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 charities. 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 programme 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 recognised open source licence, 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 licence, 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.