# StartOS v0.4.0

## Warning

Previous backups are incompatible with v0.4.0. It is strongly recommended that you (1) immediately update all services, then (2) create a fresh backup. See the [backups](#improved-backups) section below for more details.

## Summary

A server is not a toy. It is a critical component of the computing paradigm, and its failure can be catastrophic, resulting in downtime or loss of data. From the beginning, Start9 has taken a "security and reliability first" approach to the development of StartOS, favoring soundness over speed, and prioritizing essential features such as encrypted network connections, simple backups, and a reliable container runtime over nice-to-haves like custom theming and more services.

Start9 is paving new ground with StartOS, trying to create what most developers and IT professionals thought impossible; namely, an OS and user experience that affords a normal person the same independent control over their data and communications as an experienced Linux sysadmin.

The difficulty of our endeavor requires making mistakes; and our integrity and dedication to excellence require that we correct them. This means a willingness to discard bad ideas and broken parts, and if absolutely necessary, to tear it all down and start over. That is exactly what we did with StartOS v0.2.0 in 2020. It is what we did with StartOS v0.3.0 in 2022. And we are doing it now with StartOS v0.4.0 in 2025.

v0.4.0 is a complete rewrite of StartOS, almost nothing survived. After nearly six years of building StartOS, we believe that we have finally arrived at the correct architecture and foundation that will allow us to deliver on the promise of sovereign computing.

## Changelog

- [Improve user interface](#user-interface)
- [Add translations](#translations)
- [Switch to lxc-based container runtime](#lxc)
- [Update s9pk archive format](#s9pk-archive-format)
- [Improve Actions](#actions)
- [Use squashfs images for OS updates](#squashfs-updates)
- [Introduce Typescript package API and SDK](#typescript-sdk)
- [Remove Postgresql](#remove-postgressql)
- [Enable sending emails via SMTP](#smtp)
- [Support SSH password auth](#ssh-password-auth)
- [Allow managing Tor addresses](#tor-addresses)
- [Implement detailed progress reporting](#progress-reporting)
- [Improve registry protocol](#registry-protocol)
- [Replace unique .local URLs with unique ports](#lan-port-forwarding)
- [Use start-fs Fuse module for improved backups](#improved-backups)
- [Switch to Exver for versioning](#exver)
- [Add clearnet hosting](#clearnet)

### User interface

We re-wrote the StartOS UI to be more performant, more intuitive, and better looking on both mobile and desktop. Enjoy.

### Translations

StartOS v0.4.0 supports multiple languages and also makes it easy to add more later on.

### LXC

Replacing both Docker and Podman, StartOS v0.4.0 uses a nested container paradigm based on LXC for the outer container and linux namespaces for sub containers. This architecture naturally support multi container setups.

### S9PK archive format

The S9PK archive format has been overhauled to allow for signature verification of partial downloads, and allow direct mounting of container images without unpacking the s9pk.

### Actions

Actions take arbitrary form input and return arbitrary responses, thus satisfying the needs of both Config and Properties, which have been removed. The new actions API gives packages developers the ability to break up Config and Properties into smaller, more specific formats, or to exclude them entirely without polluting the UI. Improved form design and new input types round out the actions experience.

### Squashfs updates

StartOS now uses squashfs images to represent OS updates. This allows for better update verification, and improved reliability over rsync updates.

### Typescript SDK

Package developers can now take advantage of StartOS APIs using the new start-sdk, available in Typescript. A barebones StartOS package (s9pk) can be produced in minutes with minimal knowledge or skill. More advanced developers can use the SDK to create highly customized user experiences with their service.

### Remove PostgresSQL

StartOS itself has miniscule data persistence needs. PostgresSQL was overkill and has been removed in favor of lightweight PatchDB.

### SMTP

You can now add your Gmail, SES, or other SMTP credentials to StartOS in order to send deliver email notifications from StartOS and from installed services that support SMTP.

### SSH password auth

You can now SSH into your server using your master password. SSH public key authentication is still supported as well.

### Tor addresses

StartOS v0.4.0 supports adding and removing Tor addresses for StartOS and all service interfaces. You can even provide your own private key instead of using one auto-generated by StartOS. This has the added benefit of permitting vanity addresses.

### Progress reporting

A new progress reporting API enabled package developers to create unique phases and provide real-time progress reporting for actions such as installing, updating, or backing up a service.

### Registry protocol

The new registry protocol bifurcates package indexing (listing/validating) and package hosting (downloading). Registries are now simple indexes of packages that reference binaries hosted in arbitrary locations, locally or externally. For example, when someone visits the Start9 Registry, the currated list of packages comes from Start9. But when someone installs a listed service, the package binary is being downloaded from Github. The registry also valides the binary. This makes it much easier to host a custom registry, since it is just a currated list of services tat reference package binaries hosted on Github or elsewhere.

### LAN port forwarding

Perhaps the biggest complaint with prior version of StartOS was use of unique .local URLs for service interfaces. This has been corrected. Service interfaces are now available on unique ports, allowing for non-http traffic on the LAN as well as remote access via VPN.

### Improved Backups

The new start-fs fuse module unifies file system expectations for various platforms, enabling more reliable backups. The new system also defaults to using rsync differential backups instead of incremental backups, which is faster and saves on disk space by also deleting from the backup files that were deleted from the server.

### Exver

StartOS now uses Extended Versioning (Exver), which consists of three parts: (1) a Semver-compliant upstream version, (2) a Semver-compliant wrapper version, and (3) an optional "flavor" prefix. Flavors can be thought of as alternative implementations of services, where a user would only want one or the other installed, and data can feasibly be migrating between the two. Another common characteristic of flavors is that they satisfy the same API requirement of dependents, though this is not strictly necessary. A valid Exver looks something like this: `#knots:28.0.:1.0-beta.1`. This would translate to "the first beta release of StartOS wrapper version 1.0 of Bitcoin Knots version 27.0".

### Clearnet

It is now possible (and easy) to expose service interfaces to the public Internet on standard domains. There are two options, both of which are easy to accomplish:

1. Open ports on your router. This option is free and supported by all routers. The drawback is that your home IP address is revealed to anyone accessing an exposed interface. For example, hosting a blog in this way would reveal your home IP address, and therefore your approximate location, to readers.

2. Use a Wireguard VPN to proxy web traffic. This option requires provisioning a $5-$10/month VPS and running a one-line script. The result is the successful obfuscation of the users home IP address.
