> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.kombify.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# kombify and Umbrel, CasaOS, ZimaOS

> How kombify relates to home server appliances with an app store, and when each is the right choice

[Umbrel](https://umbrel.com) and [CasaOS](https://casaos.io), together with ZimaOS, described as its
successor from the same maker, turn a computer at home into a personal
server. You open a browser, click through an app store and install apps. They
are the quickest way to a working home server, and many people never need more.

## What they do well

* You can install the system from an image or buy hardware that has it
  preinstalled, then set everything up in a browser.
* The app store is the main interface. Installing an app is one click.
* The interface is friendly for people who do not want to touch a terminal.
* CasaOS also installs on top of an existing supported Linux system with one
  command.

## What kombify is

kombify defines the homelab in a declarative file instead of through clicks.
StackKits plans, applies and verifies it. Sign-in with passkeys through
Pocket ID, an access policy per service, routing, backup and updates come with
the definition. Techstack operates it, and kombify Cloud and kombify AI are
optional.

## How they differ today

Umbrel, CasaOS and ZimaOS start from an image or a script and a browser. Their
app store is the main interface, with a large community catalog, and a Compose
project can be installed through the store tools. kombify starts from a
prepared Linux host and one command. Its main interface is a declarative
definition, with Techstack as the app, and its catalog is curated and listed in
the [use-case catalog](https://docs.kombify.io/stackkits/reference/use-case-catalog.md). It has no Plex
and no Sonarr or Radarr family. Bringing your own Compose project under the
homelab's sign-in, routing and backup is not implemented. Restore in kombify
goes into an isolated staging copy, and every install has a local MCP server for
your own AI agent.

## Limits of kombify today

kombify is before 1.0 and releases often. Compatibility is still being
verified, see [OS compatibility](https://docs.kombify.io/stackkits/reference/os-compatibility.md). There is no boot
image, so you start from a prepared Linux host. If you want to flash a USB
stick and click through an app store, use Umbrel or CasaOS today.

## Use them together or choose

* Choose Umbrel, CasaOS or ZimaOS if you want the shortest path to running
  apps and a store with many apps.
* Choose kombify if you want the whole homelab described in one definition
  that you can review, repeat on a second server and let your own AI agent
  read.
* They can run on separate machines. Nothing in kombify depends on them.

Last reviewed: 2026-11-10


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