About Localhoster
Localhoster is a family of self-hosted services built on a single idea: describe what you want as a plain local folder, and a tiny stateless client mirrors it to your own server, which serves it automatically. No platform to sign up for, no lock-in, and no per-project setup.
The idea
Most ways to put something on the internet ask you to adopt a platform: a dashboard to click through, a proprietary config to learn, an account that owns your data, and a bill that grows with it. Localhoster takes the opposite bet. The unit of everything here is a folder on your machine, named for its domain. You edit it locally with whatever tools you like; a small client notices what changed and pushes only the difference to a server you own; the server turns that folder into the running thing: a website, an API, a game, a set of accounts, a schedule, a task queue.
That's the whole model. Because the folder is the source of truth and it lives on your disk, there is nothing to be locked into and nothing to export. Move to different hardware and the same folders bring the same services with them.
One workflow, every service
Each service in the family is independent, but they are cut from the same cloth, so learning one is most of learning them all.
A folder is the source
You author locally. A directory named for a domain (or, for the newer services, a directory of named scripts) is the entire declaration of what should run.
A stateless client syncs it
A tiny client compares your folder to the server with a Merkle diff and uploads only what changed. Nothing stays resident and nothing watches you; run it on a timer or leave it watching.
Your own server runs it
One box per service, on hardware you control, fronts the public side with automatic HTTPS and turns each folder into the live service. You hold the keys.
Why self-host
Ownership, not tenancy
Your data and your services sit on your own server. There is no vendor between you and the people you serve, and no terms that can change under you.
Flat, predictable cost
A service hosts every domain of its kind on one machine. You pay for the box, not per request, per project or per seat.
No lock-in
The truth is a folder of plain files on your disk. Walk away at any time and take everything with you. There is nothing proprietary to unpick.
Start small, grow sideways
Begin with the one service you need. Add the others when you want them; each runs on its own and they compose cleanly when combined.
The family
Six services, one workflow. Start with the one you need.
Sitehoster →
Drop a folder, get an HTTPS website.
Datahoster →
Drop a folder, get an API for your data.
Gamehoster →
Realtime multiplayer state over WebSockets.
Userhoster →
Real accounts and long-term member data.
Cronhoster →
Scheduled scripts, run on your own clock.
Taskhoster →
Durable task queues for your apps.
Who it's for
Anyone who would rather own the thing they build than rent it: developers who want their sites, data and services on their own hardware; makers who value a workflow that is just files and a folder; and teams who want the economics and independence of one box per job. If you can keep a folder tidy, you can run the family.