MT Server is a free, local-first, open-source server platform that makes private self-hosting practical for ordinary households and small organizations. One USB turns an ordinary computer into a private server built around the services you actually want.
Free software. Not a computer for sale.
Dan Peters Designs does not sell MT Server computers. MT Server is software intended to run on compatible hardware you already own, reuse, or obtain yourself. Any computer shown in project graphics is illustrative.
Current status: MT Server has completed a fully disconnected end-to-end installation rehearsal in a virtual machine with no network adapter, and the current external 64 GB alpha test USB carries both the Debian installer and MT Server payload. 478 automated tests are passing. Payload/readback and filesystem checks on that external test stick have passed. The next major validation step is installation on disposable physical target hardware after the final read-only media checks.
MT Server is still under active development and is not yet available for general public installation.
What MT Server Is Trying to Fix
Most people do not wake up wanting a server. They want their photos safe, their files organized, their work protected, and useful tools they can actually afford.
Today those things are often scattered across phones, laptops, USB drives, subscription services, and unrelated cloud accounts. Traditional do-it-yourself home servers can restore control, but they usually assume the owner already understands Linux, Docker, networking, storage, backups, and recovery.
MT Server is aimed at the middle: ownership without turning the household or organization into a systems-administration hobby project.
One Install Stick. One Complete Catalog.
“Basic” is a default configuration — not a smaller installer, not a separate edition, and not a different USB.
The planned production MT Server release is intended to use one external 128 GB USB flash drive carrying all containers and application payloads supported by that release. During guided setup, the user chooses what the server should do. Services can be selected or deselected as needed.
That means the same install stick can build a simple family server, a specialized machine focused on one job, or a broader general-purpose server. The only real limits are what that release supports and what the hardware can safely run.
Basic defaults
- Nextcloud — private files, shared folders, phone uploads, calendars, contacts, and sharing.
- Nextcloud Memories — family photo timelines and albums.
- Papra — receipts, manuals, warranties, scans, and household records.
- RomM — a family-owned game library and browser play where supported.
- Mealie — recipes, meal planning, and grocery lists.
- MT Server Home — the simple local front door to the system.
- Local routing, installation, health, maintenance, and recovery machinery behind the scenes.
Those are the services that come on by default. They are not the only services on the release media.
Application categories
Instead of forcing people to choose software by technical name, MT Server organizes available applications by what the user wants the machine to do. Current and planned categories include:
- Family & Household — files, photos, documents, recipes, household records, and shared services.
- Offline Knowledge — Kiwix is included as the engine for reading and serving ZIM files. The install media will not necessarily carry every ZIM database; space permitting, each release will try to include a useful starter knowledge set, with additional compatible ZIM databases able to be added later.
- Education — learning and school-oriented tools.
- Preschool / Young Kids — a distinct young-child area with appropriate content and controls.
- Books, Audiobooks & Media — services such as Kavita, Audiobookshelf, and optional Jellyfin where appropriate.
- Games — RomM plus supported browser/server game infrastructure.
- Creative Studio — creator tools on suitable hardware.
- Business & Organization — selectable tools for small businesses, nonprofits, and community groups.
- Website & Publishing — website hosting and related services where appropriate.
- Secure Remote Access — optional remote connectivity rather than a requirement for local use.
- Local AI — selectable only on hardware capable of supporting it.
Any supported service can be selected or deselected. A household can keep the Basic defaults, a school can build around education and offline knowledge, a creator can emphasize media and creative tools, and a small organization can mix categories as needed — all from the same release media.
MT Server is not a proprietary container ecosystem. It uses standard Docker containers, so users are not limited to the applications included in the MT Server catalog. Other Docker containers, services, and contained applications can be added as long as they are compatible with the host hardware and operating environment. User-added containers may sit outside MT Server’s tested release catalog and automated support, but the platform is intentionally open rather than locked down.
Not every planned service is part of the currently validated Basic installation yet. The release catalog will only include services that have actually reached the support standard for that release.
Local-First and Offline-Capable
MT Server is not designed around permanent dependence on an Internet connection. Supported releases should be able to install from local media, and core local services should remain available to the people in the building when WAN access is lost.
Remote access is optional. Normal household use should not depend on a third-party cloud account just to reach files and services sitting in the next room.
Designed for Real-World Hardware
MT Server is intentionally being tested on the kinds of computers people can realistically obtain: retired office desktops, older small servers, reused storage, modest-memory systems, and machines with their own hardware quirks.
Reuse is part of the project’s purpose, but not every old computer is automatically suitable. The system is intended to inspect available hardware, explain what it can safely support, and prevent users from selecting workloads the machine cannot reasonably handle.
- Under 4 GB RAM: not a target for the complete supported server stack.
- 4–8 GB: low-memory territory that must be proven through testing and careful service selection.
- 8 GB: the current recommended normal target.
- 16 GB and above: useful headroom for larger or more specialized selections.
Disaster Recovery: The Computer Is Replaceable
MT Server is being designed so the physical server itself is not the irreplaceable part.
The planned production recovery system uses the same external 128 GB MT Server installation USB plus the recommended external backup drive. That backup is intended to keep the information needed to reconstruct the environment in one place: system configuration, Docker and application configuration, accounts and permissions, required application state, and the user files and media selected for protection.
128 GB MT Server installation USB + external backup drive + compatible replacement computer with suitable drives → restored MT Server.
If the original machine dies or is lost, the intended process is to install the supported operating system from the MT Server stick, attach the backup drive, and restore the server configuration and user environment with a few guided steps. The original server and a working Internet connection should not be required.
The server hardware is replaceable. The users’ data is not.
This is a core MT Server requirement, not a finished production claim. Backup and full restore will not be called production-ready until the project passes a destructive clean-machine recovery test using only the release USB and backup drive, with the original server treated as completely lost.
Current Development Status
- 478 automated tests are passing.
- One external 64 GB USB flash drive – the current alpha test stick carries both the Debian installer and MT Server payload.
- A fully disconnected end-to-end installation rehearsal completed in a VM with no network adapter at all.
- The process installed Debian, rebooted, rediscovered and verified the local payload, loaded the controller and containers, and completed backend setup without network access.
- External 64 GB alpha test USB payload preparation, checksum/readback verification, and post-copy filesystem checking completed successfully.
- Guarded media tooling checks the exact target device, partition layout, payload state, and installer identity before allowing writes.
The next major validation step is the disposable physical target-machine installation after the final read-only checks on the current USB.
MT Server is not yet downloadable for general use. The current priority is proving the installer and recovery model on real hardware, then moving into nearby nontechnical household testing.
How You Can Help
You do not need to code, own a server, or spend money to help MT Server.
The project needs people at every level: people who understand Linux, people who absolutely do not, people with odd hardware, households willing to test, educators and parents, documentation readers, open-content researchers, community organizations, and people who can fund a few development or testing hours.
Test the system
Use MT Server on real hardware. Follow the setup. Try the apps. Tell us what worked, what broke, and what made no sense. Nontechnical testers are especially valuable. If something only works because the tester already knows Linux, the job is not finished.
Help with test hardware
Useful gear can include desktops, mini PCs, retired office computers, small servers, SSDs and hard drives, external backup drives, USB sticks, switches, network adapters, and oddball compatible hardware. A failed install can teach us as much as a successful one.
A few test rigs will also be available. We cannot keep every donated machine that passes inspection and testing, so some suitable systems will be made available to selected testers who want to try MT Server but do not have a desktop computer they can dedicate to it. Availability will be limited, and these machines are test rigs for the project — not MT Server computers being sold as a product.
Become a real-world test site
As testing expands, we will need homes, small businesses, schools, makerspaces, community organizations, and nonprofits willing to use the system outside the development bench and tell us what everyday use is actually like.
Share skills, introductions, or development time
Help can include Linux, Docker, Ansible, networking, storage, backup/recovery, security, documentation, accessibility, interface testing, licensing and permissions, open-content research, useful introductions, or funding some development and testing hours.
Ten minutes of testing helps. A bug report helps. A spare drive helps. An old computer helps. A useful introduction helps. A few funded development hours help.
Want to help? Email [email protected] and tell us what you have, what you know, or what you are willing to try.
MT Server is under active development and is not yet ready for general public installation. This page will continue to track the work required to make it repeatable, understandable, recoverable, and useful on real-world hardware.