KITPro Server 0.1.0-alpha.2: The polished public interface for trusted self-hosting

By KITProNovember 2, 20263 min read

Release record

KITPro Server 0.1.0-alpha.2 · Public alpha prerelease

Original release: September 15, 2026. Retrospective release coverage. This article was published on November 2, 2026. Created November 2, 2026.

KITPro Server 0.1.0-alpha.2: The polished public interface for trusted self-hosting

KITPro Server v0.1.0-alpha.2 was published on September 15, 2026 as a public alpha. It brings the polished browser interface into a tagged public release, including dashboard, application catalog, access controls, update views, responsive layouts, and accessibility improvements. This retrospective describes the historical release. KITPro Server remains alpha software; use current documentation when evaluating a new installation.

KITPro Server is a local-first Linux server manager for installing and operating trusted self-hosted applications. It is separate from KITPro Linux Server, the operating-system distribution. The intended audience includes Linux enthusiasts and homelab administrators who want browser-based application management while retaining ownership of their hosts and data.

A catalog with a defined application contract

Alpha.2 includes FreshRSS, Uptime Kuma, Mealie, Memos, Actual Budget, Vaultwarden, Home Assistant, and Paperless-ngx. Images are pinned by digest and selected through a trusted catalog. KITPro manages Paperless-ngx as one logical multi-container application so the operator can work with its application identity rather than treating each component as an unrelated container.

Persistent storage and reconciliation accompany the application lifecycle. The catalog does not turn KITPro into an arbitrary Compose editor or guarantee that every upstream configuration is supported. Review the tagged quickstart, platform matrix, and known limitations before choosing an application or installation path.

Access is an administrator decision

The interface exposes Private, This server only, and Local network access scopes. These choices help an administrator distinguish an installed application from a service they intend other machines to reach. They do not imply automatic public internet access.

Pre-update control-state backups protect KITPro's own recorded state. Application data is not automatically backed up in alpha.2. Keep independent backups of /srv/kitpro and the data used by each application before relying on the installation. A control-state backup and an application-data backup serve different recovery needs.

Platforms and privileged boundaries

The release lists Debian 13 amd64, Ubuntu 26.04 LTS amd64, and Arch Linux x86_64 with linux-lts as supported platforms. Arch requires fully updated official repositories and full pacman -Syu upgrades. Rocky Linux 10 remains Experimental.

Rootful Docker and enforcing AppArmor are required. KITPro does not add users to the Docker group. Those requirements are material host prerequisites rather than optional interface preferences. The project is released under Apache License 2.0, with the security policy and third-party terms available in tagged source.

Installation, upgrades, and verification

Use the official alpha.2 assets and verify downloads against kitpro-server_0.1.0-alpha.2_SHA256SUMS before installation. The tagged quickstart explains first use; the package upgrade, removal, and recovery guide covers an existing installation. Features and supported behavior may change across alphas, so historical package instructions must not be carried forward without checking the destination release.

The screenshot accompanying this article is a real approved documentation capture included in the alpha.2 tag. Its visible build label is alpha7; the alpha.2 tag includes it as an approved documentation image. It illustrates the interface, rather than proving an exact alpha.2 runtime state. The full tagged documentation remains the authority for the historical feature set and limitations.