[Solved] Looking for ... inventory management, I guess?
[Solved] Looking for ... inventory management, I guess?
Hey everyone,
I'm looking for a system that:
- I can self host
- Is slim, because I don't have beefy hardware (Intel J5040, 32GB RAM, shared by all VMs/containers)
- can be used to create an inventory of all the tech/hardware that I have in my house (not exclusively IT, I also wasn't to track things like warranty for my chainsaws and the like)
- does take at least the device make/model, serial number (for insurance cases) and warranty dates
- is not some kind of enterprise-how-many-items-of-this-article-do-i-have-in-stock-things, because that seems to be the only thing I seem to be able to find, and they neither match my use case nor do they seem to be lightweight enough.
... and honestly, I don't even know where to start looking. Do you guys have any recommendations?
Of course, I could just use a spreadsheet, but where's the fun in that?
EDIT: Thank you all so much for the engaged discussion and all the suggestions, you're the best!
LibreOffice Calc
+1
This is a problem a simple spreadsheet is perfectly adequate for.
I use homebox and it has been good for my home usecase. I have put qr codes on boxes to easily check contents from my phone
Also using Homebox. Quite intuitive UI, not too many features but also not too few. For instance you can upload the receipts, manuals, etc for euch equipment, etc
Thanks, that sounds really nice!
This might be an unpopular opinion/solution but even for two small size sister companies we are doing inventory in a version controlled markdown file 🫣
Honestly, a spreadsheet would be fine for this? I'm not super familiar with what an inventory management system does tho, so maybe it does things beyond what a spreadsheet can do.
a version controlled markdown file
There's a lot of genius in this idea ...
Not at all, I like
.md, and I'm familiar with Git. A spreadsheet is not something that I would throw into Git, but an.md...That is the reason Markdown and Git are used for a lot shenanigans these days. Knowledge bases, awesome-lists, documentations. You name it.
If you got the right tools (sphinx, typora, mkdocs, …obsidian) you got a powerful toolchain.
Simplest possible solution, Occam's Inventory 😄
I use markdown extensively, but I'm honestly not fond of its tables function (which I assume you use for this purpose?). It works, but it's a bit static in my experience. Do you run up against the same, or is it actually an advantage in your use case?
Wut
I'm suggesting HomeBox.
https://demo.homebox.software/
Small, selfhosted and centered around home use.
Snipe-IT and Shelf.nu are two of the most popular ones.
Maybe also consider just kicking one out yourself with NocoBase or something like that though.
HA, the term I was looking for is even on their website: "Asset Management Software". My non-native speaker ass didn't come up with this.
Thank you, I will check those out.
Though it sounds interesting for tinkering, I'm probably not doing down the NoCode route. You make it, you maintain it forever, and I don't have that kind of time.
There's a couple of options.
I've used Grocy. It's not intended for that particular use case but it would work. More for Grocery management.
Might want to check out https://awesome-selfhosted.net/
I’ve used Grocy.
I use Grocy daily almost, but I think that is a bit more than what OP is looking for. I use it for my pantry inventory. I am somewhat of a prepper, tho I don't prep for EOTW scenarios. Mostly for localized incidents, weather related disasters, imminent social uprisings, etc. I figure, if we start dropping nukes, point me towards the bright light and let it rip. I have no interest in 'repopulating the earth'.
I took a hand-scanner, disassembled it, and re-assembled it into a more form fitting box and mounted it conveniently in the pantry. When I bring groceries into the house, I scan them into inventory. When I use an item, I scan it out. I also use the Grocy mobile app. So, at any time I can view my inventory and see that I either have enough of an item, or need to replenish the stock.
Oh yeah, I was planning to deploy Grocy anyway, but I never thought about using it for this. Thank you!
Another shout for Homebox. I used to use a spreadsheet but over time found I simply didn't maintain it but I've found I always maintain Homebox.
Homebox allows parent/child relationship between items & exports to spreadsheet.
I dont utilise the QR code facility because my family members would not bother to use QR codes. Instead I've numbered all boxes in each location (attic, garage, basement etc), printed contents of each box & put the printout into physical folders left in each location so even the most Luddite in my family can easily locate stuff then, in theory, remember where they took it from & if the stars align & its my luck day, put the item back in the same box that they removed said item from. When that happens I always check my lottery numbers too!
They can't filter/search a physical printout but at least they can find stuff (I guess I should simply add a QR code to each printout for a best of both worlds solution).
Overall I've found Homebox a useful, simple & fun tool
Howdy, the Hay-Kot version of Homebox has been archived and will no longer be getting updates. However, a team has taken over the development (and I'm one of the devs) over at https://homebox.software/ and we've already fixed some bugs and made some improvements (including Postgres support), and we're working on the next big release now.
Thanks, I'm running the new version but linked to the old in error
A CSV file should work.
NocoDB.
Snipe-it is a bit overkill but it's pretty good.
Grocy also has an inventory tracker. I'm not sure how different it is tho
+1 for netbox
A CSV in git
NocoDB is pretty fun if you want an AirTable-like.
@DasFaultier@sh.itjust.works we've recently deployed Netbox which seems to somewhat do what you want, although its more targetted towards datacenter and network engineers (and maybe not lightweight enough for you?)
If you really need nothing special then maybe a good ol' spreadsheet is a better solution for you.
Yep, maybe it really is. I just wanted to see of there's something nicer out there before settling.
I think I recall seeing Netbox a while ago, and I remember thinking that it would be something I'd like to use at work, but we already have idoit there (which I hate passionately).
Besides CSV, if you want to have lots of optional fields, a YAML file in a git repository is an option. Use
yqor to query it.Interesting option, I'm familiar with Git, YAML and
yq. Thank you!
I get very far by just keeping a set of folders for each piece of equipment in a git repo.
Pictures, etc, and sometimes the PDF manual if I bother.
The difficult part here is being consistent over time - making sure you mark down when you bought things, serial numbers, etc. a proper website/app will force you to do this, but there is flexibility in having whatever convention you like most
Well, I do have a PaperlessNGX already, so I could use a custom field for SerialNo or something like that, but I just feel like PNGX isn't really designed for this task.
you want a gui. so cvs is weak. give nocodb a run. can do ANYTHING. cool product overviews, easy to create tables even with attachment like images.
Get Ralph it's awesome. Use it in conjunction with Zabbix too if you're monitoring your infra as well.
Spiceworks? Been a while since ive used it
A google forms alternative would be convenient. You could make an easy to fill out page that inouts to a spreadsheet. Put warranty reminders in your calander for a month before it expires.
Libreoffice has a database engine and frontend that's pretty applicable to Microsoft Access
I've been looking for something like this myself. I've tried:
- NocoDB
- Baserow
- Homebox
- Snipe-IT
In the end I went with Grist. It may not be specifically designed for it, but it is very flexible.