Simafri VPS for Open Source
Free VPS for open source projects, managed by Simafri
Simafri VPS for Open Source is a free VPS for open source projects, offered by Fondation Simafri. We monitor the server, apply system updates and back it up every night. You carry the project, we carry the server.
The offer
What your project receives
A managed VPS, offered by Fondation Simafri for as long as the project lives.
- Managed VPS: 2 vCPU, 4 GB of memory, 50 GB of storage
- Server monitoring
- System updates
- Nightly backups
- Offered for as long as the project lives
Offer valid subject to available stock.
What it is for
What your project can run on it
The server carries what keeps your project alive for its users.
An online demo
Future users try the project without installing anything. The demo stays available at the address of your choice, served over HTTPS.
Your documentation
Guides, reference and examples stay online under your project's name, on a simple subdomain if you wish.
Your forum
Your community has a home of its own, and its answers stay easy to find. The forum's emails go out through an authenticated SMTP relay.
Our part of the work
A managed VPS: our teams run the server
A server needs regular care. Our teams provide it, and your time stays with the project.
Monitoring
Our teams watch the server around the clock. When an alert goes off, they deal with it themselves, and you hear about each intervention.
System updates
Security patches and system upgrades go in at a moment compatible with the life of your project.
Nightly backups
Each night, an encrypted copy of the whole server is stored outside it, with seven days of history. If your project needs one back, our teams restore it on request.
The server
Datacenter hardware behind your open source project
Your project gets the hardware of our managed VPS, designed to run day and night.
- Processor
- 2 vCPU Intel Xeon, server class
- Memory
- 4 GB of error-correcting ECC memory
- Storage
- 50 GB of NVMe SSD, datacenter class, in a mirror
- Integrity
- Checksums on each block your project stores
- Backup
- A nightly encrypted copy held outside the server, seven days of history
- Network
- Anti-DDoS filtering in front of your demo
- HTTPS
- Certificates issued and renewed for each of your addresses
- System
- Linux: Debian, Ubuntu, Rocky Linux or AlmaLinux
Eligibility
The program conditions
The program is open to projects that meet these conditions.
- A recognized open source license Your project is published under a recognized open source license.
- An active project The project is alive and keeps moving forward: it receives commits.
- A real need for a server A demo, documentation or a forum to run.
- A named maintainer A named person leads the project and stays our point of contact.
- No commercial offer on the server The VPS serves the project itself: its demo, its documentation, its forum.
- Your code stays yours We look after the server, and the project's code stays in your hands.
In return
What we ask of you
One line, in the project's README and on its site:
Hosting sponsored by Simafri (managed VPS)
That line is enough: we ask for no praise.
Simple
How to present your project, in 3 steps
-
You fill in the form
Give us the project name, the repository link, its license, the name of the maintainer and what the server will run.
-
We review your project
We check the program conditions and reply in writing.
-
Your server starts
We put the VPS into service, and you add the line to the project's README and to its site.
The Foundation supports a limited number of projects, to do things properly. This offer is valid subject to available stock.
Fondation Simafri's other programs
A free VPS for open source projects, truly managed
Simafri VPS for Open Source gives open source projects a free VPS, managed by Simafri: 2 vCPU, 4 GB of memory and 50 GB of storage, with server monitoring, system updates and nightly backups. Fondation Simafri offers it for as long as the project lives. You keep control of your code and focus on your project.
Why Fondation Simafri supports open source projects
Fondation Simafri puts our trade at the service of those who help others. It already offers a free website to nonprofits. An open source project gives something of the same order: its code, its documentation and its maintainers' time benefit everyone who uses them. So we take the server on ourselves, so that this time goes to the project.
Free for as long as the project lives, and run by our teams
A trial offer stops on its end date, and a free server with no one running it leaves you alone with its updates and its outages. Here, the VPS stays offered for as long as the project lives, and our teams run it. So you can set up the demo, the documentation or the forum of your project there for the long term.
The hardware of our managed VPS, for your project
Your demo, your documentation and your forum run on the hardware of our managed VPS: Intel Xeon processors, mirrored NVMe SSDs of datacenter class and ECC memory, with checksums guarding the integrity of what you store. Anti-DDoS filtering stays on at all times, upstream of your public demo.
An address in your project's name
Your project keeps its identity. You can leave your site and your email where they are, and point only a subdomain at the VPS, demo.your-project.org or docs.your-project.org for example. Every page goes out over HTTPS, and its certificate is handled for you.
Frequently asked questions
What is Simafri VPS for Open Source?
It is the Fondation Simafri program that offers a free managed VPS to open source projects: 2 vCPU, 4 GB of memory and 50 GB of storage, for as long as the project lives.
Is the VPS really free?
Yes. Fondation Simafri offers the VPS for as long as the project lives. In return, we ask for the line "Hosting sponsored by Simafri (managed VPS)" in the project's README and on its site.
What does the VPS include?
A managed VPS with 2 vCPU, 4 GB of memory and 50 GB of storage, with server monitoring, system updates and nightly backups.
Which projects are eligible?
Active projects under a recognized open source license, with a real need for a server (demo, documentation, forum) and a named maintainer. The server carries no commercial offer.
What does "for as long as the project lives" mean?
The VPS stays offered for as long as the project stays active. After twelve months without a commit, we give you three months' notice before stopping the server, and you can extract your data at any time.
What happens if the line disappears from the README?
We let you know. If it does not come back, the server stops within thirty days and your data is returned to you.
Who takes care of the project's code?
You do. We look after the server, and the project's code stays in your hands.
Do we need a domain name?
The server does not require one. If your project already has one, you can point only a subdomain at the VPS and leave the rest where it is.
Can the forum send emails?
Yes: its messages go out through an authenticated SMTP relay.
Can a backup be restored?
Yes. Seven nights of encrypted copies stay outside the server: tell us which one you need, and our teams restore it.
How do we present our project?
Fill in the form on this page: the project name, the repository link, its license, the name of the maintainer and what the server will run. You can also write to fondation@simafri.com. The Foundation supports a limited number of projects, to do things properly, and this offer is valid subject to available stock.