What is Umbrel used for?

Umbrel is a home server operating system for self-hosting files and apps on your own hardware, with an app store of over 300 apps. It is a good fit for building a personal home server, self-hosting files and apps at home, and running a Bitcoin or Lightning node.

Is Umbrel open source?

Yes. Umbrel is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at getumbrel/umbrel and is written mainly in TypeScript.

Yes. Umbrel is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence.

Can I self-host Umbrel?

Yes. Umbrel can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.

What are some alternatives to Umbrel?

Similar open-source tools in the Infrastructure & Containers category include HomeDock OS, CasaOS and Runtipi. SaaS products in the same category include Amazon ECR, Azure Container Registry and Docker Desktop.

Is Umbrel actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Umbrel was on 22 September 2026, and the latest release is 2.0.0, published on 22 September 2026. The project has 12k stars on GitHub.

Umbrel: open-source infrastructure & containers

About Umbrel

Umbrel is the project behind umbrelOS, a home server operating system meant to give people the convenience of the cloud while keeping ownership and control of their data. It runs on hardware you own and lets you install and manage self-hosted applications through a friendly interface.

An app store with more than 300 apps lets you store files and run services such as OpenClaw, and the repository topics reference Bitcoin, Lightning, Docker and Raspberry Pi. umbrelOS installs on 64-bit Intel and AMD mini PCs, laptops, desktops, NAS boxes and servers, on a Raspberry Pi 5 booting from NVMe or USB, and in virtual machines such as Proxmox, VirtualBox and VMware. Some features, such as the storage manager and failsafe, need two or more drives.

umbrelOS is free and the same image runs on the company's Umbrel Home and Umbrel Pro devices, with the same features and updates. Version 2.0 is in beta, and the repository lists the licence as Other. It suits home lab users who want a polished, appliance-like way to run their own services.

Key features

Home server operating system
App store with over 300 apps
Runs on Intel, AMD and Raspberry Pi 5
Virtual machine support
Storage manager across multiple drives
GPU acceleration on supported machines

Good fit for

→Building a personal home server
→Self-hosting files and apps at home
→Running a Bitcoin or Lightning node

Built with: TypeScript; Docker
Tags: home-server; self-hosted; operating-system; raspberry-pi; docker; app-store; bitcoin; homelab

Umbrel: questions and answers

What is Umbrel used for?: Umbrel is a home server operating system for self-hosting files and apps on your own hardware, with an app store of over 300 apps. It is a good fit for building a personal home server, self-hosting files and apps at home, and running a Bitcoin or Lightning node.
Is Umbrel open source?: Yes. Umbrel is open source under a custom licence. Its source code is on GitHub at getumbrel/umbrel and is written mainly in TypeScript.
Is Umbrel free?: Yes. Umbrel is open source, so the software itself is free to use under the terms of its own licence.
Can I self-host Umbrel?: Yes. Umbrel can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
What are some alternatives to Umbrel?: Similar open-source tools in the Infrastructure & Containers category include HomeDock OS, CasaOS and Runtipi. SaaS products in the same category include Amazon ECR, Azure Container Registry and Docker Desktop.
Is Umbrel actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Umbrel was on 22 September 2026, and the latest release is 2.0.0, published on 22 September 2026. The project has 12k stars on GitHub.