YunoHost
Garden your own piece of the Internet — an OS that makes self-hosting web apps almost boringly easy
Website: https://yunohost.org/ · Source: GitHub · License: AGPL-3.0 · Cost: Free · Type: Non-profit, volunteer-run, "technocritical" project
Why it exists
Self-hosting is the answer to surveillance capitalism — and it's also, traditionally, a part-time sysadmin job: DNS, certificates, reverse proxies, users, backups, security updates. YunoHost's mission is to make self-hosting accessible to non-technical people while remaining solid for experts. It is built on Debian and wraps the entire server lifecycle — installation, users, domains, certificates, app installation, backups, upgrades — in a friendly web interface, so that hosting a cloud, a website, mailboxes, a wiki or a chat for your friends, family, association or company becomes manageable in an evening.
Main features
- App catalog with 500+ applications — Nextcloud, WordPress, Matrix, PeerTube, Jellyfin, Vaultwarden, Mailu, and hundreds more, each installable in a few clicks with automatic configuration.
- Web administration interface — users, groups, domains, DNS (including a free DynDNS service), Let's Encrypt certificates, firewall, service monitoring.
- Single sign-on (SSO/LDAP) — one user directory and portal for all installed apps.
- Automated backups & restores — per-app or full-system, local or remote.
- System updates — guided upgrades for the core and apps.
- Multi-purpose hardware — install on a Raspberry Pi or ARM board, an old ("dinosaur") PC, or a cheap VPS; the site even compares the options honestly.
- Guided first-run — the installer walks you through the first admin, domain name and router configuration.
- Multilingual community — interface and docs in 15+ languages; active forum and self-help chat.
Getting started
- Choose your support — ARM board, old PC, or VPS (comparison guide on the site).
- Install YunoHost — flash/install the system, then the setup wizard configures admin, domain and router.
- Enjoy — install apps in a few clicks, set up backups, take care of your server. Try the demo first if unsure.
Who it's for
- Families and friend groups who want their own cloud (photos, calendars, contacts, passwords, mail) without renting their lives to Big Tech.
- Small organizations and nonprofits hosting website, file sharing, team chat and accounting tools.
- People with a Raspberry Pi or an old PC looking for a meaningful job for it.
- Digital-sovereignty advocates: YunoHost explicitly advocates a decentralized, open, interoperable, privacy-respecting Internet.
How it compares
| Platform | Approach | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| YunoHost | Debian + curated app catalog + web admin | Beginners; "it just works" self-hosting |
| CasaOS / Umbrel | Docker app store on Linux | Hobby media servers |
| Cloudron | Commercial app platform | Businesses wanting support |
| Plain Debian + scripts | Full manual control | Experts who enjoy the pain |
Useful links
- Website: https://yunohost.org/
- App catalog: https://apps.yunohost.org/
- Install guide: https://yunohost.org/en/install
- Demo: https://demo.yunohost.org/
- Forum: https://forum.yunohost.org/
Notes
- Around 3,000 stars on GitHub, but a much larger real-world footprint through its app catalog and community.
- Funded by donations; publishes its roadmap and donation campaigns openly.
- "Technocritical" is their own word: they want to give materiality back to the digital, encourage sobriety and reuse (that old PC is a server).
- A natural gateway drug: start with YunoHost, and tools from this list like PdfDing and solidtime can run alongside Nextcloud on the same box.