[opensourcedex]

Cosmos Server is a free, open source server & vm management project written in Go and released under a custom open-source licence. It has 6,158 GitHub stars, 249 forks and 201 open issues, and was last pushed 12 days ago. On this registry it ranks #6 of 10 tracked projects in Server & VM Management, with 5 head-to-head comparisons available. It gained 5 stars over the last 6 tracked days.

What is Cosmos Server?

What it is

Cosmos Server is a self-hosted cloud platform written in Go that acts as a secure gateway and server manager for a home server. It lives in the self-hosting and infrastructure ecosystem, and it is distributed primarily as a Docker image (azukaar/cosmos-server) with a web UI for managing applications from any device. The project bundles a reverse proxy, an authentication server, a container manager, a storage manager, a VPN, backups, monitoring, and an app store into a single control plane, and it is published under a NOASSERTION license with a homepage at cosmos-cloud.io.

The concrete problem it solves is the fragility of exposed self-hosted applications. Running Plex, HomeAssistant, a blog, or any other service on a server, NAS, or Raspberry Pi usually means each application carries its own authentication, its own TLS setup, and its own exposure to bots and denial-of-service traffic. Cosmos places itself in front of those services so that a single account, automatic HTTPS, multi-factor authentication, and the SmartShield protection layer apply to everything behind it, rather than being configured per application.

Key capabilities

  • Reverse proxy with automatic HTTPS that targets containers, other servers, or static folders and single-page applications.
  • Authentication server supporting multi-factor authentication and multiple strategies including OpenId, forward headers, and HTML.
  • SmartShield technology that applies anti-bot and anti-DDoS strategies automatically, with TCP protection for FTP, SSH, and game traffic.
  • App store for installing and managing applications with simple installers, automatic updates, and security checks, alongside docker-compose imports and the Docker CLI.
  • Container manager for managing containers and their settings, keeping them up to date, and auditing their security.
  • Storage manager for disks including Parity Disks and MergerFS, plus network storages based on RClone for remote services such as Dropbox and for sharing NFS or FTP from the UI.
  • Backups using Restic under the hood, with incremental backups, encryption, and remote backup targets.
  • Identity provider for managing users and inviting friends and family without sharing credentials, including email-based password change requests.
  • VPN for reaching applications from anywhere without opening ports on the router.
  • Monitoring with persisted real-time metrics, customizable alerts, and notifications.
  • CRON scheduling for tasks on the server or inside containers.

Who uses it and how

  • Home server operators run Cosmos as the entry point for existing applications, connecting to Plex, HomeAssistant, or a blog through it to gain built-in security.
  • NAS and Raspberry Pi owners install it as the management layer for the hardware they already have, rather than replacing it.
  • Administrators use the identity provider to invite friends and family to applications without handing out shared credentials.
  • Operators schedule maintenance and recurring jobs with CRON, running tasks either on the host or inside containers.
  • Users manage containers and compose files from the web UI or from the terminal, since Cosmos remains usable from the command line.

Getting started

The typical deployment is the Docker image azukaar/cosmos-server, pulled from Docker Hub and run on the server, NAS, or Raspberry Pi. A hosted option is referenced through the homepage at cosmos

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

banner

Thanks to the sponsors:


null null Phobes null null

DiscordLink CircleCI Docker Pulls

☁️ Cosmos is the most secure and easy way to self-host a Home Server. It acts as a secure gateway to your application, as well as a server manager. It aims to solve the increasingly worrying problem of vulnerable self-hosted applications and personal servers.





screenshot1

Whether you have a server, a NAS, or a Raspberry Pi with applications such as Plex, HomeAssistant or even a blog, Cosmos is the perfect solution to run and secure them all. Simply install Cosmos on your server and connect to your applications through it to enjoy built-in security and robustness for all your services, right out of the box.

Cosmos is:

  • App Store 📦📱 To easily install and manage your applications, with simple installers, automatic updates and security checks. This works alongside manual installation methods, such as importing docker-compose files, or the docker CLI
  • Storage Manager 📂🔐 To easily manage your disks, including Parity Disks and MergerFS
  • Network Storages 📡📂 Based on RClone, To easily manage your network storages, including accessing remote ones (ex. Dropbox) or share NFS / FTP / ... from the UI, protected by the smart shield
  • Reverse-Proxy 🔄🔗 Targeting containers, other servers, or serving static folders / SPA with automatic HTTPS, and a nice UI
  • Authentication Server 🔐👤 With strong security, multi-factor authentication and multiple strategies (OpenId, forward headers, HTML)
  • Customizable Homepage 🏠🖼 To access all your applications from a single place, with a beautiful and customizable UI
  • Container manager 🐋🔧 To easily manage your containers and their settings, keep them up to date as well as audit their security. Includes docker-compose support!
  • VPN 🌐🔒 To securely access your applications from anywhere, without having to open ports on your router.
  • Backups 📦🔒 To easily backup your applications, with incremental backups, encryption, and remote backups. Using Restic under the hood
  • Monitoring 📈📊 Fully persisting and real-time monitoring with customizable alerts and notifications, so you can be notified of any issue.
  • Identity Provider 👦👩 To easily manage your users, invite your friends and family to your applications without awkardly sharing credentials. Let them request a password change with an email rather than having you unlock their account manually!
  • SmartShield technology 🧠🛡 Automatically secure your applications without manual adjustments (see below for more details). Includes anti-bot and anti-DDOS strategies. Now includes TCP protection (FTP, SSH, Games, ...)
  • CRON 🕒🔧 To easily schedule tasks on the server or inside containers

It has been built to be:

  • Easy to use 🚀👍 to install and use, with a simple web UI to manage your applications from any device
  • Powerful 🧠🔥 Being easy does not mean being dumb: while Cosmos is easy to use, it is also powerful and flexible, you can even use it from the terminal if you want to!
  • User-friendly 🧑‍🎨 For both new and experienced users: easily integrates into your existing home server, the already existing applications you have, and the new ones you want to install
  • Secure 🔒🔑 Connect to all your applications with the same account, including strong security, multi-factor authentication and OpenId. Cosmos encrypt your data and protect your privacy. Security by design, and not as an afterthought
  • Anti-Bot 🤖❌ Collection of tools to prevent bots from accessing your applications, such as common bot detection, IP based detection, and more
  • Anti-DDOS 🔥⛔️ Additional protections such as variable timeouts/throttling, IP rate limiting and geo-blacklisting
  • Modular 🧩📦 to easily add new features and integrations, but also run only the features you need (for example No docker, no Databases, or no HTTPS)

And a lot more planned features are coming!

What are the differences with other alternatives?

Cosmos has a few key differences with other alternatives such as YunoHost, Unraid, etc...

Feature Cosmos Unraid Yunohost CasaOS Cloudron
Reverse Proxy ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌ ~ *
Container Management ✅ ~ * ❌ ~ * ❌
Automatic HTTPS ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅
Multi-users ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌ ✅
2FA ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅
OpenID/SSO ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌ ~ *
App Store ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
Docker Compose support ✅ ✅ ❌ ✅ ✅
File manager ❌ ✅ ❌ ✅ ❌
Anti-bot / anti-DDOS ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
VPN ✅ ~ ** ❌ ❌ ❌
Monitoring (w/ historical data & alerts

readme truncated — read the full docs on github

Frequently asked questions

Is Cosmos Server free to use?

Cosmos Server is open source. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does Cosmos Server do?

Self-hosted cloud platform with automated security

What is Cosmos Server written in?

Cosmos Server is primarily written in Go. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/azukaar/cosmos-server, and it has 6,158 GitHub stars.