ZimaBrain CE — Local ZimaOS Diagnostic Assistant

Insight & Feedback
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Hi everyone,

A substantial ZimaBrain CE beta update is now available in the normal Docker / Custom App version.

This update took longer than expected because I did not want to patch only the individual questions reported by testers. The aim was to improve the wider diagnostic areas so that different wording and similar questions are handled consistently.

Thank you to everyone who tested ZimaBrain, shared reports, and pointed out where the answers were weak, slow, repetitive, or missing important system context.

The updated Docker image is:

gelbuilding/zimabrain-ce:1.6.0-beta

GitHub:

Local memory has now been added

One of the biggest additions is persistent local question memory.

ZimaBrain now remembers evidence-based conclusions in its local SQLite database. If a user repeats or rewords a question, ZimaBrain can match it to the same diagnostic subject and compare it with the previous result.

For example, these questions are treated as the same subject:

Is memory pressure high?
Am I running out of RAM?
Do I have enough available memory?

ZimaBrain can now explain whether:

  • The question is using the same system snapshot
  • A newer health scan is available
  • The conclusion is unchanged
  • The condition has improved or worsened
  • The verification state has changed
  • A previous warning has recovered
  • A problem is new, persistent, or historical

Small normal changes, such as a few MiB of RAM or a minor temperature variation, should not incorrectly report that the whole conclusion changed.

The memory stays locally on the ZimaOS device. Password, token, secret, and API-key patterns are redacted before question-memory content is stored.

Comprehensive system-health assessment

A new comprehensive health layer combines the current system report with the local health timeline.

It can check:

  • Failed or degraded systemd services
  • Running, exited, restarting, and unhealthy containers
  • Elevated container configuration settings
  • CPU, memory, swap, load, and temperature
  • SMART and NVMe health evidence
  • Read-only mounts and missing storage paths
  • DNS, gateways, routes, and network interfaces
  • Published and listening services
  • Tailscale running on the host or in Docker
  • Changes since earlier health scans
  • Recovered and persistent faults

The answer separates current verified problems from historical warnings and incomplete evidence.

Better memory-pressure answers

Memory questions now receive a focused memory answer.

ZimaBrain reports:

  • Total and used RAM
  • Available RAM
  • Available-memory percentage
  • Swap capacity and current usage
  • Normal, elevated, or high memory pressure
  • A memory-specific next step

It no longer fills a simple memory answer with unrelated CPU and temperature advice.

Better container diagnostics

Container checks now include:

  • Running containers
  • Exited or stopped containers
  • Restarting containers
  • Unhealthy containers
  • Restart counts
  • Published ports
  • Bind mounts
  • Host networking
  • Privileged mode
  • Docker socket access
  • Host PID namespace
  • Device access
  • Other elevated settings

An elevated setting is reported as configuration context. It is not automatically called a fault unless the evidence supports that conclusion.

Better failed-service checks

Failed-service answers now use current systemctl --failed evidence and can identify the exact failed unit.

ZimaBrain does a better job of separating:

  • A current outage
  • A historical boot failure
  • A failed helper or watchdog service
  • A missing executable or path
  • An obsolete local service
  • A container-name mismatch
  • A possible ZimaOS packaging regression

Better network diagnostics

Network diagnostics now inspect:

  • IPv4 interfaces
  • Interface state
  • Default gateways
  • Route metrics
  • Route selection
  • DNS servers
  • DNS resolution
  • Multiple default routes
  • Possible routing conflicts
  • Published container ports
  • Localhost-only services
  • LAN-reachable services
  • Tailscale host or container installations

Multiple interfaces or multiple routes are not automatically classified as a fault. ZimaBrain checks the active route, gateway, interface state, and metrics first.

SMART, NVMe, storage, and update history

ZimaBrain can now give focused answers about:

  • SMART values becoming worse
  • NVMe counters increasing
  • Historical CRC values
  • Unsafe shutdown history
  • Read-only storage
  • Missing AppData or media paths
  • Container and service history
  • Changes after a ZimaOS update
  • Previous faults that have recovered

SMART scan timestamps and other scan metadata are ignored during semantic comparison. A new scan timestamp alone should not make ZimaBrain claim that disk health changed.

Suggested questions have been added

A suggested-question selector is now available in the interface.

This should help users who know something is wrong but are unsure what to ask.

Example questions include:

Give me a complete system-health assessment.
What should I check first?
What changed since my previous scan?
Is memory pressure high?
Have any SMART values become worse?
Which services are failed or degraded?
Which containers are stopped or unhealthy?
Are any containers misconfigured?
Are my disks healthy?
Are there DNS or routing problems?
Are multiple network interfaces causing routing conflicts?
Which services are listening on the network?
Is Tailscale functioning correctly?
Are any storage mounts read-only?
What changed after my latest ZimaOS update?
Why is Immich not starting?

Users can still type their own questions. A question mark is not required.

Other fixes

This update also includes:

  • Faster responses to repeated questions
  • A short evidence cache to avoid unnecessary repeated scans
  • Better Verified, Partially Verified, and Not Verified handling
  • Better routing across diagnostic areas
  • Improved app installation guidance
  • Verified app profiles separated from generic installation checklists
  • Better read-only storage assessment
  • More focused timeline answers
  • Database-safe regression testing
  • The new ZimaBrain logo on the app tile and browser tabs
  • Favicon support on login, setup, dashboard, answer, and session pages

Updating or reinstalling

If you have an older ZimaBrain test container, remove it and pull the updated image:

docker rm -f zimabrain-ce-flask-8601 zimabrain-ce 2>/dev/null || true
docker pull gelbuilding/zimabrain-ce:1.6.0-beta

Removing the container does not remove the persistent ZimaBrain data stored under:

/DATA/AppData/zimabrain-ce

Install ZimaBrain through:

ZimaOS → App Store → Custom App

Paste the complete compose file below into Custom App.

name: zimabrain-ce

services:
  zimabrain-ce:
    image: gelbuilding/zimabrain-ce:1.6.0-beta
    pull_policy: always
    container_name: zimabrain-ce
    restart: unless-stopped
    privileged: true
    pid: host
    network_mode: bridge

    ports:
      - target: 8601
        published: "8601"
        protocol: tcp

    volumes:
      - type: bind
        source: /DATA/AppData/zimabrain-ce
        target: /data

      - type: bind
        source: /DATA/AppData/zimabrain-ce/docs
        target: /app/docs
        read_only: true

      - type: bind
        source: /proc
        target: /host/proc
        read_only: true

      - type: bind
        source: /sys
        target: /host/sys
        read_only: true

      - type: bind
        source: /etc/hostname
        target: /host/etc/hostname
        read_only: true

      - type: bind
        source: /var/run/docker.sock
        target: /var/run/docker.sock
        read_only: true

    labels:
      icon: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Jacko88888/zimabrain-ce/main/app/assets/zimabrain-ce-logo.png

networks:
  default:
    name: zimabrain-ce_default

x-casaos:
  architectures:
    - amd64
  author: gelbuilding
  category: Utilities
  developer: gelbuilding
  hostname: ""
  icon: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Jacko88888/zimabrain-ce/main/app/assets/zimabrain-ce-logo.png
  index: /
  is_uncontrolled: false
  main: zimabrain-ce
  port_map: "8601"
  scheme: http
  store_app_id: zimabrain-ce

  description:
    en_us: Local ZimaOS diagnostic assistant with verifier-first evidence checks.

  tagline:
    en_us: Local ZimaOS diagnostic assistant

  title:
    custom: ZimaBrain CE
    en_us: ZimaBrain CE

After installation:

  1. Open the ZimaBrain CE tile.
  2. Set the first-run password if this is a new installation.
  3. Choose a suggested question or type your own.
  4. Repeat or reword a question to test the local memory.
  5. Run another health scan later and ask the question again to compare results.
  6. Export the redacted session if you want to share the results here.

Note for ZimaOS 1.7 testers

ZimaOS 1.7 may briefly show a Redirecting to app launch screen before opening ZimaBrain. I have also seen this with other apps, so it appears to be part of the ZimaOS 1.7 app-launch behaviour rather than a ZimaBrain-specific screen.

ZimaBrain CE is still beta, and I would appreciate testing of:

  • Repeated and reworded questions
  • Memory comparison between scans
  • Comprehensive system health
  • Memory pressure
  • Failed services
  • Container configuration
  • DNS and routing
  • Tailscale
  • SMART and NVMe trends
  • ZimaOS update comparisons

Please post any incorrect or weak answers here, preferably with a redacted exported session, so the evidence and routing can be reviewed properly.

1 Like
ZimaOS crashing every 3 or so days