Raft
Raft is an independent, self-hosted open-source alternative to boat.dev. It provides persistent Linux workspaces on ARM64 and AMD64 hardware, supporting command execution, Docker, file transfer, snapshots, forks, and desktop access. Raft is not affiliated with Boat.
Getting started
Read System requirements, follow Installation and host setup, and create your First working box.
box=$(raft new --location lab --ttl 600)
raft exec "$box" -- node --version
raft ssh "$box"
raft stop "$box"Stopping a workspace preserves files and packages on disk. Resuming resets its running lifetime.
Task guides
| Task | Guide |
|---|---|
| Run nested containers and build images | Docker in workspaces |
| Transfer files between controller and workspace | File transfer |
| Run detached commands with systemd logs | Background jobs |
| Forward guest ports or open noVNC desktop | Desktop and private services |
| Capture disk state or clone workspaces | Snapshots and forks |
| Export portable backups across hosts | Backup and recovery |
| Inspect host services and diagnose errors | Troubleshooting |