I'm a long-term VPS user, and I've been using VPS servers for various purposes over the last 5–6 years. Sometimes, though, managing a VPS feels unnecessarily terrible. I know it can be tempting to think, "Well, isn't it your fault for not knowing how to manage it properly?" I see your point, and I have to admit that I do agree with you to a certain degree. But here's the thing: whether I'm a pro at managing a VPS or not, it should be a breeze!
TL;DR: Prefer a quick overview? Watch the Nixopus Demo
(You can always come back to explore the full details below!)
Control Panels & Tools
These days, I notice fewer people relying on traditional control panels — for good reasons.Tech-savvy users often prefer advanced, modern GUI tools, or they work directly through the terminal.
Take a simple example: when I want to host an application I've built, I usually have two options:
- Set up a CI/CD pipeline (for example, using GitHub Actions), which requires configuring SSH keys, private access options, environment variables, and adapting pipelines as configurations evolve.
- Or use self-hosting tools like Coolify.
Speaking of Coolify — it’s a great project. I personally admire its scope, have used it, and was even part of the Coolify Discord community. However, Coolify primarily focuses on self-hosting capabilities. It's a fantastic choice if your goal is just that — self-hosting.
But as a user, I wanted more:
- A powerful file manager,
- A Google Cloud / AWS Cloud Shell-like experience,
- A modern interface to manage my server, apps, and files — all in one place.
I wasn’t ready to install separate tools and manage them individually for each task. That’s when I decided: Why not create something that combines all these needs into one seamless VPS management tool?
Introduction
Nixopus is your all-in-one platform to make VPS management simple, fast, and hassle-free. Whether you're a developer, system administrator, or just someone running your own server, Nixopus brings everything you need into one place — no extra setup, no messy configurations.
With Nixopus, you can:
- Host your applications easily with one-click deployments,
- Access a built-in terminal just like Google Cloud Shell or AWS CloudShell,
- Navigate your server files with a modern, intuitive file manager,
- Manage domains, TLS certificates, notifications, and more — all from a clean, simple dashboard.
No need to install multiple tools or stitch things together manually — Nixopus gives you everything you need to deploy, monitor, manage, and maintain your servers — right at your fingertips.
This is just the beginning — and as Nixopus grows, it's going to get even more powerful, with more features driven by community feedback and real-world needs.
Installation
To install Nixopus on your VPS, ensure you have sudo access and run the following command:
sudo bash -c "$(curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/raghavyuva/nixopus/refs/heads/master/scripts/install.sh)"Optional Parameters
You can customize your installation by providing the following optional parameters:
--api-domain: Specify the domain where the Nixopus API will be accessible (e.g.,nixopusapi.example.tld)--app-domain: Specify the domain where the Nixopus app will be accessible (e.g.,nixopus.example.tld)--emailor-e: Set the email for the admin account--passwordor-p: Set the password for the admin account
Example with optional parameters:
sudo bash -c "$(curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/raghavyuva/nixopus/refs/heads/master/scripts/install.sh)" -- \
--api-domain nixopusapi.example.tld \
--app-domain nixopus.example.tld \
--email admin@example.tld \
--password Adminpassword@123Accessing Nixopus
After successful installation, you can access the Nixopus dashboard by visiting the URL you specified in the --app-domain parameter (e.g., https://nixopus.example.tld). Use the email and password you provided during installation to log in.
Features
I'm excited to walk you through what Nixopus has to offer. Let’s start exploring its features!
Self-Hosting
With Nixopus, you can easily host applications on your own server, manage them, and monitor them — all in one place. Nixopus currently offers build packs for Dockerfiles and static sites.
I know, I know — you’re probably expecting even more options! But remember, this is just an alpha release. I intentionally chose not to build everything at once and publish it a year later — only to find out it doesn’t meet the real needs of users. Instead, I want to grow Nixopus together with the community, one step at a time!
Nixopus' self-hosting capabilities also offer:
- Easy to configure modern TLS, including modern ciphersuites, including out-of-the-box support for multiple signed CAs.,
- GitHub integration — connect your repository and set up automatic deployments when you push changes to specified branches,
- Easily configure and quickly redeploy configurations or even new instances of your applications.,
- Application deletion when it's no longer needed.
With Nixopus, you don’t have to perform extra manual steps — it listens, builds, and updates for you. Simple. Reliable. Developer-first. Know more
Powerful Terminal
When you log in for the first time, you’ll notice a terminal conveniently located at the bottom of the dashboard.You can toggle it easily — just like in enterprise tools such as Visual Studio Code — by pressing (Ctrl/Command + J).
This terminal is designed to offer a similar experience to working with Google Cloud Shell or AWS CloudShell, but with an eye toward even better, more elegant features in upcoming releases!
Thinking of a cool feature you'd love to see in the terminal? You're more than welcome to contribute — come shape the future of Nixopus' terminal alongside fellow developers and make it truly your own!
File Manager
Nixopus also features a built-in File Manager.
You can access it easily from the sidebar — and from there, you know the basics: navigate, manage, and organize your server files intuitively. Currently, the File Manager is very basic, as the focus is on stability and core functionality, since this is still the alpha stage.
Needless to say, there are many useful features, developer-friendly add-ons, and a plethora of cosmetic updates on the roadmap.
8 More Features You’ll Love
Beyond the major features we covered earlier, Nixopus also offers a variety of powerful customizations and enhancements through its settings:
- Dark/Light Mode — Easily switch between dark and light themes based on your preference.
- Custom Fonts — Choose from a collection of cool fonts! (I’ll admit — picking the perfect font isn’t my strong suit — so I’ve made sure you can choose the one that suits you best!)
- Language Selector — Prefer using software in your native language? Me too! (I'm a proud Kannadiga, so Kannada is already available!) Want to add your language or improve existing translations that feel robotic? Let’s collaborate and make it truly human-friendly!
- Two-Factor Authentication and SSH-Based Connections to Your Server — When it comes to security, I personally want Nixopus to include many best practices and security-related features — because we are exposing our server on the web, right!
- Team Management & Auditing — You can add team members, manage permissions, and track activities. (Yes, we already have an auditing system that logs who did what and when!) More advanced team and organization features are planned for the beta release — stay tuned!
- Domain Management — Add and verify your domains right inside Nixopus. This makes it seamless to connect your domains while self-hosting your apps.
- Smart Notifications — Choose the types of notifications you want to receive, and get alerted via Email, Slack, or Discord — your choice!
- Auto-Update — Stay up to date effortlessly! You can either enable automatic updates when we release new features and fixes, or manually trigger updates with a single click from the dashboard’s top-right corner.
The features you see today are just a glimpse of Nixopus' true potential. Stability, power, and polish will come from refining these features — and yes, by writing beautiful, robust tests along the way!
What’s Coming Next?
I know you’re probably even more excited than I am — so let’s talk about what’s next! My goal is to make Nixopus truly enterprise-ready and stable as a VPS management solution.
Here are a few key areas I’m focusing on:
- Security best practices — High importance (Security is absolutely critical. Expect this to be a top priority.)
- Polish and production-grade stability — High importance (Making Nixopus rock-solid, well-tested, and reliable for real-world deployments.)
- Multi-server management — Medium importance (I want you to connect and switch between multiple servers easily.)
- Config/Script Marketplace — Medium importance (A place where you can find and share scripts/configurations. I’ll write a detailed post soon explaining what it is and why I believe it’s needed.)
- Community-driven development — Extremely important (I don’t want to build Nixopus in the dark. Every developer has different perspectives — you might love a feature I don’t, or dislike something I love. That’s the beauty of building together.)
The features you see today are just a glimpse of Nixopus' true potential. Stability, power, and polish will come from refining these features — and yes, by writing beautiful, robust tests along the way!
Show Your Support
Nixopus is meant to be community-driven, and for that, I kindly ask for your support.I’m fully aware that the current alpha release has rough edges — and that’s intentional.Rather than hyping it as “production-ready” when it’s not, I chose to release early to gather honest community feedback.
This is your chance to shape Nixopus!
You can help by:
- Starring us on Github
- Sponsoring
- Contributing,
- Sharing it with your friends,
- Or even telling the harsh truths — if you didn’t like something, I want to hear it.
Every word, every contribution, every opinion matters — and it’s all welcomed with open arms.
Conclusion
Most readily available comparable products on the market are limited, not developer-friendly, or very user-unfriendly in terms of price and availability. Apparently, there is a huge gap and problem that Nixopus as a project is trying to address.
Nixopus is community driven, developer friendly and constantly evolving. With a few private deployments, including by friends, the amount of usable feedback is turning Nixopus into a truly modern server management tool with features that server admins are really looking for.