Let’s be honest — most asset management tools are overkill for what you really need. If you’re like me and just want a dead-simple way to keep track of physical assets, receipts, warranties, and routine maintenance, DumbAssets might be exactly what you’ve been looking for.

It’s called DumbAssets for a reason: it’s purposely simple, delightfully dumb, and just works.

🚀 What Is DumbAssets?

DumbAssets is a lightweight, self-hosted asset tracker that helps you stay on top of:

• Your physical assets (computers, equipment, tools, whatever)
• Their components and sub-components
• Warranty periods and expiration alerts
• Maintenance schedules
• Receipts and photos — all neatly organized

No cloud dependencies, no account signups, no nonsense.

🛠️ Getting Started (It’s Stupid Easy)

You’ve got a few options depending on how much you like typing commands.

🐳 Option 1: Docker (For Dummies)

If you’ve got Docker installed, this is all you need:

docker run -p 3000:3000 -v ./data:/app/data dumbwareio/dumbassets:latest

Then open http://localhost:3000 in your browser, and you’re off. Start adding assets, upload your receipts, and set those maintenance reminders. That’s it. Seriously.

⚙️ Option 2: Docker Compose (For Dummies Who Like Customizing)

Want more control over your setup? Create a docker-compose.yml like this:

services:
  dumbassets:
    container_name: dumbassets
    image: dumbwareio/dumbassets:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports: 
      - ${DUMBASSETS_PORT:-3000}:3000
    volumes:
      - ${DUMBASSETS_DATA_PATH:-./data}:/app/data
    environment:
      NODE_ENV: ${DUMBASSETS_NODE_ENV:-production}
      DEBUG: ${DUMBASSETS_DEBUG:-true}
      SITE_TITLE: ${DUMBASSETS_SITE_TITLE:-DumbAssets}
      BASE_URL: ${DUMBASSETS_BASE_URL:-http://localhost:3000}
      DUMBASSETS_PIN: ${DUMBASSETS_PIN:-1234}
      ALLOWED_ORIGINS: ${DUMBASSETS_ALLOWED_ORIGINS:-*}
      APPRISE_URL: ${DUMBASSETS_APPRISE_URL:-}

Then run:

docker compose up -d

Visit http://localhost:3000, and go from there.

👨‍💻 Option 3: Run It Locally (For Developers)

Prefer to poke around the code? No problem:

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/DumbAssets.git
cd DumbAssets
npm install
npm start

Head to http://localhost:3000 and you’re in.

✨ Why Use DumbAssets?

Here’s a quick look at what’s built-in:

• Track assets with serial numbers, models, purchase dates, and more
• Organize components and sub-components in a hierarchy
• Upload photos and receipts (stored locally)
• Search everything easily — by name, model, serial, or description
• Get notified before warranties expire or maintenance is due
• Add tags for smarter sorting
• Light/Dark mode with your preference saved
• Apprise integration (for Discord, Telegram, ntfy, etc.)
• PIN authentication with brute-force protection
• Runs beautifully in Docker — or bare metal if you prefer

🔧 Configuration Basics

DumbAssets is configured using environment variables. Here are a few you might tweak:

And everything lives in simple JSON files under /data:

• Assets.json — your core asset data
• SubAssets.json — all components and relationships
• Images/ — uploaded photos
• Receipts/ — uploaded files
• config.json — notification and system config

🔐 Security Features That Matter

• PIN authentication (any 4+ digit code)
• Constant-time comparison to prevent timing attacks
• Lockout after too many failed attempts
• No PIN stored in the browser
• Secure cookies and session handling
• Rate limiting built in

🔍 Under the Hood

Here’s a peek at the stack:

• Backend: Node.js + Express
• Frontend: Vanilla JS (ES6+)
• Container: Docker + Alpine
• Uploads: Handled via Multer
• Scheduling: node-cron for sending alerts

And some notable dependencies:

• express, cors, multer, uuid, dotenv, sharp, helmet, express-rate-limit, fs-extra, and more.

🤝 Want to Contribute?

Pull requests are welcome! Here’s the quick rundown:

1. Fork the repo
2. Create a branch: git checkout -b feature/cool-idea
3. Commit using Conventional Commits
4. Push and open a PR

Check the Development Guide in the repo for more info.

Final Thoughts

DumbAssets is perfect for anyone who just wants a clean, local-first, no-fuss asset tracker. Whether you’re a tech-savvy DIYer or an IT person managing office equipment, it saves time and stays out of your way.

So go ahead — spin it up, add your stuff, and enjoy how dumb easy it really is.

Visit https://github.com/DumbWareio/DumbAssets