Your own cloud, at home
One cloud, as many machines as you like.
Every computer you add joins the same private cloud, from an old laptop to the desktop in the attic. More room, more power, and from three machines on, it keeps running when one stops.
Start the install- Free and open source
- No terminal
- Nothing leaves the house
Start with one machine. Add the rest whenever.
Every spare computer in the house can join. Their disks become one pool and your apps run across all of them. Try it.
- mini-pc1 TB
- old-laptop0.5 TB
- attic-desktop4 TB
- Disk space in the pool
- 5.5 TB
- Apps can run on
- 3 machines
- Keeps running if one stops
- Yes
From three machines, the house keeps running when any one of them is switched off or breaks.
Other home servers stop at one box.
Umbrel, ZimaOS and TrueNAS each run on a single computer. YoLab turns every computer you give it into one.
| YoLab | Umbrel, ZimaOS, TrueNAS | |
|---|---|---|
| How many computers work as one | As many as you like | One |
| When you add a second computer | It joins the same cloud | You get a second, separate server |
| Storage | One pool across every machine | Separate on each machine |
| When a computer breaks | From three machines, your apps keep running | Everything on it is down until it's fixed |
Compared with umbrelOS 2.0, ZimaOS and TrueNAS Community Edition in October 2026. TrueNAS Enterprise offers failover on its own dual-controller hardware.
Everything you were renting, running in your house.
Each app replaces a subscription. Add one and it's live in about a minute, on its own address, whether you keep paying anyone or not.
- Immichinstead of
Every photo from every phone, backed up and searchable by face and place.
Google Photos - Jellyfininstead of
Your films and shows on the TV, the tablet and the car.
Netflix - Nextcloudinstead of
A shared drive for the household that also works away from it.
Dropbox - Vaultwardeninstead of
One password vault for the family, on a disk you can hold.
1Password 
Home Assistantinstead ofLights, heating and sensors in one place, with no cloud in the loop.
SmartThings
Frigateinstead ofYour cameras recorded at home, with no fee to watch last week.
Ring
Paperlessinstead ofEvery bill and contract scanned, indexed and searchable.
a filing cabinet- 2FAuthinstead of
Your one-time codes, with a backup you control.
Authy
One page runs the whole house.
Apps, disks, backups and addresses live in one console you open from any browser. Click through it: this is the real layout.
- ImmichLive
- JellyfinLive
- NextcloudLive
- VaultwardenLive
- Home AssistantLive
- FrigateLive
From a USB stick to a running server in one afternoon.
The hard parts of self-hosting are the setup and getting back in from outside. Those are the parts we did for you.
- 1
Write the installer to a USB stick
Download one file and put it on any stick of 8 GB or more. We tell you which tool to use for your computer.
- 2
Boot a spare PC from it
Three screens: pick the disk, paste your account token, press install. About ten minutes, and no terminal.
- 3
Pick your apps
Each one is live in about a minute, at its own address, reachable from your phone anywhere.
- 4
Add machines whenever you like
Install YoLab on another spare PC with the same account token. It joins your cloud by itself.
Your data sleeps in your house. That's the point.
- Nothing is uploaded to us
Your files live on your disks. We never hold a copy we can read.
- No open ports
Your phone reaches home through an encrypted tunnel. Your router stays shut.
- Backups encrypted before they leave
The off-site copy is locked with a key that stays in your house.
- Keeps running without us
Free software under the AGPL. If YoLab disappeared, your server would carry on at home.
Built to grow with the house.
The things you discover later, and the things a homelabber checks first.
Add disks
Plug in another drive when you need room. It joins the pool, with no migration and no reinstall.
Mix old and new hardware
A laptop, a mini PC and a tower can share the work. Use what you already own.
Bring your own apps
Community catalogues and your own Helm charts install exactly like ours.
Free to run. You pay only for what leaves the house.
Every account starts with €5 of credit, and most households spend a few euros a month after that.
- €0forever
The operating system
Installer, console, ~75 apps, updates, and running on as many machines as you like. Free and AGPL licensed.
- €1per 500 GB moved
Reaching home from outside
The tunnel, your addresses and certificates. Traffic inside the house is free.
- €0.013per GB, per month
Off-site backup
An encrypted copy in another building. About €1.30 a month for 100 GB.
Questions worth asking first.
Do I need several machines?
No. One spare PC runs everything. Add a second or a third whenever you like, and from three machines on, the house keeps running when one of them stops.
Do I need to know Linux?
No. The installer is three graphical screens, and everything after it happens in a web page. Installing an app is a short form and a button.
Can you see my files?
No. Remote access runs through an encrypted tunnel we carry but can't read, and backups are encrypted before they leave your machine.
What computer do I need?
Any 64-bit machine: an old desktop, a laptop with a broken screen, a mini PC. ARM machines that start with UEFI work too.
What happens if YoLab disappears?
Your server keeps running at home. You'd lose the tunnel that reaches it from outside, not the machine or anything on it.
Put it in your house this weekend.
One spare PC and an afternoon is the whole commitment.
Not ready yet?
Leave your email and we'll write when something is worth knowing, at most once a month. Nothing else, and you can leave in one click.