, CI/CD
- Data & Storage — Cloud storage, databases, CRM, analytics
- Media & Design — Design tools, video editing, screen recording
- Automation — Hub automation, workflow automation
- Security — Password managers, VPN, camera systems
- Photography — Photo management
- Finance — E-commerce platforms
- AI — LLM interfaces, image generation
Select any apps you’d like to install by clicking their card. A checkmark indicates selection.
Review & Select
Before installation, you can review your selection. Remove any apps you don’t want by clicking the × button next to each one.
Install & Done
Click Install to begin. The wizard installs each selected app sequentially, showing a progress bar and status icon for each one. Once all apps are queued, you’ll see a summary with a Continue button.
Click Continue to proceed to the completion screen. Your apps will continue installing in the background — click Go to Dashboard to finish the wizard.
Re-running the Wizard
The onboarding wizard is a one-time experience. After completion, you can install additional apps anytime from the App Store.
The service detection only finds Docker containers running at the time of the scan. If you start new services later, you can find alternatives manually in the App Store’s Alternatives section.