> Working title: **Homebase**. Robert's internal codename: **Furtka** (Polish for "gate" — plays on the gateway concept). FurtkaOS is also in the running.
Turn any x86 PC into a powerful, self-hosted home server with an app-store experience. No terminal skills required.
## Vision
People are tired of big companies knowing everything about them. Synology NAS comes close to solving this, but it's expensive and still too complicated for most people.
Homebase aims to be:
- **As easy to install as Windows** — boot from USB, click through a wizard, done
- **As easy to use as an app store** — want Nextcloud? Click install, pick a name, wait a few minutes, and you have `nextcloud.yourdomain.de`
- **Container-based** — everything runs in Docker, with sensible default configs
- **Built for normal people** — your dad should be able to run his own cloud server
- **Fully open source** — with an optional support/infrastructure subscription (Proxmox model)
- **Everything already exists** — We're not inventing, we're connecting. Docker, reverse proxies, Let's Encrypt — it all works. We just wire it together with default configs and a simple wrapper.
- **Dogfooding** — We build what we use ourselves. If we wouldn't run it at home, we don't ship it.
- **Two-tier UX** — Dead simple for beginners (click Install, done), full control for advanced users (SSH in, edit configs, do whatever you want).
| Base OS | Leaning Arch | Robert already has Arch running on Proxmox and is building custom images. Debian remains fallback (FAI, Proxmox ecosystem). |
- **Umbrel's license is the #1 r/selfhosted complaint.** PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 isn't OSI-approved; Citadel forked explicitly over this.
- **Umbrel has refused HTTPS on its local UI for 4+ years.** [Issue #546](https://github.com/getumbrel/umbrel/issues/546) open since Feb 2021. Community quote: *"all it takes is one Umbrel vuln to bring down half of the lightning network."*
- **CasaOS is in maintenance mode.** IceWhale pivoted focus to ZimaOS (paid hardware). Users are [openly asking](https://github.com/IceWhaleTech/CasaOS/discussions/2386) if the project is still alive.
1.**Full OS + device-aware installer wizard** — Boot USB, open `https://proksi.local`, wizard detects hardware and configures everything. No existing project does this — CasaOS/HomeDock are layers on existing Linux, Umbrel's x86 installer asks you to type a drive number, YunoHost runs stock Debian partitioning.
3.**Gateway-as-a-service** — No competitor offers managed reverse proxy + DNS + SSL as a service. Even YunoHost (best SSL story of the three) punts DNS setup to the user's registrar — that's the UX cliff where newbies quit.
4.**HTTPS + AGPL from day one** — HTTPS on the local UI via a one-click local CA install (no browser warnings, unlike YunoHost's self-signed model). Fully AGPL-3.0 — the exact counter-position to Umbrel's non-OSI license complaints.
- [ ]**Base OS bootable image** — Robert gets a minimal Arch image that boots, runs Docker, serves the installer webapp at `https://proksi.local`*(next blocker)*
Homebase starts as a private/personal project. The long-term model follows Proxmox:
- **Free & open source** — anyone can download, install, and use it
- **Paid support & managed infrastructure** — for users who want hassle-free setup
- **Managed gateway option** — the gateway (reverse proxy, SSL, DNS) can be self-hosted or run through our managed infrastructure (potential subscription revenue)
