Best UGREEN NAS Apps: What Should You Install?

Start with native UGOS Pro apps when you need photo backup, computer synchronization, cloud transfers, security scanning, or a local media library. Add Docker when you need a complete server application such as Plex, Jellyfin, Nextcloud, Home Assistant, AdGuard Home, or Vaultwarden.

Every installed service consumes memory, storage I/O, network ports, and maintenance time. Install an application because it solves a specific problem, then make its configuration and data recoverable.

Which UGREEN NAS App Fits Your Goal?

Before installing anything, you also need to know where that software runs.

UGREEN NAS Client, App Center, Docker, and Virtual Machines

Use the official UGREEN NAS app downloads for software that runs on your phone, computer, or TV. App Center inside UGOS Pro is where you install software that runs on the NAS.

Which Applications Does Each UGREEN NAS Series Support?

Docker support does not guarantee that every third-party image will work. The container image must support the NAS processor architecture, and its resource requirements must fit alongside UGOS Pro and other running services.

If application support is part of your purchase decision,  you can then browse and filter UGREEN NAS models by memory, network speed, bay count, and expansion options.

Start With Native UGOS Pro Apps

Native applications integrate directly with UGOS Pro accounts, permissions, storage, and client software. They also require less administration than a multi-container service.

Photos: Automatic Phone Backup and Local Browsing

Photos is the practical first choice for households consolidating pictures and videos from multiple phones. It creates a central library on the NAS and works with the UGREEN NAS mobile app for automatic uploads.

Before deleting media from a phone, open several recent photos and videos from the NAS and confirm that they uploaded at the expected quality. On an iPhone using iCloud Photos with Optimize iPhone Storage enabled, the full-resolution original may not be stored locally when the backup runs.

Photos solves media backup and browsing. It does not create an independent backup of the NAS.

Sync & Backup: Current Files Across Computers

Sync & Backup keeps selected folders current between a computer and the NAS. It is useful for documents, active projects, and folders that you want available from more than one device.

The direction of the task matters. One-way sync sends changes in a defined direction, while two-way sync keeps both locations aligned. In configurations that propagate deletions, removing or encrypting a file on one side affects the other side during the next synchronization.

Use the complete UGREEN NAS file-sync guide to select the correct direction and understand how deletions behave.

Cloud Drives: NAS-to-Cloud Transfers and Synchronization

Cloud Drives connects supported cloud services with the NAS for transfer and synchronization tasks. It fits users who want selected NAS folders available in a cloud account or want data transferred between the two locations.

A synchronized cloud folder reflects current changes. A recoverable cloud backup requires version history, retention, immutability, or another mechanism that preserves older data after deletion or ransomware.

For off-site protection rather than simple synchronization, use a defined retention strategy from the UGREEN NAS cloud-backup guide.

Theater: A Local Movie Library Without a Separate Server

Theater organizes compatible video files into a browsable local library. It is the simpler option when you want poster-based organization and playback through supported UGREEN NAS clients without administering a separate media server.

Move to Plex or Jellyfin when you need their client ecosystems, user-management options, library behavior, or transcoding features. That change moves the workload into Docker and introduces model-specific hardware requirements.

Security: Scanning and Quarantine

Security Manager scans files for known threats and can quarantine suspicious items. It is useful when files arrive from multiple computers, external drives, downloads, or shared folders.

Scanning does not recover encrypted or deleted data, and it does not replace endpoint security on the computers using the NAS. Combine it with restricted permissions, two-factor authentication, software updates, snapshots where supported, and an independent backup. Our UGREEN NAS security guide explains how those controls serve different roles.

Native applications cover the most common storage jobs. Docker becomes useful when the NAS needs to operate as a server for a specific third-party platform.

Add Docker When You Need a Full Server Application

Install Docker from App Center on a supported model, then deploy containers with persistent folders for their configuration and data. The UGREEN NAS Docker and Docker Compose guide explains the container, image, port, volume, and project concepts used by these applications.

Plex and Jellyfin for Full Media-Server Workflows

Plex and Jellyfin index a media library, provide dedicated client applications, track viewing progress, and stream content to supported devices.

On current UGREEN NAS systems, Plex is deployed through Docker. The Jellyfin package available through App Center is also container-based. The DH2300 therefore cannot host either server, although it can store media for Plex or Jellyfin running on another computer.

Direct Play places the lightest load on the NAS because the client plays the stored format without video conversion. Hardware transcoding has additional requirements:

• A compatible processor with supported graphics acceleration
• Graphics-device access inside the container
• Correct container and application permissions
• Media and subtitle formats supported by the selected acceleration path
• An active Plex Pass for Plex hardware transcoding

AMD-based models can run compatible Plex and Jellyfin containers, but they do not provide the Intel Quick Sync path used by our current hardware-transcoding instructions.

Follow the dedicated tutorials to install Plex on UGREEN NAS or set up Jellyfin on UGREEN NAS.

Nextcloud for Private Collaboration

Nextcloud adds browser-based file access, user sharing, calendars, contacts, and a larger collaboration ecosystem. It fits users who specifically need a self-hosted collaboration platform.

It is unnecessary for straightforward folder synchronization. Sync & Backup handles that job with fewer moving parts.

A dependable Nextcloud deployment needs persistent application data, a database, HTTPS, updates, user administration, and backups of both files and the database. Nextcloud also does not apply end-to-end encryption to every stored file by default. Treat its security and recovery design as a separate project.

UGREENlink Before Tailscale or WireGuard

Start with UGREENlink when you want remote browser or client access without manually forwarding router ports. It is built into UGOS Pro and requires the least network administration.

Tailscale is the next step when you want devices to communicate through a private overlay network without publishing the NAS management interface directly to the internet. On UGREEN NAS, Tailscale requires Docker.

WireGuard fits users who want to operate their own VPN endpoint and manage its keys, routing, firewall rules, and availability. It provides more control and creates more administrative responsibility.

The UGREEN NAS remote-access guide compares these methods and provides the applicable configuration steps.

Duplicati, Kopia, or Restic for Encrypted Off-Site Backups

Use a dedicated backup application when you need client-side encryption, retained recovery points, and storage outside the NAS.

Duplicati provides a browser-based interface. Kopia offers snapshot-based backup with policy and encryption controls. Restic is a compact option for users comfortable with command-line configuration and automation.

Whichever tool you select, protect the repository credentials and encryption key separately from the NAS. Back up the application configuration, document the destination, and perform a restore test from another environment. A backup that depends on an unrecoverable local database, password, or key will fail when the NAS is unavailable.

Optional Services That Create Real Dependencies

Some containers are useful only when you are prepared for the dependency they create.

A DNS-filtering container affects more than the NAS. If other devices use it as their DNS server, plan how name resolution will continue during NAS maintenance. A second filtering instance on separate hardware provides stronger continuity than another container on the same NAS.

Home Assistant Container works well for users who want local automation and already understand their device integrations. Users who depend on Home Assistant Supervisor and its managed add-on system should account for that difference before migrating an existing installation.

Vaultwarden holds credentials that may unlock the NAS, cloud accounts, and other services. Keep its data and database recoverable, restrict administrative access, and place the web vault behind HTTPS.

Run Uptime Kuma on the NAS when you want one dashboard for other local or remote services. Use an external monitor when the alert must still arrive after the NAS, router, or building power goes down.

How Much Memory Do NAS Applications Need?

Ten idle containers may use fewer resources than one media server transcoding video, one Nextcloud instance indexing files, or one backup job encrypting and uploading terabytes of data.

Published memory figures also describe different things:

Sources: Plex Media Server requirements, Jellyfin hardware guidance, and Nextcloud system requirements.

These figures are planning guardrails, not measured UGOS Pro container benchmarks. A fixed 8GB system can run native services and compatible containers, but it should not be planned as an unlimited homelab. Database-heavy collaboration, media indexing, software transcoding, backup encryption, and multiple simultaneous services can exhaust the remaining headroom.

Use Task Manager to establish a baseline before adding a container:

1. Record memory, processor, disk, and network use with only your normal native services running.
2. Add one container.
3. Run its real workload, such as a library scan, backup job, synchronization, or media stream.
4. Record its normal and peak resource use.
5. Set a memory limit above the observed peak while preserving capacity for UGOS Pro and storage operations.

A memory limit protects the NAS from a runaway container, but a limit that is too low causes the container to be terminated when it exceeds that value. In Docker Compose, the relevant setting is mem_limit. Select the value for the tested application rather than copying one limit across every service.

On models that support an SSD storage pool, frequently accessed application databases, metadata, and container configuration can benefit from SSD latency. An SSD cache serves a different role and does not guarantee the same improvement for every container workload.

How Should HTTPS Work Across Multiple Containers?

Browser-based applications such as Nextcloud and Vaultwarden need protected connections. When several containers require HTTPS, place a reverse proxy such as Caddy or Nginx Proxy Manager in front of them.

The reverse proxy manages certificates and sends each hostname to the correct internal container. It also gives multiple applications a consistent HTTPS entry point instead of exposing separate management ports directly.

A reverse proxy does not make public exposure safe by itself. If a service is only for your own remote access, keeping it inside Tailscale avoids publishing it directly to the internet. Public services still require prompt updates, strong authentication, restricted permissions, firewall rules, and monitoring.

Before You Install Another Docker Application

Use this checklist for every new service:

1. Confirm the image architecture. Check for the required ARM64 or x86-64 build before creating the container.
2. Create persistent storage. Keep configuration, databases, keys, and application data in mapped NAS folders or named volumes. Recreating a container must not erase its state.
3. Record the configuration. Save the image name, working tag, ports, volume mappings, environment variables, user IDs, group IDs, and required permissions.
4. Set a memory limit. Observe the application under real use, then set mem_limit above its normal peak while retaining memory for UGOS Pro and other services.
5. Configure automatic restart. Use restart: unless-stopped for long-running services that should return after a NAS reboot or power event. Scheduled one-time containers may require a different policy.
6. Verify application health after a restart. A running container can still contain a failed backup task, inaccessible database, or broken dependency.
7. Avoid unnecessary port exposure. Keep services local unless remote access serves a defined purpose. Use HTTPS, a reverse proxy, or a private remote-access method where appropriate.
8. Plan updates. Record a known-working image version, read release notes, back up persistent data, and update one service at a time. Do not depend permanently on an untracked latest image.
9. Back up the application itself. Media files, databases, configuration folders, credentials, and encryption keys may require different backup methods.
10. Test the restore. Rebuild the container from the saved configuration and recover its data before treating the service as dependable.

NAS application solves a clear job and remains recoverable after a failed update, deleted container, damaged storage pool, or unavailable NAS. If you cannot explain how the service will be updated, backed up, and restored, it is not ready to become part of your storage system.