ShipLog

Read the log before you set sail.

What is this?

ShipLog is a read-only update advisor that lives right inside Unraid's native Docker tab. Unraid already tells you that an update is available and lets you apply it — ShipLog tells you what actually changes and how risky it is first. Next to each container it adds a small changelog bubble: the version jump, a deterministic risk badge, the release notes, and a DEPRECATED badge when the upstream project is archived.

It is a plugin (not a container): a tiny daemon on the host plus the bubble in the Docker tab. It never pulls, recreates, or stops anything — the Docker socket is read-only. Updating stays Unraid's own job.

Highlights

• Changelog where you need it — a per-container bubble in the native Docker tab, no separate dashboard to open

• What changes, not just “an update exists” — the release notes between your running image and the newest one

• Deterministic risk badge — patch / minor / major / digest, computed from the version jump (no guessing)

• Remembers the running version — even a rolling :latest image shows a real 1.7 → 1.8 jump once ShipLog has seen one update under its watch

• DEPRECATED badge when the upstream repository is archived (end-of-life)

• Read-only by construction — the Docker socket is mounted read-only; ShipLog cannot start, stop, recreate or pull anything

• Optional AI summaries via a local Ollama — a short, plain-language “what changed” per update (off by default)

• Optional Matrix notifications when a new update is first seen (off by default)

• Follows your Unraid light/dark theme and language (English + German, English fallback)

• Runs as a lightweight host daemon — no extra container

Requirements

• Unraid 6.10+

• Outbound HTTPS to image registries and GitHub (to fetch changelogs). A free GitHub token (no scopes) in the settings raises the anonymous API limit — useful if you watch many GitHub-sourced images

• Optional: a reachable Ollama instance for AI summaries, and/or a Matrix account for notifications

Install / update

Install from Community Applications (search for ShipLog), or add the plugin by URL under Plugins → Install Plugin:

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/junkerderprovinz/shiplog/main/plugin/shiplog.plg

Open the Docker tab to see the bubble, or Settings → ShipLog for the options (poll interval, GitHub token, Ollama, Matrix). If you ever tested an early date-versioned build, remove the plugin and reinstall it once from the URL above.

Posting a bug report

Please post:

• Unraid version (Settings → System Information)

• ShipLog version (Plugins page) — currently v1.0.4

• Daemon state and log: /usr/local/emhttp/plugins/shiplog/scripts/rc.shiplog status and tail -200 /var/log/shiplog.log

• Browser + OS (the bubble is rendered in your browser)

• Whether you set a GitHub token, Ollama, or Matrix — and, for a specific container, its image reference (e.g. ghcr.io/owner/app:latest)

GitHub issues with the same info are equally welcome: github.com/junkerderprovinz/shiplog/issues

Credits

Built in Go (engine) + a thin Unraid plugin for the Docker-tab bubble. Changelogs come from each image's org.opencontainers.image.source label and GitHub releases; optional summaries run on your own Ollama. If ShipLog saves you from a surprise update, you can buy me a coffee.

Self-hosted, MIT-licensed, read-only by design — it advises, you decide.

Edited Thursday at 09:30 PM2 days by Junker der Provinz