Homer Hosting Live In 5 Minutes

Deploy Homer hosting and give your services and bookmarks one fast, self-hosted start page on your own domain. xCloud runs the pinned Homer v26.08.3 image, mounts a persistent volume for your YAML configuration and assets and publishes the page over HTTPS in minutes, with no database to run. Homer has no login, so decide up front who should be able to reach the address.

Deploy your Homer

No terminal
No technical skills needed
No lock-in, cancel anytime

What is Homer?

Self-hosted Homer is a dead simple static homepage for your server, built to keep your services on hand from a single YAML configuration file. Its README lists a lightweight, fast page with low maintenance, fuzzy search, smart cards, multiple pages and item grouping, theme customization, keyboard shortcuts and an installable PWA. It stands in for a hosted start page that keeps your links with a vendor, under the Apache-2.0 licence.

On xCloud the template runs the ghcr.io/bastienwirtz/homer v26.08.3 image as a single container, pinned by immutable digest, with a homer_assets volume for the configuration, icons, pages and CSS. HTTPS is published on your domain, and the page opens with upstream's demo dashboard until you edit it. Homer has no login and no in-app editor, and its config.yml is readable by anyone who can reach the site.

From Sign-Up to a Live Start Page In Just 3 Easy Steps

A Homer start page normally means a web container, a configuration directory, a domain and a certificate before the first link. This is the same result without assembling any of it.

Step 01
Sign Up
Create your xCloud account and pick Homer from the OneClick catalog. Choose your domain and target server — there are no extra fields to fill in and no credentials to generate.
Step 02
We Deploy It For You
One click. We bring up the upstream Homer image, pinned by immutable digest, mount the homer_assets volume at /www/assets for your configuration, icons, extra pages and custom CSS, and publish the dashboard over HTTPS on your domain.
Step 03
Edit Your YAML
Open your HTTPS Homer URL; it starts with upstream's demo dashboard. Edit /www/assets/config.yml over SSH with docker exec -it homer-<site-name> vi /www/assets/config.yml and reload the page — no restart is needed.

Everything Homer Does, On Your Own Server

Homer runs in full here: a static YAML-driven start page on your own domain, with its configuration on a volume you own.

One YAML File
A single configuration file describes the whole dashboard: links, groups and multiple pages.
Fuzzy Search And Shortcuts
Search with keyboard shortcuts to jump to any service or bookmark.
Smart Cards And Themes
Smart cards, theme customization and an installable (PWA) front end come with Homer.
No Database, No Accounts
A single lightweight container with no database and no user management.
Config On A Volume
Your config.yml, icons, extra pages and custom CSS live on the homer_assets volume and survived a container restart in QA.
Open To Anyone With The URL
Homer has no login; put your own Basic Auth or other access control in front of the domain if it must be private.

Everything You Need To Run Your Start Page 24/7

Managed hosting for Homer, so the parts that keep it online are not your problem.

Homer v26.08.3 deployed instantly
Upstream image pinned by digest
No database to run
Kept behind xCloud nginx
Free SSL certificate
Server backups and snapshots
Server security updates included
30+ server locations
Unused balance refunded

What You Can Do With Homer

A start page for your homelab
Put every self-hosted service behind one page of links, so nobody has to remember the addresses.
A shared page for a team
Give a team one place for the internal tools and documents they use every day, grouped on several pages.
A page of client or project services
Group the services you run for a client or project on a single page you can hand over.
A dashboard that needs little upkeep
With no database and no accounts, there is little to look after beyond editing the YAML file.

Homer Screenshots

The Homer start page with grouped service links

Homer after a restart with the edited title preserved

Homer vs Alternatives

Hosted start pages: A hosted start page keeps your layout with a vendor. As a homer alternative to hosted start pages, Homer is a static page you own, configured by one YAML file on your Cloud VPS.
Dashy: Dashy has its own xCloud page. In a homer vs dashy choice, Homer is a static page built from one YAML file that you edit over SSH, with no database or accounts.
Homarr: Homarr has its own xCloud page. In a homer vs homarr comparison, Homer has no database, accounts or in-app editor, and smart cards query services from the visitor's browser.
Heimdall: Heimdall has its own xCloud page. Homer keeps every link, group and page in config.yml, so the whole dashboard is one file you can copy or version.

Simple Pricing. Everything Included.

Dedicated Cloud VPS sizes, pre-configured for Homer hosting. Pick the one that fits, and resize any time.

Cloud VPS 6 GB

Cloud VPS 16 GB

More headroom if Homer sits alongside other apps on the same server.

$59.99per month

16 GB RAM
6 vCPU cores
200 GB NVMe SSD
30 TB
Unlimited

Get started

Every size is a dedicated Cloud VPS we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Billed monthly with no lock-in — delete the server and the unused balance comes back to your account. Homer is licensed by its maintainers under Apache-2.0.

Docker hosting

Already Have a Server? Bring Your Own

Connect any VPS — DigitalOcean, Vultr, Linode, AWS, Hetzner or bare metal — and deploy Homer on it through the same panel, for a per-server management fee instead of a Cloud VPS rental.

Free

Start your journey without cost.

$0forever

1 server
10 sites

Start free

Starter

Professional

The same platform, discounted at 6–10 servers.

$4per server / month

6–10 servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
Bring any VPS provider

Get started

Agency

The same platform, discounted at 11+ servers.

$3per server / month

11+ servers
Unlimited sites
All features included
Bring any VPS provider

Get started

Priced per connected server, so your rate adjusts automatically as you add or remove servers. You pay your own provider for the server itself.

Self-managed hosting

Ready To Run Your Own Start Page?

Homer on xCloud runs on a dedicated Cloud VPS that we provision, patch, monitor and restore. Deploy faster. Own the server. Stay in control.

Fast Provisioning
Deploy faster using an xCloud Managed Server built with optimized stacks and high-speed SSDs.
Enterprise-grade security
Protect your infrastructure with a free SSL certificate and more advanced security features at no additional cost.
Intuitive Control Panel
From Server creation to application deployment, everything can be managed from our intuitive control panel.

Hear what people are saying about us

See why agencies, developers, startups, and growing businesses choose xCloud to power their projects.

xCloud works really well, I am surprised by its performance being this the release version, I have tried many paid platforms such as runcloud, cloudpages or serveravatar, as well as free platforms such as CyberPanel, CloudPanel or Hestia Control Panel and direct competitors such as SpinupWP and FlyWP. Of all those that I have tried, the platform that works best for WordPress is SpinupWP and I believe that xCloud can reach and surpass that development, its roadmap is promising. Congratulations to the xCloud team, I hope they become the leading platform in the segment, it has all the potential to achieve it!

Brian Geovanny

I've been with runcloud for the last 3 years. However, after trying xcloud for the last month, I'm switching over. They are on a roll with their setup.

Kevin Pineda

I'm moving my servers to xCloud, a cloud control panel by M Asif Rahman and the WPDeveloper team. Their roadmap looks interesting and no, there are no team mates nor API limits with xCloud! #xCloud #wordpress #hosting

Leo Koo

How Cloud Nine Web Elevated Client Experience While Streamlining Hosting Operations using xCloud

Ed Ellingham

xCloud is like having an expert server team on call — without the big agency costs. It's given me back my time and given my clients peace of mind. Highly recommended for freelancers and small teams who want reliable performance and security.

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xCloud isn't just a solution. It's like one of that friend who got your back when you screw things up pretty bad.

Waqar Ahmed

Trust me when I say, once people explore the potential of xCloud they gonna switch from other panels, just keep delivering the best tech, lots of love for the team 😍😍

Rahul Singh

So far my experience has been smooth like silk. I didn't imagine that configuring and managing a VPS would be so easy. As of today, I have deployed 8 sites. The support is good, and they treat users with respect, even if they ask stupid questions (myself included). For the future, I hope for greater flexibility in scheduled backups and more comprehensive and consistent documentation. I'm sure that within a few months, xCloud will become the leader in its segment. This community is amazing, and the Staff here is super helpful.

Massimo Villa

Came from cloudways then to runcloud then to xcloud. Looks like I'm staying here.

Gerson El

I've recently taken all of my Vultr-hosted sites and gotten rid of cPanel for them to substitute it with xCloud. I have to say, I'm really impressed with xCloud so far! The interface is definitely the standout feature for me.

Tony Lewis

I came from Cloudways and won't go back. Highly impressed with xCloud. Glad I gave them a chance.

Jared McDowell

I like xCloud better than RunCloud, but one thing I'll point out is that some years ago RunCloud was hungry for business, the support was outstanding, and the community was active and helped each other. Maybe it was sold, there was a change in management, or they stopped being hungry, but the quality of the RunCloud offering declined and it hasn't been moving forward quickly. My point is that currently the xCloud team has the edge and it is theirs to keep or lose

David McCan

How Kevin Heinrichs Cut Hosting Costs by 84% While Running WooCommerce & Node.js Sites Efficiently

Kevin Heinrichs

I had 150 sites on cloudways and am in the process of moving them to xcloud. Much faster and better priced.

Dan Spinoza

Dear xCloud Team, I have been using xCloud for some time now and am genuinely impressed with its capabilities and the flexibility it offers by allowing users to bring their own VPS for management. It's a fantastic service, and my experience so far has been very positive. Successful migrated 5 sites on a single server. Xcloud migration tool worked great. There were few hiccups with security plugin like MalCare but disabling the plugin prior to migration worked just fine.

Rahil Maknojia

Came from runcloud. Tried xcloud and never came back.

Karl Fanega

How Advanced Web Strategies Saved Over $2,000 & Recovered 56 Hours per Month Managing 70+ Client Websites

Gary Moody

xCloud gave me what no other hosting platform could: the flexibility of a VPS with the convenience of managed WordPress. As a solo founder running an entire business on one server, that combination is an important unfair advantage.

Jorge de los Reyes Martínez

I use Server Avatar and xCloud and I'll sooner use xCloud than Server Avatar personally.

Jay Pagano

How Newman Web Solutions Ensured Perfect Uptime and Seamless Scaling For 120+ WordPress Sites with xCloud

Lori Newman

I too have moved over to xCloud. It's pretty sweet. One click n8n and uptime Kuma apps

John Aperture

I went from Cloudways to xCloud. No intention on switching in the foreseeable future.

Blaine Moore

Frequently Asked Questions

Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.

How much RAM does Homer need?

The manifest asks for 1 CPU core, 256 MB of RAM and 1 GB of disk, and QA measured about 1 MiB idle. The 6 GB Cloud VPS sold on this page is far above that, leaving room for other apps on the same server.

Is Homer free and open source?

Yes. Homer is Apache-2.0 licensed, per the LICENSE file at the v26.08.3 tag, so there is nothing to pay for the software. xCloud charges just for the dedicated Cloud VPS, and your configuration stays on your own volume.

Can you run Homer with Docker?

Yes. Homer Docker hosting is ready on this page: the template runs the upstream ghcr.io/bastienwirtz/homer v26.08.3 image as one container, pinned by immutable digest, with a config volume and HTTPS, so it works as Homer cloud hosting on your own VPS.

What is the difference between Homer and Dashy?

Homer is a static page driven by one YAML file, with no database, accounts or in-app editor; you change it by editing config.yml over SSH. Dashy is covered on its own xCloud page, so compare the two by how you like to configure a dashboard.

Dashy hosting

Does Homer have a login?

No. Homer has no authentication, so anyone who can reach the URL can see the dashboard and read /assets/config.yml. Put Basic Authentication or other access control in front of the domain if you need privacy; the template does not enable it.

How do I edit the Homer dashboard?

Homer has no in-app editor. Connect to the server over SSH and edit /www/assets/config.yml inside the container, for example with docker exec -it and vi, then reload the page. No restart is needed, and your edits sit on the persistent volume.

Is it safe to put API keys in the Homer config file?

No. Homer is open-read by design, so never place API keys, tokens or passwords in config.yml, including smart-card fields. Anyone who can reach the site can read that file, so treat everything in it as public.

Why does a Homer smart card fail with a CORS error?

Smart cards call their services from the visitor's browser, so cross-origin rules belong to those services, not to Homer. Allow your Homer domain in the other service's CORS settings, or use a link card instead of a smart card.

Why do I see No configuration found in the first-start logs?

On the very first start the image logs a harmless No configuration found, installing default config message, plus copy lines, while it seeds the demo assets. They do not recur after a restart, and the page then opens with upstream's demo dashboard.

What should I back up on a Homer server?

The homer_assets volume, which holds your config, icons, extra pages and custom CSS. Copy it off the server and test a restore. An edited title was still there after a container restart in QA, because the volume is persistent.

Backups in xCloud

How do I upgrade Homer?

Nothing upgrades it for you: the install stays on pinned release v26.08.3 until you adopt a newer template version. Back up homer_assets first, read the upstream release notes, then reload the page and check your cards still render.

Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. There is no lock-in — cancel any time. Hosting is billed monthly and charged for what you actually use, so when you delete the server the unused balance is refunded to your account, less up to 10% in payment-processing fees.