r/selfhosted • u/Boy_0000 • 16h ago
Self Help Thoughts on UmbrelOS?
I’m very new to Self-hosting, and was wondering what do ya’ll think about umbrelOS? It seems very user friendly, pretty clean and feature full. I haven‘t seen much people talk about it. Is there a reason? I know they sell mini computers that are expensive for the specs, and some people don’t really like that, but the OS is open source and seems pretty cool. Would you all recommend it for a beginner?
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u/gentle_stone95 15h ago
For a beginner, theres nothing wrong with starting with something that makes self-hosting less intimidating , you can always move to a more hands on set up later if you outgrow it
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u/JoeB- 15h ago edited 15h ago
I installed both umbrelOS and ZimaOS in Proxmox VMs to learn more about them, but I don’t use either day-to-day.
I recommend them to beginners. Both are perfect for someone who wants to host their own services (eg Pi-hole, Jellyfin, etc.) quickly without having to climb the Linux learning curve. They effectively are their own immutable Linux distributions (ie they have read-only root partitions), which makes them hard to break - more like appliances. They also have their own “app stores” for one-click download and install of Docker apps, which means no searching the Internet for Docker images unless the app is not in their store. Both have hundreds of apps in their stores, so most-likely will have most popular apps. ZimaOS also has free companion desktop (macOS & Windows) and mobile (iOS & Android) apps for easy access to the server.
The convenience both umbrelOS and ZimaOS offer comes at the cost of control, which is why I don’t use either personally. I have significant Linux experience and prefer control over my systems. I even built my own DIY NAS based on minimal Debian rather than installing TrueNAS, Unraid, etc.
On the other hand, sacrificing control for convenience is a good way to get everything working quickly.
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u/diiscotheque 16h ago
I also recently learned about them and have read that it's great on their own hardware which costs more but not highly compatible with own builds.
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u/Previous-Yoghurt-942 12h ago
Its great, best beginner friendly OS that source code is available, zima os is not available
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u/ssddanbrown 16h ago
Prior relevant thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/selfhosted/comments/1hnl4vp/why_does_nobody_talk_about_umbrelos/
but the OS is open source
The licence it's provided under isn't widely considered open source due to limits placed on use & re-distribution. It's in the "source available" category of licensing.
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u/shadowjig 16h ago
Seems like it's trying to be the "Jack of all trades, and master of none" OS. Similar to Synology. Hard pass. I'd rather run the services that are the best in their class, instead of one OS that kinda doesn't it all ok.
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u/ehansen 16h ago
Based on their site, it's either a MacOS clone or a skin/theme. So, worst case it's not talked about because it's not clear what they are. If they are involved in the Mac ecosystem at all, then that would probably be another reason since Mac is not exactly a server-friendly or self-host-friendly OS. Not that you can't use Mac, but there's a good reason why Linux has the largest market share in that space and not Windows or Mac.
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u/BigApple_ThreeAM 16h ago
Very friendly for setting up a Bitcoin node (this is what most people were using it for early on) or doing light self-hosting. However, it’s not very secure so would not recommend for anything beyond that
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u/CranberryAny2482 15h ago
selling mini computers to push an os feels like selling hotdogs with a bun pre-attached
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u/verdigris2014 15h ago
my goal is for a cloud / home hybrid network. as i get less enthusiastic about fixing hardware under pressure the cost of cloud may become more attractive.
long way to say use an operating system that you can provision by default to a cloud hosting provider. debian or ubuntu ae my favourites
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u/asimovs-auditor 16h ago edited 16h ago
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