Cosmos (Cosmos Server)

Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Cosmos (Cosmos Server)

A curated collection of the 8 best self hosted alternatives to Cosmos (Cosmos Server).

Cosmos Server is a self-hosted home server dashboard and app management platform that provides a web UI to deploy, run, and manage services on a personal machine. It includes user authentication and optional remote access to the management interface.

Alternatives List

#1
umbrelOS

umbrelOS

umbrelOS is a home server operating system that lets you self-host popular apps via a built-in app store, with one-click installs on Raspberry Pi, x86, or Umbrel Home.

umbrelOS screenshot

umbrelOS is a home server operating system designed to make self-hosting straightforward through a polished web interface and an integrated app store. It targets personal/home setups, including Raspberry Pi, x86 systems, VMs, and the Umbrel Home appliance.

Key Features

  • App store experience for discovering and installing self-hosted apps
  • Container-based app deployment and isolation
  • Web-based dashboard to manage installed apps and services
  • Built-in Files experience for storing and managing documents and data
  • Backup support to help protect data and simplify recovery
  • Support for external storage and NAS-style storage expansion

Use Cases

  • Run a personal home cloud with file sync and collaboration apps
  • Host media, smart home, and network services from a single dashboard
  • Operate privacy-preserving services at home, such as a Bitcoin node

Limitations and Considerations

  • Licensed under PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0, limiting commercial redistribution and commercial appliance use
  • Some features have first-class support on Umbrel Home, while other hardware is best-effort due to device differences

umbrelOS is best suited for users who want an appliance-like self-hosting experience with one-click app management. It provides a unified UI and curated app ecosystem for running common home server workloads on your own hardware.

10.2kstars
685forks
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#2
Sandstorm

Sandstorm

Sandstorm is a self-hostable web productivity suite that lets you install, run, and securely share many web apps with unified access control and sandboxing.

Sandstorm screenshot

Sandstorm is a self-hostable web productivity suite that acts as a security-hardened web app package manager. It lets you install multiple web apps on one server and provides a consistent sharing and access-control experience across them.

Key Features

  • App market and one-click installation of packaged web applications
  • Automatic app updates through the platform
  • Per-document/app-instance isolation (“grains”) using strong sandboxing to limit impact of vulnerabilities
  • Unified identity, sharing links, and access control across all installed apps
  • Central place to find and manage everything you create across apps

Use Cases

  • Run a private productivity suite (documents, chat, task boards, file storage) on your own infrastructure
  • Host multiple small internal tools with consistent access control and sharing
  • Package and distribute a web app as a deployable Sandstorm app without managing a full SaaS stack

Limitations and Considerations

  • Sandstorm’s app ecosystem relies on Sandstorm-specific packaging and runtime constraints, which can limit which apps are available or easy to adapt

Sandstorm is a good fit for teams or individuals who want many web apps in one place with strong default security boundaries. It emphasizes simple administration, unified sharing, and privacy-focused control over where data lives.

7kstars
709forks
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#3
StartOS

StartOS

Open source Linux server OS with a web UI and marketplace for installing, configuring, monitoring, and backing up self-hosted services.

StartOS screenshot

StartOS is an open source Linux distribution designed to make running a personal server approachable through a graphical interface. It provides a curated way to discover, install, configure, and operate self-hosted services, with tooling for networking, dependencies, and backups.

Key Features

  • Web-based graphical interface for managing a personal server
  • Service marketplace for discovery and one-click installation of packaged apps
  • Guided configuration for services, including networking and runtime settings
  • Dependency management between installed services
  • Backup and restore tooling for service data
  • Health monitoring to help track service status and operational issues

Use Cases

  • Run a private home server for self-hosted apps (files, notes, communication, etc.)
  • Deploy privacy-oriented infrastructure such as Bitcoin and Lightning nodes
  • Provide a simplified platform for distributing and operating open source server software

Limitations and Considerations

  • Marked as beta by the project; some features may be incomplete and reliability may vary
  • Requires learning basic server concepts to operate effectively

StartOS focuses on reducing the operational friction of self-hosting by combining an OS, management UI, and app distribution model. It is best suited for users who want a managed personal-server experience while retaining control of their software and data.

1.5kstars
144forks
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#4
Syncloud

Syncloud

Syncloud is a self-hosted personal cloud platform that installs and manages curated applications via snaps, offering device images and a Vue-based web UI for private on-prem app hosting.

Syncloud screenshot

Syncloud is a self-hosted personal cloud platform that provides one-click installation and management of popular applications on local devices. It combines a Debian-based device image, a snap-based app installer, and a web-based control UI to manage apps, device settings, and shared services.

Key Features

  • One-click installation and lifecycle management of curated apps delivered as snap packages
  • Debian-based prebuilt images for multiple device types and CPU architectures
  • Platform snap that provides shared services and centralized device configuration
  • Web UI built with Vue for app discovery, device settings, and administration
  • Developer tooling and build automation support for creating platform snap packages
  • Supports local package installation and testing workflows for appliance vendors

Use Cases

  • Run and manage home server apps (file storage, media servers, productivity tools) on personal hardware
  • Deploy a privacy-focused personal cloud appliance for family use or small offices
  • Build, test and distribute custom snap-based appliance images for hardware vendors

Limitations and Considerations

  • Relies on the snap packaging ecosystem, so available apps are limited to those packaged as snaps
  • Hardware compatibility depends on availability of prebuilt images for specific devices and architectures
  • Not designed as a container-orchestration platform; it is appliance-oriented rather than Kubernetes-native

Syncloud is a practical choice for users and vendors who want an appliance-like self-hosting platform with curated apps, a simple web admin interface, and an emphasis on local privacy.

423stars
45forks
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#5
SelfHostBlocks

SelfHostBlocks

NixOS distribution of modular 'blocks' that standardize and test server services, offering backups, ZFS datasets, LDAP/SSO, monitoring, reverse proxy, and certificate management.

SelfHostBlocks screenshot

SelfHostBlocks is an opinionated server management distribution built on NixOS that provides modular NixOS modules ("blocks") to simplify long-term self-hosting. It packages a set of preconfigured services and shared building blocks that aim for reproducible, testable, and maintainable server setups.

Key Features

  • Collection of reusable NixOS modules (blocks) that standardize configuration across services
  • Built-in service integrations: automatic reverse proxy, certificate management, LDAP and SSO hooks
  • Backup support and automatic creation of dedicated ZFS datasets per service
  • Observability stack with Prometheus and Grafana and provided dashboards for monitoring
  • Opinionated defaults with NixOS VM tests and Playwright checks to ensure services build and function together
  • Contracts system to compose blocks flexibly and swap components like reverse proxies or databases
  • Bundled support for common services such as Nextcloud, Jellyfin, Forgejo, Vaultwarden, Home Assistant and media/*arr stacks
  • Designed for long-term maintenance, automatic updates, and tested inter-block interoperability

Use Cases

  • Host personal or small-team groupware, media, and home services with consistent configuration and backups
  • Build reproducible, test-driven NixOS server configurations that integrate LDAP/SSO and centralized monitoring
  • Bootstrap a privacy-focused home or small datacenter environment with opinionated best-practices for backups and certificates

Limitations and Considerations

  • Requires familiarity with Nix/NixOS and the project-specific patched nixpkgs; not targeted at Nix beginners
  • Opinionated design means less flexibility for users who want entirely custom setups without adapting blocks
  • Primarily maintained by a small team; users should expect community-driven support and occasional edge-case bugs

SelfHostBlocks is best suited for users who want a tested, modular NixOS-based platform to run common self-hosted services with built-in backups, monitoring, and identity integrations. It emphasizes reproducibility and long-term maintainability over lowest-effort installation.

405stars
14forks
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#6
xsrv

xsrv

A collection of Ansible roles and CLI utilities to install, configure and maintain self-hosted network services (Nextcloud, Matrix, Jitsi, PostgreSQL, WireGuard) on Debian-based hosts.

xsrv screenshot

xsrv is an Ansible-based collection of roles, playbooks and utilities designed to install, manage and run a wide range of self-hosted network services and applications on your own servers. It provides modular roles, an optional command-line controller and templates to bootstrap a single-server project quickly.

Key Features

  • Modular Ansible roles for many services (web server, mail, VPN, databases, media, collaboration and more) so components can be deployed independently.
  • Optional command-line controller with utilities for common tasks (provisioning VMs, initializing templates, applying changes and upgrades).
  • Built-in templates and example inventory to get a single-server deployment up quickly and reproducibly.
  • Integration with libvirt for automated VM provisioning and with common OS/stack tooling used on Debian-based hosts.
  • Centralized configuration via role variables and a documented list of configuration variables to control deployments and service options.
  • Role-level maintenance and upgrade procedures; guidance for TLS certificate acquisition and DNS requirements for public services.

Use Cases

  • Deploy and operate a personal or small-team self-hosted server running Nextcloud, Gitea, Matrix, Jitsi, media servers and similar applications.
  • Create reproducible lab or test environments by provisioning Debian VM templates and automated roles via libvirt/Ansible.
  • Manage ongoing maintenance, upgrades and role-based configuration for multiple Debian hosts from a single Ansible controller.

Limitations and Considerations

  • Focused on Debian-based systems: documentation and many roles assume Debian/Ubuntu packaging and tools; non-Debian platforms will require manual adaptation.
  • Requires familiarity with Ansible and SSH-based controller/host workflows; not a turnkey graphical control panel — operations are performed via playbooks and CLI tools.
  • Services and resource usage depend on installed roles; plan CPU, RAM and storage per role and follow role-specific guidance for production use.

xsrv is intended for users who prefer infrastructure-as-code and reproducible Ansible-driven deployments for self-hosting. Its modular role approach makes it suitable for incremental adoption and custom configurations.

388stars
30forks
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#7
WAGMIOS

WAGMIOS

WAGMIOS is a self-hosted container management system that provides a Docker marketplace, admin UI, and an AI assistant (W.I.L.L.O.W) for workflow automation and container operations.

WAGMIOS screenshot

WAGMIOS is a self-hosted container management platform that combines a web-based marketplace and admin UI with an AI-driven assistant called W.I.L.L.O.W to simplify container deployment and operations. It integrates with Docker, exposes a management API/UI, and uses workflow automation to streamline common tasks.

Key Features

  • Web-based admin UI and customizable homepage for bookmarks and quick access
  • Docker marketplace to browse, install, and manage containerized applications
  • AI-powered assistant (W.I.L.L.O.W) for guided setup, automated workflows, and operational suggestions
  • Integration with workflow automation tooling for stateful memories and automations (example deployment uses a workflow engine and PostgreSQL)
  • Direct Docker socket access for container control and management via backend services
  • Tested on common Linux systems including Ubuntu, Debian (including Raspberry Pi) and LXC environments

Use Cases

  • Quickly deploy and manage containerized apps on a home server or lab environment
  • Use the AI assistant to automate repetitive container management tasks and guided integrations
  • Provide a single-pane admin UI and local marketplace for non-expert users to install common services

Limitations and Considerations

  • Project is actively developed; some features are incomplete or experimental
  • Not hardened for public exposure by default; caution advised when deploying to a VPS or public IP
  • macOS and WSL installations may report inaccurate disk metrics; some LXC setups require root privileges for specific networking components

WAGMIOS is suited for hobbyists and home labs seeking an integrated container UI with AI-driven automation. It emphasizes ease of use and rapid setup while still being under active development and refinement.

51stars
2forks
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#8
LibreServer

LibreServer

A small Debian-based server system for self-hosting email, chat, VoIP, wikis, blogs, social networks and other community services on modest hardware.

LibreServer screenshot

LibreServer is a minimal Debian-based server distribution and collection of scripts designed to let individuals and small communities run common internet services independently. It bundles and configures services such as email, chat, VoIP, wikis, blogs and federated social software so you can operate a personal or community server on modest hardware.

Key Features

  • Debian-based, script-driven system for deploying common services (email, chat, VoIP, wikis, blogs, social networks).
  • Designed to run on low-powered machines such as old laptops and single-board computers.
  • Focus on federation and decentralization to connect multiple personal/community servers.
  • Supports privacy-preserving deployment options including running an onion address.
  • Repository mixes shell-driven automation with web assets and service configuration files for straightforward setup and maintenance.

Use Cases

  • Host email, group chat and VoIP for a small community or family without relying on third-party providers.
  • Deploy a personal server that provides a wiki and blog for community documentation and publishing.
  • Run a federated social or messaging node to participate in decentralized networks.

Limitations and Considerations

  • Intended for personal and small-community deployments rather than large-scale hosting; operational scaling and high-availability are not primary focuses.
  • Installation and management are primarily script- and command-line-driven, which may require comfort with Debian and shell tooling.

LibreServer provides a compact, opinionated way to reclaim control over essential internet services by combining simple automation with Debian packaging and common service stacks. It is best suited to users who want a lightweight, privacy-oriented personal or community server.

44stars
2forks
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Why choose an open source alternative?

  • •Data ownership: Keep your data on your own servers
  • •No vendor lock-in: Freedom to switch or modify at any time
  • •Cost savings: Reduce or eliminate subscription fees
  • •Transparency: Audit the code and know exactly what's running