Built for the Self-Hosting Community

I'm Sami Ahmed, the creator of DashCaddy. I built it because I wanted a simpler, more organized way to manage the applications and services running on my own network.

The project's roots go back to 2024. What began as a personal dashboard gradually developed into a broader idea: adding an application should also take care of the configuration needed to make it accessible.

Working with my own infrastructure shaped that vision. Managing reverse proxies, certificates, DNS records, and individual services showed me how much repetitive work self-hosting can involve. Choosing Caddy helped establish the foundation for the project that became DashCaddy.

Since then, DashCaddy has grown beyond a service directory into a platform for deploying applications, managing connectivity, monitoring services, and bringing everyday administration into one interface.

AI-assisted development has been part of that journey from the beginning. I started with ChatGPT and Claude, later incorporating coding agents such as Hermes into my workflow. I direct the project's design and development, using these tools to help implement ideas, investigate issues, and improve the software.

DashCaddy continues to evolve through practical experience and ongoing refinement. Its purpose remains the same: make self-hosting easier to understand and manage, while keeping people in control of their own servers.

DashCaddy's mission is to make homelabbing more accessible. Whether you're setting up your first home server or managing an established network, the goal is to simplify the work of deploying and maintaining your applications—so you can spend more time using what you build, while keeping control of your own infrastructure.