{"slug": "unraid", "name": "Unraid", "category": "os", "category_name": "Operating systems and desktop", "description": "", "recommenders": 5, "commenters": 8, "warners": 1, "score": 3.861, "rising": -1.64, "first": "2025-11-27", "latest": "2026-06-14", "why": "I am currently using unraid as my server and used it for gaming as well", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 5, "neutral": 3, "compare": 0, "warn": 2}, "spark": [1, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "I am currently using unraid as my server and used it for gaming as well", "kind": "", "icon": false, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://unraid.net", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Unraid", "UnRAID"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 775033520, "item_id": 48439595, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48439595", "by": "iugtmkbdfil834", "date": "2026-06-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I am currently using unraid as my server and used it for gaming as well", "excerpt": "Ok. This whole blog post is weird. I am currently using unraid as my server and used it for gaming as well ( though deck mostly took over that particular distraction ). In a sense, playing in VM was the initial draw. I stayed for everything else. But the points the author is making kinda contradict themselves. Before I go to the actual claims within the post, please be aware that gaming these days is not exactly chea", "context": "", "use_case": "home server and VM gaming", "switched_from": "", "story": "I am giving up on VM Gaming"}, {"id": 764375882, "item_id": 47773492, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47773492", "by": "seabrookmx", "date": "2026-04-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "the storage part is easier with something like TruNAS or Unraid", "excerpt": "> home lab Well that's your problem right there. The home labber setups are for experimentation or \"hot rodding\" purposes and they typically way overbuild their solutions. What most people need is an old desktop in a corner somewhere (preferably close to your router so you can get to it with an ethernet cable). It's won't be Grandma proof, but if you're remotely technical you can write a docker compose file that glue", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Fuck the Cloud (2009)"}, {"id": 750734641, "item_id": 46920915, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46920915", "by": "darthcircuit", "date": "2026-02-06", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "if you have unraid", "excerpt": "You can run macOS in a docker container. There\u2019s no hardware acceleration for gpu, but works well enough. You can also try macinabox if you have unraid: https://hub.docker.com/r/spaceinvaderone/macinabox It\u2019s probably the easiest way of setting up a Mac VM if you have unraid. I know there are similar options for qemu and kvm based hypervisors. If you have an amd gpu you should be able to pass it through.", "context": "", "use_case": "Home server OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "OpenCiv3: Open-source, cross-platform reimagining of Civilization III"}, {"id": 737870624, "item_id": 46116914, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46116914", "by": "bane", "date": "2025-12-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "For me, eliminating the few hours dealing with some stupid config option I messed up is easily worth $250, which unraid basically makes go away.", "excerpt": "You have good points! For me, eliminating the few hours dealing with some stupid config option I messed up is easily worth $250, which unraid basically makes go away. But yeah, most of the things the system does are really just some basic linux distro with various bits installed. The terramaster NAS's are surprisingly reasonable for pre-built NASs. And I think they'd be fine if you want an <4 bay NAS solution. There'", "context": "self-described #3 home NAS user", "use_case": "NAS OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Don't throw away your old PC\u2013it makes a better NAS than anything you can buy"}, {"id": 737146307, "item_id": 46071644, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46071644", "by": "m000", "date": "2025-11-27", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "So, if I had to choose a NAS OS, it would probably be Unraid.", "excerpt": "Not really. I was not interested in maintaining an extensive homelab (so that I have separate storage and computing nodes), or buying into a new \"software ecosystem\" (I would consider buying e.g. a Synology/QNAP box if I did), so I ended up with vanilla Debian. Debian 13 (trixie) got released right on time, so I will be on the latest for a couple of years. From what I tried (TrueNAS, OpenMV, Unraid), Unraid seemed to", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "DIY NAS: 2026 Edition"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 776509314, "item_id": 48531832, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48531832", "by": "dboon", "date": "2026-06-14", "stance": "warn", "quote": "the ad-hoc nature made it a huge pain to do it right", "excerpt": "I am making Cargo for C. I have 3/4 of a working demo; the tool can build itself, including some non-trivial dependencies which I've ported to build natively with the tool (instead of wrapping their Make or CMake or whatever). The pitch: It's insane that we have to pull in Python or Lua to build C code. CMake is an abomination against god that has become usable in spite of itself. Zig cc is proof that this entire eco", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What are you working on? (June 2026)"}, {"id": 749606464, "item_id": 46850404, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46850404", "by": "TMWNN", "date": "2026-02-01", "stance": "warn", "quote": "does not work in UnRAID 7.2.3", "excerpt": "Tahoe backups to UnRAID's native Time Machine backup system (as described at <https://docs.unraid.net/unraid-os/using-unraid-to/manage-storage/apple-time-machine/>) does not work in UnRAID 7.2.3. It is not (solely) caused by Tahoe, however, because it did work in 7.1.4. <https://forums.unraid.net/topic/195091-time-machine-backup-disk-image-cannot-be-created-on-zfs-pool/> mbentley's Docker image version of Time Machin", "context": "", "use_case": "Time Machine backup target", "switched_from": "", "story": "TIL: Apple Broke Time Machine Again on Tahoe"}]}], "who": [{"by": "bane", "context": "self-described #3 home NAS user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46116914", "date": "2025-12-01"}], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["home server and vm gaming", "nas backup target", "home server os", "time machine backup target", "nas / home server os", "nas os"], "compared": [{"slug": "truenas", "name": "TrueNAS", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48528779", "title": "Ask HN: What are you working on? (June 2026)", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48428727", "title": "I am giving up on VM Gaming", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47923010", "title": "Apple is dropping AFP/TimeCapsule support in macOS 27", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47772048", "title": "Fuck the Cloud (2009)", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47063005", "title": "Tailscale Peer Relays is now generally available", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46918612", "title": "OpenCiv3: Open-source, cross-platform reimagining of Civilization III", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"recommend": 1}, "2025-12": {"recommend": 1, "neutral": 1}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {"warn": 1, "recommend": 1, "neutral": 1}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {"recommend": 1, "neutral": 1}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 1, "warn": 1}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {}}, "quotes": [{"id": 776509314, "item_id": 48531832, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48531832", "by": "dboon", "date": "2026-06-14", "stance": "warn", "quote": "the ad-hoc nature made it a huge pain to do it right", "excerpt": "I am making Cargo for C. I have 3/4 of a working demo; the tool can build itself, including some non-trivial dependencies which I've ported to build natively with the tool (instead of wrapping their Make or CMake or whatever). The pitch: It's insane that we have to pull in Python or Lua to build C code. CMake is an abomination against god that has become usable in spite of itself. Zig cc is proof that this entire eco", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What are you working on? (June 2026)"}, {"id": 775033520, "item_id": 48439595, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48439595", "by": "iugtmkbdfil834", "date": "2026-06-07", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I am currently using unraid as my server and used it for gaming as well", "excerpt": "Ok. This whole blog post is weird. I am currently using unraid as my server and used it for gaming as well ( though deck mostly took over that particular distraction ). In a sense, playing in VM was the initial draw. I stayed for everything else. But the points the author is making kinda contradict themselves. Before I go to the actual claims within the post, please be aware that gaming these days is not exactly chea", "context": "", "use_case": "home server and VM gaming", "switched_from": "", "story": "I am giving up on VM Gaming"}, {"id": 767116721, "item_id": 47944795, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47944795", "by": "TMWNN", "date": "2026-04-28", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "UnRAID's built-in Time Machine functionality", "excerpt": "What I have done to maintain the integrity of my Time Machine backups (to UnRAID, via SMB): For the \"sparsebundles break\" issue: * Back up to multiple targets. I use both mbentley's Time Machine Docker image (only one backup per source machine) and UnRAID's built-in Time Machine functionality (multiple backups of same machine allowed). * Use spaceinvader1's macinabox Docker image to have a local way to `fsck_apfs` th", "context": "", "use_case": "NAS backup target", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple is dropping AFP/TimeCapsule support in macOS 27"}, {"id": 764375882, "item_id": 47773492, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47773492", "by": "seabrookmx", "date": "2026-04-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "the storage part is easier with something like TruNAS or Unraid", "excerpt": "> home lab Well that's your problem right there. The home labber setups are for experimentation or \"hot rodding\" purposes and they typically way overbuild their solutions. What most people need is an old desktop in a corner somewhere (preferably close to your router so you can get to it with an ethernet cable). It's won't be Grandma proof, but if you're remotely technical you can write a docker compose file that glue", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Fuck the Cloud (2009)"}, {"id": 753020417, "item_id": 47063776, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47063776", "by": "mikepurvis", "date": "2026-02-18", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use the same thing with my Unraid box", "excerpt": "I assume so; I use the same thing with my Unraid box and then create the DNS entries in the unifi panel so I get jellyfin.lan, minecraft.lan, etc inside the house.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Tailscale Peer Relays is now generally available"}, {"id": 750734641, "item_id": 46920915, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46920915", "by": "darthcircuit", "date": "2026-02-06", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "if you have unraid", "excerpt": "You can run macOS in a docker container. There\u2019s no hardware acceleration for gpu, but works well enough. You can also try macinabox if you have unraid: https://hub.docker.com/r/spaceinvaderone/macinabox It\u2019s probably the easiest way of setting up a Mac VM if you have unraid. I know there are similar options for qemu and kvm based hypervisors. If you have an amd gpu you should be able to pass it through.", "context": "", "use_case": "Home server OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "OpenCiv3: Open-source, cross-platform reimagining of Civilization III"}, {"id": 749606464, "item_id": 46850404, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46850404", "by": "TMWNN", "date": "2026-02-01", "stance": "warn", "quote": "does not work in UnRAID 7.2.3", "excerpt": "Tahoe backups to UnRAID's native Time Machine backup system (as described at <https://docs.unraid.net/unraid-os/using-unraid-to/manage-storage/apple-time-machine/>) does not work in UnRAID 7.2.3. It is not (solely) caused by Tahoe, however, because it did work in 7.1.4. <https://forums.unraid.net/topic/195091-time-machine-backup-disk-image-cannot-be-created-on-zfs-pool/> mbentley's Docker image version of Time Machin", "context": "", "use_case": "Time Machine backup target", "switched_from": "", "story": "TIL: Apple Broke Time Machine Again on Tahoe"}, {"id": 742846560, "item_id": 46427910, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46427910", "by": "mikepurvis", "date": "2025-12-29", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Overall I'm very happy with it, but right now it's basically just Unraid", "excerpt": "I just set up a little cube server with a Mini-ITX board I had lying around. Overall I'm very happy with it, but right now it's basically just Unraid with the built-in containers running for Deluge, Jellyfin, and the Crafty minecraft server. I'd love for it to also be a backup of my whole Google Photos account (eg https://github.com/JakeWharton/docker-gphotos-sync) but honestly I can't imagine trying to maintain an a", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google is dead. Where do we go now?"}, {"id": 738373584, "item_id": 46148349, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46148349", "by": "mikepurvis", "date": "2025-12-04", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I have an industrial Mini-ITX motherboard of similar vintage that I use with an i5-4570 as my Unraid machine.", "excerpt": "For a DDR3-era machine, you'd be buying RAM for that on Ebay, not Newegg. I have an industrial Mini-ITX motherboard of similar vintage that I use with an i5-4570 as my Unraid machine. It doesn't natively support NVMe, but I was able to get a dual-m2 expansion card with its own splitter (no motherboard bifurcation required) and that let me get a pretty modern-feeling setup with nice fast cache disks.", "context": "", "use_case": "NAS / home server OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "RAM is so expensive, Samsung won't even sell it to Samsung"}, {"id": 737870624, "item_id": 46116914, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46116914", "by": "bane", "date": "2025-12-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "For me, eliminating the few hours dealing with some stupid config option I messed up is easily worth $250, which unraid basically makes go away.", "excerpt": "You have good points! For me, eliminating the few hours dealing with some stupid config option I messed up is easily worth $250, which unraid basically makes go away. But yeah, most of the things the system does are really just some basic linux distro with various bits installed. The terramaster NAS's are surprisingly reasonable for pre-built NASs. And I think they'd be fine if you want an <4 bay NAS solution. There'", "context": "self-described #3 home NAS user", "use_case": "NAS OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Don't throw away your old PC\u2013it makes a better NAS than anything you can buy"}, {"id": 737146307, "item_id": 46071644, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46071644", "by": "m000", "date": "2025-11-27", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "So, if I had to choose a NAS OS, it would probably be Unraid.", "excerpt": "Not really. I was not interested in maintaining an extensive homelab (so that I have separate storage and computing nodes), or buying into a new \"software ecosystem\" (I would consider buying e.g. a Synology/QNAP box if I did), so I ended up with vanilla Debian. Debian 13 (trixie) got released right on time, so I will be on the latest for a couple of years. From what I tried (TrueNAS, OpenMV, Unraid), Unraid seemed to", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "DIY NAS: 2026 Edition"}]}