[liberationtech] arkOS - Making self-hosting your data easy(er)

[Jacob Cook]

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Hello libtech,

I've been lurking for awhile and would like to take a moment to
introduce you to the open-source project I have been working on for
some time now.

I'm working on arkOS (https://arkos.io), which some of you may have
heard of. It is an operating system and software stack designed to
manage self-hosted servers run from home. Presently, arkOS runs on the
Raspberry Pi, with support for other platforms like VPSes coming down
the road. The operating system behind the project is a barebones
Arch-based Linux distribution, but where the magic really happens is
with Genesis, a visual interface to managing the different server
applications and settings from your home computer's browser.

The software it runs to generate this visual interface is based on a
fork of Ajenti, a Webmin-like server manager that is built of
constituent plugins. What arkOS sets out to do is what Ajenti and
other Webmin clones do not: provide a visual interface BUT make this
interface easy-to-use and intuitive for a general audience. It
shouldn't take a trained systems administrator to reliably self-host
one's data, so making things as easy as possible for end-users while
retaining security is a top priority.

What makes Genesis cool is that it has a certain set of core features,
with plugins for different server apps that interact with these core
features. For example, Genesis handles provisioning databases and file
storage for web applications should they request them on setup. If you
want to make your web application work with Genesis, then, you only
need a very simple plugin script of less than 100 lines of Python
(think a sort of JuJu charm) and all of the behind-the-scenes stuff
will work automatically. Users can then see the app or server they
want to run in a list, click install, provide some very basic info,
then they are up and running.

arkOS is under active development. Currently one can host their own
WordPress or ownCloud instance, manage their server, set up automatic
configuration backups, and much more. Many more webapps and server
applications alike coming soon. I plan to have support for XMPP and
self-hosted email service ready by mid-Autumn. Future tools will
include DynDNS and port-forwarding bridges, to get people with limited
knowledge or poor Internet connections more stability when self-hosting.

If anyone has constructive input, or would like to know how to
contribute, feel free to let me know.


Thanks!

- -- 
Jacob Cook <jacob at jcook.cc>
https://jcook.cc
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