A free, open-source NAS operating system that boots from a USB drive. No installation to internal disk required — plug it in, power on, and manage your array from a web browser.
Inspired by Unraid. Built on Debian 12 + Cockpit + SnapRAID + mergerfs.
⚠️ Beta — bear with us. FreeRAID is in active development. Things work, but edges are still being sanded down. Expect rough corners, file issues, and check back often. Your feedback shapes the roadmap.
→ Downloads, installer, and screenshots: getfreeraid.com
The fastest path is the GUI installer — it downloads the latest image, writes the USB, and optionally imports your existing Unraid config:
Download the installer at getfreeraid.com
🧪 The GUI installer is still under testing. If you hit a snag, open an issue and include the log output.
sudo ./freeraid-installerLinux x86-64, no dependencies required. Pick a USB drive, drop in an optional Unraid flash-backup zip, click Write USB.
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| Themed login page | Dashboard — array status, parity schedule, cache mover |
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| Shares — SMB/NFS per-share, Unraid config drop-in import | Settings — updates, notifications, alerts |
- Boots from USB — OS lives on the USB stick alongside your persistent config
- Web UI — full management interface via browser (no monitor needed)
- SnapRAID + mergerfs — scheduled parity protection (up to 6 parity disks) and unified storage pool
- Docker — install and manage containers through the UI
- Samba + NFS — network shares for Windows, Mac, and Linux
- Unraid import — migrate existing Unraid configs, shares, and docker containers
- Safe test boot — skip-parity mode leaves your Unraid parity untouched so you can swap USBs freely
- UEFI + BIOS — boots on modern and legacy hardware
- x86-64 PC or server
- 4 GB+ RAM
- USB drive (8 GB+) for the boot drive
- One or more storage drives for your array
- Plug the USB into your server and power on
- Open a browser and go to
https://<server-ip>:9090 - Log in with
root/freeraid - Follow the setup wizard to assign drives and start the array
Config is saved to the USB drive — your settings survive reboots. Array data lives on your storage drives.
From the FreeRAID web UI, go to Settings and click Check for Updates. Updates apply in-place without touching your array data or config.
Most users should grab the installer from getfreeraid.com. Building is only needed if you're hacking on FreeRAID itself.
# Debian/Ubuntu host
sudo apt-get install -y debootstrap squashfs-tools busybox-static \
grub-efi-amd64-bin syslinux dosfstools parted
# Live image (~15-20 min)
sudo bash scripts/build-image.sh
# GUI installer binary
sudo apt install -y python3-tk python3-pip
pip install --user pyinstaller
bash scripts/build-installer.sh # → dist/freeraid-installercore/ freeraid CLI (main management script)
web/ Cockpit web UI plugin
scripts/ build-image.sh, build-installer.sh, create-usb.sh, installer.py
importer/ Unraid config importer
compose/ Default Docker compose templates
docs/ Architecture and development notes
Bugs, feature requests, and rough edges: open an issue.
FreeRAID is free for personal and non-commercial use. See LICENSE for details.