# Server Manager

> Server Manager is a web app that lets non-technical users run a Linux server through plain English. Users connect their server, then deploy websites, install WordPress, manage databases, restore backups, and configure email & domains — all via a chat interface backed by an AI agent called Faro.

Home: https://servermanager.dev
Help center: https://servermanager.dev/help
Languages: de, en, es, fr, it, pt-BR

## Get started

- [What is Server Manager?](https://servermanager.dev/help/what-is-server-manager): A web app that runs your server through plain English. Connect a Linux server, then deploy websites, install WordPress, manage databases, and configure email — all via a chat interface.
- [Do I need to know Linux to use Server Manager?](https://servermanager.dev/help/do-i-need-to-know-linux): No. Server Manager is designed for people who don't want to live in a terminal. You'll see commands, but Faro explains them in plain English and runs them for you after you approve.
- [Which Linux distros work with Server Manager?](https://servermanager.dev/help/which-linux-distros-work): Ubuntu and Debian are the primary targets. Fedora, Rocky, Alma, and openSUSE Leap work for most recipes — some edges still rough.
- [Can I use Server Manager with my existing VPS?](https://servermanager.dev/help/can-i-use-my-existing-vps): Yes. Any Linux server with SSH access works — VPS, dedicated, bare-metal, or home server. No special agent installed; connect with the IP, username, and SSH key (or password); deploy as if it were fresh. Existing nginx, Apache, or Traefik setups are detected and can be migrated to Caddy with a one-click recipe.
- [Will Server Manager break my server?](https://servermanager.dev/help/will-server-manager-break-my-server): Every destructive command requires your explicit approval. Files are auto-backed up to .helm-backup/ before being replaced. SSH credentials never leave your session memory; nothing persists on Server Manager's side after you disconnect.
- [What is Faro?](https://servermanager.dev/help/what-is-faro): The AI agent inside Server Manager. Faro reads your chat messages, proposes commands to run on your server, and explains what each one does. You approve; Faro runs them.
- [Watch your servers from your browser](https://servermanager.dev/help/watch-servers-from-your-browser): A free browser extension that shows each monitored server's health — load, memory, disk, pending updates — right in your toolbar, even when the app is closed. It alerts you when a site goes down, and one click jumps you into Server Manager to fix it.

## Deploy & manage sites and apps

- [Deploy a website from your computer](https://servermanager.dev/help/deploy-website-from-your-computer): Drag the folder of your built site into Server Manager, type your domain, click Deploy.
- [Deploy a web app from your computer](https://servermanager.dev/help/deploy-web-app-from-your-computer): Drop your Node, Python, or Go project folder into Server Manager, type your domain, click Deploy.
- [Deploy a website from a git repo](https://servermanager.dev/help/deploy-website-from-a-git-repo): Paste your repo URL, type your domain, click Clone & deploy.
- [Deploy a web app from a git repo](https://servermanager.dev/help/deploy-web-app-from-a-git-repo): Paste your repo URL, type your domain, click Clone & deploy.
- [Pull latest from git](https://servermanager.dev/help/pull-latest-from-git): Click Pull latest in the service panel. We fetch your repo's latest commits and (for web apps) restart your app.
- [Multiple sites on the same server](https://servermanager.dev/help/multiple-sites-on-the-same-server): Each site or app on a Server Manager–managed server lives in its own folder, keyed off its domain (or app name). Different identifiers coexist; reusing the same identifier replaces what's there.
- [Native vs Container — which should I pick?](https://servermanager.dev/help/native-vs-container): Native runs your web app directly on the host under systemd — fast, low RAM, shared runtime. Container runs it inside Docker — own runtime version per app, ~30–100 MB extra RAM.
- [Migrate an existing site here](https://servermanager.dev/help/migrate-an-existing-site): Pull a WordPress site, a static site, or a database off your old host (SSH or cPanel) and stand it back up on this server. Source stays untouched; the actual install happens in the chat with your approval.
- [Install WordPress](https://servermanager.dev/help/install-wordpress): One click + one question (the domain), then approve the install commands. WordPress + MariaDB in Docker, fronted by Caddy with auto-HTTPS, ready in 2–3 minutes. WordPress's own first-run wizard handles site title + admin account.

## Domains, HTTPS & email

- [Why does Server Manager use Caddy?](https://servermanager.dev/help/why-caddy): Server Manager picks Caddy as the [[reverse-proxy]] because automatic HTTPS works in zero config — type a domain, get a valid cert 30 seconds later. nginx and Apache need certbot + a renewal cron + manual reloads to get there. Caddy collapses all of that into "type domain, get HTTPS." This article compares Caddy, nginx, Apache, and Traefik feature-by-feature, explains the rationale, and tells you when keeping your current engine is the right call.
- [Connect a domain to your server](https://servermanager.dev/help/connect-a-domain): Point a domain you own at your server and get free HTTPS. The wizard probes where the domain currently lives and walks you through whatever's missing — DNS record, Cloudflare/Porkbun token, Let's Encrypt certificate.
- [Migrate from nginx, Apache, or Traefik to Caddy](https://servermanager.dev/help/migrate-to-caddy): One-click recipe that translates your existing reverse-proxy config to a Caddyfile, rehearses on alternate ports while the old engine keeps serving live traffic, then atomically swaps. Auto-rollback fires if anything fails verification. After migration, every Server Manager flow (deploy, connect-domain, install WordPress, …) works directly instead of routing through the chat fallback.
- [Set up email for your domain](https://servermanager.dev/help/set-up-email-for-your-domain): Two separate surfaces — Send (apps emailing FROM your domain) and Receive (mail addressed TO your domain). Walks through both wizards and explains which one you need.

## Networking & firewalls

- [Why can't I reach my port?](https://servermanager.dev/help/why-cant-i-reach-my-port): "I can't reach my service from outside" is the same symptom for three different problems — each fixed in a different place. This article explains the three layers in plain English and shows you how Server Manager finds + fixes each one.

## Backups & recovery

- [Backups — which one do I want and how to use it](https://servermanager.dev/help/backups): Server Manager has four backup-related tools. This article maps each user goal to the right tool, then walks through every flow step-by-step.
- [Restore from a backup](https://servermanager.dev/help/restore-from-a-backup): How to bring back a `.tar.gz` bundle you previously downloaded from Server Manager — either in place (overwrite the original) or as a clone at a new domain. Walks the three entry points and the chat handoff.
- [Clean up this server](https://servermanager.dev/help/clean-up-your-server): A guided sweep that frees disk space, installs pending security updates, and (optionally) restarts long-running services. You pick what runs from a pre-flight checklist; safe steps run silently, risky ones pause for confirmation in chat; a reboot is offered (never forced) when the kernel update needs it.
- [Recover when SSH stops working](https://servermanager.dev/help/recover-when-ssh-stops-working): SSH is the only way Server Manager talks to your server. If it stops working, Server Manager goes dark too — but you can still get back in. Triage by symptom, then recover via your provider's web console.
- [Understand the Health view](https://servermanager.dev/help/understand-the-health-view): "What should I worry about right now?" — Server Manager's at-a-glance check for the server. Three urgency buckets (Act now / This week / All good), each finding has a one-click action that drops a remediation prompt into the chat.

## Account & billing

- [How pricing works](https://servermanager.dev/help/how-pricing-works): Server Manager is free to try (no card required) and €5 per 30-day pass after that. One-time payments, no subscription, no auto-billing without your explicit click each time.
- [Auto-refill — never get stuck mid-task](https://servermanager.dev/help/auto-refill): Save a card and turn on auto-refill. When your tokens run out, a one-click prompt asks you to authorize another €5. You stay on the same screen and keep working. Every charge needs your explicit click — no silent billing.
- [Invoices, refunds, and "cancelling"](https://servermanager.dev/help/manage-billing-invoices-refunds): Find your receipts via Stripe's customer portal — these are receipts, not Italian fatture. Need a fattura elettronica? Tick "I need an invoice" at checkout, or email support@servermanager.dev for a past purchase. Refund policy is no-refund-except-zero-tokens-used-within-14-days. There's nothing to "cancel" — Server Manager has no subscription and never charges without a click (auto-refill included), so you just stop using it.

## Privacy & data safety

- [What Server Manager stores about you](https://servermanager.dev/help/what-we-store-about-you): A plain-English inventory of every piece of data we hold — your email, your server connection metadata, billing records, usage counts. What we never store: SSH passwords/keys in plaintext, chat history past your session.
- [How your SSH credentials are handled](https://servermanager.dev/help/how-ssh-credentials-are-handled): SSH passwords and private keys live only in process memory while a session is open — never on disk. Saved server profiles encrypt credentials with a passphrase only you know. Server compromise leaks ciphertext only; the attacker still needs to brute-force your passphrase per server.
- [What Faro sees in your chats](https://servermanager.dev/help/what-faro-sees-in-your-chats): Your chat messages + relevant server context (inventory output, file contents Faro reads) are sent to OpenAI to generate responses. Chat content isn't stored on our side past your session — it's in-memory only. OpenAI doesn't train on your data per their API policy.
- [Your GDPR rights & data export](https://servermanager.dev/help/gdpr-rights-and-data-export): Under EU GDPR you have the right to access, correct, delete, and export your data, and to object to certain processing. How to exercise each right at Server Manager: mostly via email, with response within 30 days as required by law.
- [Deleting your account](https://servermanager.dev/help/deleting-your-account): One-click deletion on the Account page. Account is immediately deactivated; data is soft-deleted for 30 days in case you change your mind; hard-deleted after that. Your servers on your hosting provider are untouched — Server Manager only releases its record of them.

## Full content

- [All articles concatenated](https://servermanager.dev/llms-full.txt): every article body in one file, for ingestion in a single request.