Skip to main content

What is YunoHost?

YunoHost is an operating system aiming to simplify server administration and therefore democratize self-hosting while making sure it stays reliable, secure, ethical and lightweight. It is a copylefted libre software project maintained by volunteers. Technically, it can be seen as a server distribution based on Debian GNU/Linux.

YunoHost can be installed on many kinds of hardware, either at home or on a remote server (VPS).

General representation of a YunoHost server installation

Features​

  • debian logo Based on Debian, for a trustworthy & familiar base;
  • tools logo Administer your server through a friendly web interface as well as a handy CLI;
  • package logo Deploy apps in just a few clicks from our more than 500 apps catalog!;
  • users logo Manage users (based on LDAP);
  • globe logo Manage domain names;
  • medic logo Create and restore backups;
  • door logo Connect to all apps simultaneously through the user portal (NGINX, SSOwat);
  • mail logo Includes a full e-mail stack (Postfix, Dovecot, Rspamd, DKIM);
  • lock logo Manages SSL certificates (based on Let's Encrypt);
  • shield logo... and security systems (fail2ban, yunohost-firewall).

Origin​

YunoHost was created in February 2012 after something like this:

"Shit, I'm too lazy to reconfigure my mail server... Beudbeud, how were you able to get your little server running with LDAP?" Kload, February 2012

All that was needed was an admin interface for Beudbeud's server to make something usable, so Kload decided to develop one. Finally, after automating several configs and packaging in some web apps, YunoHost v1 was finished.

Noting the growing enthusiasm around YunoHost and around self-hosting in general, the original developers along with new contributors decided to start work on version 2, a more extensible, more powerful, more easy-to-use, and at that, one that makes a nice cup of fair-trade coffee for the elves of Lapland.

The name YunoHost comes from the jargon "Y U NO Host". The Internet meme should illustrate it:

The meme in question, showing a guy with a face bent in frustration and questioning "Y U NO Host"

What YunoHost is not?​

YunoHost is not an enterprise or a for-profit entity. It is developed and maintained by volunteers. We do not sell services, we do not host or control your data or services in any way, and we have no intention or interest in monetizing anything. We also do not offer any formal guarantees. Our goal is simply to develop and maintain YunoHost in the hope that it contributes to a more decentralized internet and empowers people to reclaim autonomy over their digital services and technology. That said, we do our best to provide community support, and commercial support may be available through third parties if needed.

YunoHost as a project is not apolitical. By its very nature, YunoHost promotes a decentralized internet and technologies that empower people. We reject the flawed notion that technology is inherently neutral, or that software projects should remain neutral. Many contributors to the project remain vigilant about the social and political implications of technological developments, and emphasize the importance of solidarity and alignment with broader movements such as feminism, LGBTQIA+ rights and visibility, environmental justice and social justice. We stand firmly against fascism, sexism, racism, xenophobia, bigotry, ableism, imperialism, extractivism, eugenics, and right-wing libertarianism. If you are not aligned with these values, you are encouraged to not use YunoHost and look for a different system.

YunoHost is not designed to "scale" in the traditional sense. It is intended for a relatively modest number of user accounts and simultaneous users. While there is no strict limit—since performance depends heavily on your specific setup — , we estimate that some technical adjustments may be necessary when reaching 250~500 user accounts, or about 50 simultaneous users on resource-intensive apps. That said, YunoHost can comfortably handle hosting a website or several lightweight services, even with thousands of daily visitors.

YunoHost is primarily designed for people who want things to "just work". Of course, it’s not perfect — we're constantly working to improve the user experience, robustness, and simplicity. Though YunoHost is "tinkerable", the first target public is not power users with complex or highly customized use cases in mind. We encourage you to keep your setup as simple as possible. That said, you are than welcome to experiment and share your feedback with us!

YunoHost is not designed to be a heavy multi-tenant solution for providing services to completely separate organizations across different domains. While you can manage multiple domains and subdomains — such as hosting apps for friends, colleagues, an association — you should keep in mind that there is no strict isolation between apps. Under the hood, all applications share the same system and environment.

(Note for power users) YunoHost does not use "hard" containerization technologies such as Docker for its apps. This is partly for historical reasons, but also to keep the system lightweight — both in terms of resource usage and technical complexity. That said, we do take security seriously: applications run under dedicated user accounts with limited privileges and capabilities, and we're continuously working to enhance the system’s security.

Artworks​

Black and white YunoHost by ToZz. Licence: CC-BY-SA 4.0. Logos and other artwork are available in the Artworks repository.