FAQ¶

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

• General FAQ
  • What is Start9 Labs?
  • What is a Start9 server?
  • Why do I care?
  • How does StartOS work?
  • What is StartOS?
  • What are StartOS Services?
  • Does Start9 ship worldwide?
  • Do you have international electrical plugs?
  • Are the power supplies 220v compatible?
  • Does StartOS have a license?
  • Is there a product warranty?
  • What kind of Internet connection does a server require?
  • I run a business, can I use StartOS for tasks such as password management and file sharing?
  • What are you using for a store backend? Do you store my data?
  • I want to help, but I’m not a developer. Are there any ways for non-coders to contribute?
• StartOS FAQ
  • How is StartOS different from Umbrel?
  • Can I run StartOS on a VPS or VM?
  • Is it possible to use StartOS on my own hardware?
  • Do I plug my Start9 server into my computer?
  • Do I plug in a monitor, keyboard, and mouse?
  • How much storage does a Start9 server have?
  • Are my Internet requests anonymous and secure?
  • Does Start9 have access to my personal Start9 server’s encryption keys?
  • Can multiple Start9 servers be setup to run redundantly in physically separate locations?
  • How does StartOS compare to other Bitcoin nodes or personal servers?
  • Would you consider (Umbrel, Nodl, RoninDojo, etc) a competitor to StartOS, or are they different enough to be compatible?
  • How can I migrate from MyNode/Raspiblitz/Umbrel to StartOS and keep my lightning channels intact?
  • Can I mine Bitcoin with this?
  • Does StartOS only work over Tor? No http or VPN?
  • Which network traffic travels over tor and which does not?
  • What if someone gets physical access to my device, can they read the contents? Is it encrypted?
  • Why http and not https for .onion websites?
• Basic Use FAQ
  • Is it easy to use?
  • So I can run my own cloud?
  • Can I run multiple Start9 servers?
  • Can I still use my VPN?
  • What if I forget my StartOS password?
  • Can I move my server to another location? What happens when I do this?
  • What’s the advantage of using the .local address over the .onion address?
  • Can I use the .local addresses over the Tor Browser?
  • Can I use .local addresses on Android?
  • Can I have multiple users on StartOS?
  • What can I do if I am having issues connecting to a mobile app over Tor?
  • If I uninstall a service, then re-install it, does my data remain?
  • Do I need to delete existing backups before doing a new backup? Or does a new backup override the old backup?
  • Can I clone my SSD for backup purposes?
  • Why would I even buy this when I can just build it for free?
  • My server came with a ‘product key,’ or similar unique code - what is that?
• Setup and Troubleshooting FAQ
  • What do I do first?
  • How do I know if my server is running?
  • My server is really hot! Is this normal?
  • I cannot reach start.local (for setup) after hearing the start-up sounds. What do I do?
  • Why do I need the Bonjour service (Windows)?
  • My Tor sites aren’t loading, what should I do?
  • Do I need to take any additional security precautions with my device, for example with my router/modem?
  • What if I have an unique network issue, for example, with a firewall?
  • Can I use my server from behind a VPN, for example, if my router has a built-in VPN?
• Contributing FAQ
  • How can I contribute to StartOS?
  • Do I need to be a professional developer or have coding experience to contribute?
• Bitcoin FAQ
  • Why does the Bitcoin service take so long to be ready?
  • Can the IBD (Initial Block Download) be made faster? Or can wait times be improved?
  • Does StartOS run a full archival Bitcoin node or a pruned one?
  • What actions, specifically, are only possible with an archival, or ‘unpruned’ node?
  • Is it insecure to run a pruned node?
  • The Bitcoin Service is different from the GUI version I am used to using (bitcoin-qt). How do I use this like I used to?
  • Is a wallet vulnerable to hacking if it’s always online?
  • How do I use Bitcoin Core as a wallet?
  • Which wallets can I use that integrate with my Bitcoin and/or Lightning nodes?
  • I want to use my hardware signer, such as Coldcard or Trezor, with my Bitcoin node. How does this work?
• The Lightning Network FAQ
  • Why would I want to run a lightning node?
  • How can I get started with Lightning and open my first channel?
  • I opened a Lightning channel, but my local balance is lower than I expected. Where is the remainder?
  • How is that fee estimation calculated?
  • What would happen if I shut down StartOS while it is running a Lightning node with open channels?
  • Is there a solution to this?
  • Is it possible to run Core Lightning and LND in parallel on StartOS?
  • How do I connect my Lightning wallet or mobile app to my Start9 server?
  • Are my addresses, channels, and balances all stored in LND/Core Lightning, or RTL, Zeus, etc?
  • How do I find my LND seed so I can write it down to backup?
  • How does the StartOS backup system handle Lightning (CLN and LND) backups and recovery?
  • Why are Lightning Network backups and moves so complicated?
  • Is there a way to use the channel backups made within RTL?
  • When attempting to add new peer, RTL says “server is still in the process of starting,” but chain state seems to be fully up to date. What can I do?
  • I get an error (“Unlock Wallet Failed”) when trying to log in to RTL, what can I do?
  • “Server is still in the process of starting,” but LND and RTL are running. How can I address this?
  • I get the following error from LND: “Error ECONNREFUSED Fetching Info Failed! Unknown Error.” What’s wrong?
  • What’s the best way to move a small lightning balance?
• Services FAQ
  • What if I cannot connect to a Service?
  • Will there be a VPN?
  • Will there be an email server?
  • Can StartOS run ‘X’ Service??
  • Does StartOS operate as a Tor relay node?
  • Are files on my server encrypted on disk?
  • I get an error (“Unlock Wallet Failed”) when trying to log in to RTL, what can I do?
  • What is happening if I cannot connect with another user on Mastodon?
  • What does it mean when Vaultwarden says “This browser requires HTTPS to use the web vault” upon creating an account or loging in to my Vaultwarden onion?
  • Can the browser extension be used with Bitwarden hosted on StartOS?
  • I want to use BTCPayServer on my website, but Tor is the only option, how can visitors access my BTCPay on clearnet?
  • I’m having issues connecting to users or rooms in Matrix/Synapse, what can I do?
  • My Element desktop client stopped working after an OS update, what is happening?
  • I don’t see an answer to my question regarding a certain service. Is there more documentation?
  • I want to understand in depth how a Service works and it’s available configuration options. Where can I go to learn more?
• Packaging FAQ
  • Do I need programming experience to package a service for StartOS?
  • What considerations are there when choosing a service for packaging?
  • What if I don’t need a Config in my service?
  • How can my service access the data directory of another service?
  • Why am I getting the error “No rule to make target yq, needed by manifest.yaml?”
• Umbrel Comparison
  • How are they similar?
  • How are they different?