Unraid XML Generator#

Core Pattern#

The key insight for Unraid Docker templates:

xml

<Container version="2">
  <Name>mycontainer</Name>
  <Repository>image:tag</Repository>
  <Network>bridge</Network>

  <!-- KEY: override ENTRYPOINT to /bin/sh -->
  <ExtraParams>--entrypoint /bin/sh</ExtraParams>

  <!-- KEY: pass real startup command through shell -ec -->
  <PostArgs>-ec 'real startup command here'</PostArgs>

  <!-- User-configurable variables -->
  <Config Name="Display Name" Target="ENV_VAR" Default="..." Type="Variable" Display="always" Required="false" Mask="true">default_value</Config>
  <Config Name="Port" Target="PORT" Default="8080" Mode="tcp" Type="Port" Display="always" Required="true">8080</Config>
  <Config Name="Data Path" Target="/data" Default="/mnt/user/appdata/mycontainer" Mode="rw" Type="Path" Display="always" Required="true">/mnt/user/appdata/mycontainer</Config>
</Container>

Template Field Reference#

FieldPurpose<Name>Unique container identifier<Repository>Docker image with tag<Registry>Registry URL (optional, informational)<Network>Network mode: bridge, host, none``<Shell>Default shell ( bash / sh)<ExtraParams>Extra docker run flags (e.g. --entrypoint /bin/sh)<PostArgs>Startup command passed to shell -ec``<WebUI>Format: http://[IP]:[PORT:nnnn]/ — shows button in Unraid UI<Icon>URL to icon image<Category>Unraid category string<Config>User-configurable parameter

Config Types#

TypeExampleVariableEnvironment variable ( Target = env var name)PortPort mapping ( Mode="tcp"/"udp")PathVolume path ( Mode="rw"/"ro")SliderNumeric slider (requires Min, Max, Step)DescriptionRead-only description text

Config Display Options#

Display valueWhen shownalwaysAlways visible in UIadvancedHidden behind "Advanced" togglehiddenNever shown (manual config)

Masked Variables (secrets)#

Set Mask="true" on Type="Variable" Config entries to:

• Hide the value from the UI (shown as ••••••)
• Treat as sensitive (API keys, tokens, passwords)

PostArgs Shell Pattern#

bash

# Correct way to write PostArgs in XML:
<PostArgs>-ec 'export VAR1="value1" && export VAR2="value2" && exec real_command --flag arg'</PostArgs>

# Breaking down:
# -e  : exit on error
# -c  : read command from string (not stdin)
# '...' : single-quoted command string

Standard Config Variables to Include#

For any container:

xml

<Config Name="HTTP Proxy" Target="HTTP_PROXY" Default="" Type="Variable" Display="advanced" Required="false" Mask="false">http://192.168.8.30:7893</Config>
<Config Name="HTTPS Proxy" Target="HTTPS_PROXY" Default="" Type="Variable" Display="advanced" Required="false" Mask="false">http://192.168.8.30:7893</Config>
<Config Name="NO Proxy" Target="NO_PROXY" Default="" Type="Variable" Display="advanced" Required="false" Mask="false">localhost,127.0.0.1,192.168.0.0/16</Config>
<Config Name="TZ" Target="TZ" Default="Asia/Shanghai" Type="Variable" Display="advanced" Required="false" Mask="false">Asia/Shanghai</Config>

Script Usage#

bash

python3 scripts/generate_template.py \
  --name opencode \
  --image ghcr.io/anomalyco/opencode:latest \
  --port 4096 \
  --web-port 4097 \
  --output /tmp/opencode.xml

# Generate with all standard env vars:
python3 scripts/generate_template.py \
  --name opencode \
  --image ghcr.io/anomalyco/opencode:latest \
  --port 4096 \
  --web-port 4097 \
  --proxy 192.168.8.30:7893 \
  --tz Asia/Shanghai \
  --output /tmp/opencode.xml

Common Pitfalls#

1. Double quotes in PostArgs → escape as " in XML
2. ENTRYPOINT bypass → always use <ExtraParams>--entrypoint /bin/sh</ExtraParams>
3. Shell variable substitution → use single quotes for PostArgs to prevent $VAR expansion by XML parser
4. Template filename → must start with my- and end with .xml
5. Path permissions → Unraid runs containers as PUID/PGID = 99/100 by default

Output#

The generated XML file is placed at:

text

/boot/config/plugins/dockerMan/templates-user/my-<name>.xml

User must confirm before deploying (writing) to that path.