Lightweight NAS for Linux • Go backend • Built-in Vue 3 web UI
PlainNAS provides a web interface for file browsing and media management, plus background services for filesystem watching, media scanning/indexing, thumbnails, and LAN sharing.
- Web UI (served by the backend)
- File browsing and basic file operations
- Media scan/index + search
- Thumbnails (photo/video)
- LAN discovery via
.local(Avahi) - Optional SMB/Samba sharing
Many NAS products expect you to flash a vendor image to a device/disk/USB drive and then treat it like an appliance. PlainNAS takes a different path: it runs as a Linux service (systemd). If you already have a machine that can run Linux, you can turn it into a lightweight, practical NAS without “reinstalling the world”.
| Topic | PlainNAS | Common competitors (image / NAS-OS appliances) |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment | Install & run on an existing Linux system | Flash an image and run a dedicated NAS OS |
| Hardware / OS lock-in | Works anywhere Linux works (more flexible) | Often tied to specific images, installers, or platforms |
| Time to first use | One-time install, then open the web UI |
Often feels like setting up a “desktop-like OS” first |
| Web UI philosophy | Simple and direct: files, media, thumbnails, essentials | Often a “platform/app store” UX with many plugins (quality varies) |
| Maintenance model | Clear config + service-oriented ops (fits normal Linux workflows) | More components and layers can mean longer debug chains |
| Portability | Data stays in your Linux filesystem; migration stays straightforward | Platform lock-in can make migration depend on vendor tooling |
| App store / plugins | Intentionally minimal (no plugin platform) | Often a major focus (containers/apps/plugins) |
If you want “no flashing images”, “no platform lock-in”, and a clean web UI that works out of the box, PlainNAS is a good fit.
Recommended OS: Ubuntu or Ubuntu-based distributions (Debian, Mint, etc.) are recommended for best compatibility and package support. Other modern Linux distributions may work, but Ubuntu is preferred for smooth installation and updates.
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ismartcoding/plainnas/refs/heads/main/install.sh | bashPlainNAS is Linux-only and is typically run as root (it mounts disks and manages system directories).
- Build the binary
cd web
bash ./build.sh
cd ..
go build- Install dependencies + system files (one-time)
sudo ./plainnas installThis will best-effort install required packages (libvips, ffmpeg, samba, avahi) and write:
/etc/plainnas/config.toml/etc/systemd/system/plainnas.service
- Install the binary and start the service
sudo mv ./plainnas /usr/local/bin/plainnas
sudo systemctl enable --now plainnas- Open the web UI
Default ports come from /etc/plainnas/config.toml:
- HTTP:
http://<server-ip>:8080 - HTTPS:
https://<server-ip>:8443(TLS cert is auto-generated on first run)
Default UI password (change it): plainnas
/etc/plainnas/
config.toml # main configuration
tls.pem # generated TLS certificate
tls.key # generated TLS private key
/var/lib/plainnas/ # runtime data (DB, indexes, cache)
/mnt/usb*/ # auto-mounted storage slots
Storage behavior (high level): on startup PlainNAS reconciles block devices and ensures each filesystem is mounted under a stable /mnt/usbX slot, and keeps the mapping stable across reboots/re-plug.
sudo go run main.go install
sudo go run main.go runThe frontend lives in web/ and uses Yarn (see web/package.json packageManager).
cd web
corepack enable
yarn install
yarn devProduction UI build (and copy into Go embed directory):
cd web
bash ./build.shgo env -w GOFLAGS=-mod=mod
go mod tidy
go generate ./internal/graph- Storage: docs/storage.md
- Storage aliases: docs/storage-alias.md
- Trash: docs/trash.md
- Tags: docs/tags.md
- Thumbnails: docs/thumbnails.md
- Media items: docs/media-items.md
- LAN share (SMB/Samba): docs/samba.md
Tested setup:
- NanoPi R4S (4 GB RAM)
- USB Type-C to SATA 3.0 controller (5-port)
- 2 × SATA hard drives
- OS: Armbian for NanoPi R4S
