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Open source · AGPL-3.0

A home server platform for mixed-size disks

Hoserva manages a mergerfs pool and SnapRAID parity from a web UI and a command-line tool on Debian. Use data disks of any size, protect them with one or two parity disks, and run your apps from a curated catalog.

Get startedRead the documentationBrowse apps

What Hoserva is

Hoserva is the management layer over two proven open-source tools: mergerfs, which joins disks into one pool, and SnapRAID, which computes parity. It sets them up, schedules them and watches them. It does not replace them.

Pool
One pool from mixed-size disks
Combine disks of different sizes into one set of shared folders. Adding a disk makes its space available at once, with no rebuild.
How pooling works →
Parity
Parity on a schedule
One or two parity disks let Hoserva rebuild a failed data disk. A nightly sync updates parity, and a threshold guard holds the sync when a change looks like a mass deletion.
How parity works →
Cache
A cache disk and a mover
Write new files to an SSD first and let the mover relocate them to the array later. App data can stay on the cache so the array disks keep sleeping.
Cache and mover →
Apps
Apps from a curated catalog
Install self-hosted apps from a catalog of templates written from each application’s own documentation, with the app data kept on the cache and the media on the pool.
Install a backup app →

Who it is for

You run a server with disks of different sizes
You have collected disks over the years and want one pool without a matching-size rule. You can install Debian, and you want a web UI and a command-line tool over standard tools, not hand-maintained mergerfs policies, SnapRAID schedules and Samba configuration.
Check the requirements →
You are moving from Unraid
Hoserva can adopt the data disks of an existing Unraid array in place, without copying your data, and recreate your shares, accounts and containers on Debian. The overview says what carries over, what does not, and what the move costs in downtime.
Read the migration overview →

Unraid is a trademark of Lime Technology, Inc.; Hoserva is not affiliated with it.

What Hoserva is not

Hoserva has a deliberate scope. These are the limits to know before you decide.

Not real-time parity
Parity is updated by a scheduled sync, by default every night, not on every write. Files written since the last sync are not covered until the next one finishes. This keeps your data disks asleep most of the day.
Why parity is scheduled →
Not a backup
Parity protects you from a failed disk. It does not protect you from a deleted folder, ransomware, a fire or a theft. Keep a second copy of anything you cannot replace.
Parity is not backup →
Not a general container manager
App support is narrow on purpose. It takes you from choosing an application to having it running. It is not a tool for managing arbitrary containers, images and networks.
See an example install: a backup app →
Not a hosted service
Hoserva is software you install on your own Debian server. Nothing about it runs as a service that someone else hosts.
Install on Debian →

Get started

Three steps to a running pool
Installing the package does not touch your data disks. You choose them later, in the setup wizard.
  1. Check the requirements

    A Debian 13 server with its own boot device, plus the disks for your data and parity.

  2. Install on Debian

    Install the .deb package, then sign in from a browser on your network.

  3. Create your first array

    Choose data, parity and cache disks in the setup wizard and start the pool.

Start with the requirementsView the source on GitHub