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What Obacht is

Obacht puts apps on hardware you own and gives each app a web address that works from anywhere. You need a Raspberry Pi, a Linux PC or an Apple-silicon Mac, an Obacht account, and about half an hour.

MacRaspberry PiLinux PC

What it does​

You pick an app from the store (a Nextcloud, a static website, a note-taking tool, a chat server), choose a web address and click Install. Obacht installs it on your device, connects the device to the Obacht network (an encrypted connection to Obacht's servers) and routes visitors to your app. Your device never opens a port and you never change a router setting.

The app runs on your device. The data stays on your device. The encrypted connection (TLS) ends on your device too, so Obacht's servers forward traffic they cannot read.

By default every app gets your Obacht address: <app>.<username>.obacht.space. You can also use a domain you already own.

Every change you make (an install, a new address, a password, a port binding) is signed in your browser with your device key (an SSH key that only you hold). Your device checks that signature before it does anything. Obacht's servers cannot change your device on their own.

What it does not do​

Be clear about this before you start:

  • No backups. Obacht never copies your app data anywhere. Backups are your job.
  • No uptime promise. If your device loses power or Wi-Fi, your apps are gone until it is back.
  • Obacht does not host your apps. Nothing runs on Obacht's servers except the connection that forwards visitors to you.
  • Obacht does not store your app data. Your files and databases live on your device only.

If you need a service that is always up and backed up for you, a hosting provider is the better fit. Obacht is for people who want their stuff on their own hardware, with the networking handled.

Pilot​

Obacht is in a closed pilot. You need an invite code to create an account, everything is free during the pilot, and things change often. If something in these docs does not match what you see, the product moved. Tell us through the support form in your account menu.

Start here​

Want to see it before you read? The demo video turns a Mac mini into an Obacht device and installs a private chat AI with its own web address, in under three minutes. The same path with stills: Example: a Mac with its own AI in three minutes.

  1. Which device? Pi, Linux PC or Mac, and what each one can do.
  2. Create your account Username, invite code, the three rules.
  3. Install an app From the store to a running app with a web address.

If you are comfortable with a terminal and want to run your own software, see For tinkerers after the basics are done.