What is Pithyx
Pithyx is a free, self-hosted operating system for a NAS or home server. You install it on your own computer, and from then on you manage storage, users, file sharing and apps in a web desktop that you open in any browser. Everything runs on your box: there is no cloud account, no telemetry and no service run by the project that your box depends on.
What you get
Section titled “What you get”- A web desktop. Windows, a taskbar, desktop shortcuts and notes, in a browser on a PC, tablet or phone. See The desktop.
- Storage with ZFS. You build pools from your disks in the Storage app and create shared folders on them. New pools use compression and are not encrypted. See Storage.
- File sharing. Shared folders are available over SMB, SFTP, WebDAV and FTP. SMB is on by default; the others you switch on in Settings. See Access files from other devices.
- Users and groups. Every user is a real account on the box. Rights are given to users and groups; a user gets the union of all of them. Administrators can do everything. See Users and groups.
- Apps. Apps open in windows on the desktop. An app is a frontend with an optional backend in containers. Administrators install apps from a file or from a catalog in the Store; the official and the community catalog are on by default. See Using apps.
- Backup of the configuration. Settings, users and shared folder definitions can be saved to an encrypted file and restored after a reinstall. See Backup and restore.
- Network settings in the browser, including bonds and VLANs, with a confirmation timer that rolls back a change that cuts you off. See Network.
The core apps are Files, Viewer, Storage, Settings, Resource Monitor, Log Center, About Pithyx and the Store.
How it is built
Section titled “How it is built”- The box runs Debian 13. The Pithyx daemon (C# on .NET 10) is the only privileged process and serves the web desktop and the API.
- The desktop is a React web application. Core apps and third-party apps use the same SDK.
- The system disk holds the system on btrfs, in a RAID 1 of one or two disks. Your data lives on ZFS pools on other disks.
- Settings are kept in a small SQLite database on the system disk, so the system disk can be rebuilt from a configuration backup.
- Pithyx is licensed under AGPL-3.0. The npm packages for app developers are MIT.
For details see Architecture.
What Pithyx is not
Section titled “What Pithyx is not”- It is not for data you cannot afford to lose yet (see the warning above).
- It is a fresh-install system. There is no import from other NAS systems.
- The installer does not restore a backup or import pools. Both happen after the first sign-in.
- It does not offer NFS. Pools are not encrypted yet.
- It needs a 64-bit x86 computer with UEFI and Secure Boot switched off. There is no installer for 32-bit machines, legacy BIOS or Raspberry Pi. See Hardware requirements.
- It supports wired networks only. Wi-Fi is not supported.
- It does not announce itself on the network, so you find the box by its address.