A local-first home server you can own.
OurBox is a personal server appliance for running self-hosted services at home—without subscriptions, lock-in, or data extraction. It’s designed for people who want modern convenience without handing the keys to someone else.
Local-first by design — core functionality lives on your hardware.
Whole-stack freedom — open hardware + open software + public documentation.
No subscriptions. Ever. The product stays useful on its own.
Exit is real — inspect, repair, fork, migrate, and keep going without us.
No hype funnel. The repos are the source of truth.
Big Tech turned the home into a data mine. OurBox turns it back into yours.
Phones, TVs, routers, cloud accounts—everything wants to be the “center” of your digital life. The result is a mess: privacy settings scattered everywhere, services you don’t control, and “smart” features that quietly ship your information somewhere else.
OurBox is a single, physical place where your digital life can live—on your terms. Host the tools you depend on (files, photos, calendars, notes, messaging, automation) without building a permanent dependency on an extractive company.
Non-negotiables
No subscriptions. Ever.
We do not charge recurring consumer fees for functionality, access, or updates.
Local-first forever
Core product behavior must work locally without dependence on our servers.
User data is not a product
No sale of user data. No behavioral advertising. No hidden telemetry.
Open source, always
Software is published under an open-source license with auditable processes.
Exit must be real
Exportability and interoperability are first-class requirements.
Right to repair
We design for durability, serviceability, and long-life support.
Purpose-built hardware, without fragile dependence
OurBox is a physical appliance designed to live on a shelf and run continuously. We publish reference designs you can build yourself, and we aim to provide supported paths for people who want help.
The promise is stable even when parts change: keep your services local, keep your data yours, and keep the whole system understandable and repairable.
Canonical specs live in the repos
We keep the current hardware and system documentation in the OurBox product family repository. When something changes, the repos change first.
A family of hardware, one promise
OurBox isn’t a single frozen configuration. It’s a family of models designed to meet different needs, from small always-on boxes to full x86 builds. Internals evolve over time; the product contract stays the same: local-first, durable, and user-owned.
Matchbox
A compact, Pi-class home server for quiet, always-on use.
Cinderbox
A compute-module appliance path when “everything inside the case” matters most.
Tinderbox
An edge-AI oriented model for local inference and sensor/USB-heavy workloads.
Woodbox
A desktop-class x86 build for “wide services” and upgrade-friendly expansion.
Build it yourself—or get as much help as you want
We want anyone to be able to liberate themselves with open hardware and open software. Use our designs as-is, fork them, remix them, or just use them as a starting point.
Open hardware you can build yourself
Every design is published
OurBox hardware designs are released under the CERN Open Hardware Licence (CERN-OHL-S-2.0). That means anyone can inspect the designs, build their own unit, repair it, or fork the project.
We build the full stack—hardware, software, and documentation—so people can choose their own level of independence: DIY, community support, or a supported path.
See it done: a Woodbox Forge for ~$450
One person, off-the-shelf parts, no special tools. This walkthrough shows a budget AI-capable home server being sourced as a practical starting point.
FAQ
What is OurBox?
A local-first personal server appliance you can own outright for running self-hosted services at home.
Do I need a subscription?
No. We do not offer consumer subscriptions for any functionality.
Is it open source?
Yes—hardware and software. The repos are the source of truth.
Where do I learn more?
Start with the OurBox docs: pf-ourbox.