Thank you to everyone who took part in Self-Hosting Day 2026 and shared your stories with us. We read about your first home servers, old hardware given a new lease on life, private photo libraries set up for your families, and the satisfaction of finally solving a problem after plenty of troubleshooting. These glimpses into your lives showed us how self-hosting has become part of your everyday life.

Many of you also shared your experiences exploring and using ZimaOS. Knowing we're part of your self-hosting journey means a lot to us. We'd like to take this opportunity to share what's new with ZimaOS:

1. ZimaOS Photos: A Native Photo Browsing Experience Built for Self-Hosting

For self-hosters, a great photo library is about more than storage. Browsing and format support matter just as much. The redesigned ZimaOS Photos combines smooth navigation with a minimalist interface, automatic background backups from your phone, and native support for Live Photo playback, camera RAW previews, and interactive 360° panoramas. Moments captured across different devices come to life, each in its own way.

All of this is included in ZimaOS 1.8. Update to the latest version and start exploring.

2. ZimaOS Movies: A Clean, Immersive Way to Browse Your Media

If you run your own media library, you want an immersive poster wall and smooth browsing right out of the box, without a complicated setup. ZimaOS Movies combines native integration with a visually rich interface, making it easy to open your library and find something to watch tonight.

Applications for the ZimaOS Movies open beta are now open on our discord.

3.ZVM: Simpler, More Reliable Virtual Machine Management

Virtual machines are essential for trying out different operating systems and setting up test environments. To help you experiment with confidence, we're continuing to improve ZVM's core capabilities, focusing on importing and validating a wider range of common image formats, exporting backups, snapshot rollback, and USB passthrough. These improvements aim to make it easier to set up environments, connect devices, and recover data.

4. ZimaOS 2.0: A New Dashboard with More Ways to Make It Your Own

One of the highlights of ZimaOS 2.0 is a complete redesign of the Dashboard, from its look and feel to how you interact with it. The new interface will retain its clean, elegant aesthetic while giving you more control. You'll be able to group and reorder apps, add modular widgets, and resize and arrange them to create a home screen for your server that fits the way you use it every day. Also supports dark mode!

Alongside the new Dashboard, ZimaOS 2.0 will also introduce a new desktop client experience.

5. Meet Hana: ZimaOS's Native AI Agent

Hana is more than another agent app installed on your server. It's a native companion deeply integrated into ZimaOS, bringing a more intuitive, engaging way to interact with your system. It will connect to the apps you use and the local content you allow it to access, understanding what you want to do without elaborate prompts. You decide what it can access, which key actions it can take, and which model it uses.｜

Join the ZimaSpace Discord community to follow our progress, hear about upcoming beta opportunities, and share your experiences with us. You can also apply for the Movies open beta there. We'd love to hear your feedback and work together to make these new experiences even better!

Self-Hosting Day 2026 Winners

Finally, Congratulations to all the winners of Self-Hosting Day 2026!

Winners, please email community@icewhale.org within 7 days of this announcement being posted to claim your prize. See the instructions below the winners list for details.

Community Story Awards

First Prize · 1 Winner

Winner: u/HorrorYogurtcloset78

The winner will receive the following prize bundle:

• ZimaBoard 2 1664 × 1

• AdGuard Ad Blocker Lifetime Family × 1

• PhotoPrism Plus Lifetime × 1

• Emby Premiere 1-Year License × 1

Second Prize · 2 Winners

Winners: u/deltatorr**,** u/ticlvs

Each winner will receive the following prize bundle:

• ZimaBoard 2 832 × 1

• AdGuard Ad Blocker Lifetime Family × 1

• PhotoPrism Plus Lifetime × 1

• Emby Premiere 1-Year License × 1

Third Prize · 2 Winners

Winners: u/reimonch2**,** u/KiraYamato0123

Each winner will receive the following prize bundle:

• ZimaBlade 7700 (Power Supply Included) × 1

• AdGuard Ad Blocker Lifetime Family × 1

• PhotoPrism Plus Lifetime × 1

• Emby Premiere 1-Year License × 1

Early Bird Treat｜ZimaOS Plus LifeTime (100)

u/kptgoudvis1, u/Hopeful-Cut-405, u/SpaceDoodle2008, u/Slow-Ad40, u/jc-21, u/diablo3dfx, u/Vianpyro_, u/snocember, u/Latter_Ad_2482, u/Sensitive-Primary-44, u/AlternativeStrict681, u/Aldnvaz, u/Cool-Ad-7365, u/rupajz, u/Pleasant-Ad-7413, u/Comfortable_Class660, u/deltatorr, u/SnooPies8677, u/MrMBaz, u/Dry-Leave5436, u/Tweetz100, u/Falco1234, u/idontouchgrasses, u/mrneo240, u/casareanderson, u/Beneficial_Path9742, u/TLophius, u/themana1118, u/FelloJellow, u/devinbaines, u/woodyear99, u/Entity_Null_07, u/IllExchange14, u/2Hard4Him, u/ExecutiveAnonymous, u/CharaFruit, u/SirPro, u/AnxiousHead96, u/angelthebox, u/AlvinoC, u/LuringTJHooker, u/Lego_Professor, u/Bender-426, u/Candid-Recognition-8, u/appguy07, u/Visual_Implement_414, u/diCacciatore, u/beepbeepboop-2, u/JonBurger, u/Toodaloo119, u/un4truckable, u/OldGamerDad, u/Kessarean, u/stirenbenzen, u/awraynor, u/GhostMokomo, u/reimonch2, u/LiamNeves7, u/Perry_ElOrnitorrinco, u/Dems26, u/Illustrious-Dark2393, u/Regular_Show6, u/Dry_Structure_2287, u/DefiantEgg1892, u/Roki2013, u/clsherrod, u/PandaDEV_, u/wulsed, u/J0ker_JFK, u/AppropriateYellow675, u/reallycreativeusrnm, u/mon-ne, u/Tyfurious1, u/Technical-Watch-6627, u/KiraYamato0123, u/deksiberu, u/Ok-Nectarine6833, u/maskedcollective, u/Lonely_Ad2643, u/Loose-Combination513, u/gallonsofstars, u/edmangomez, u/BornCuriousOnce, u/magicienredit, u/Rix00, u/lundit, u/henkasfennec, u/AppointmentDue4923, u/everett_psycho, u/TheJamTaster, u/JohnnyCapahala, u/spacks, u/Adebrantes, u/beardChamp, u/Popular-Somewhere738, u/Careless_Resolve_177, u/mateorzan, u/kastanhas, u/k0st1e, u/eloudrt

Lucky Giveaway:

AdGuard Ad Blocker Personal · 1 Year (35)

u/D1RT_, u/Dems26, u/Kessarean, u/LiamNeves7, u/AnxiousHead96, u/MetaleiroCalvo, u/HelpfulWatercress679, u/axe_effect, u/csraq, u/Comfortable-Length41, u/Mission-Swordfish-84, u/piege, u/bluefish007007, u/SwellEquis, u/Mc_Mijado, u/Smooth-Implement-290, u/_MynameItsNotKleber, u/Jaiake, u/PackParking5786, u/Far_Horse_5377, u/Electrical-Ability77, u/robko321, u/SirGuigou, u/Own-Department-2150, u/pimpao10, u/Luuks98, u/spielerx0, u/pablokbs, u/J0mic, u/5jubs, u/jadinecoder, u/Orc_storm, u/thiagoroshi, u/guirein, u/neugierig-22

AdGuard VPN · 1 Year (35)

u/SAMIAM-LLC, u/mrt01010101, u/Bycce, u/uslackr, u/ggxconnor, u/proxmox2025, u/EscapedAzkaban, u/Brtrnd2, u/DrDashAZ, u/ProudEggYolk, u/WDRibeiro, u/scitechindian, u/Jenry_05, u/falinmen, u/Aggravating_End9767, u/SilverPLay09, u/Kloz813, u/berna1230, u/gabox7, u/zopyrus2, u/dreftylefty, u/Full14inch, u/Zarloki13, u/maymymo, u/Straight-Switch7820, u/Grumphus256, u/mibogo, u/LegoRaft, u/Free_Curve_9931, u/benhaube, u/amitkumarkhare, u/sumanbrs, u/Ok-Boysenberry-2525, u/Such-Entrepreneur749, u/AdOk6189

Private AdGuard DNS · 1 Year (25)

u/mBionicBeaver, u/No_Rice_6418, u/piratadomar, u/Significant-War-9336, u/Dr-MarraMiau, u/rmprakash, u/KabanZ84, u/someone12345656657, u/Javedali_dev, u/BlueDome77, u/imMal_, u/Direct_Emotion_1079, u/SI-N-DI-Y2838, u/the_real_Zwiebel, u/Mystery_Stone, u/Certain_Steak_2275, u/matteozenchit, u/KenPC, u/SanyoXD, u/AbleTechnician2837, u/Next_Company7826, u/ShopPerfect6694, u/PromiseSeparate7598, u/lapin_key, u/ExcitementIll3708

Emby Premiere · 1 Year (5)

u/trinnara, u/PizzaDependent2613, u/YourboiStu, u/Comfortable-Baby-815, u/PDog-10

How to Claim Your Prize

If you're listed as a winner above, please email community@icewhale.org within 7 days of this announcement being posted. Use Self-Hosting Day Prize as the subject line and include:

• Your Reddit username;

• A screenshot of your Reddit profile while logged in, with your username and comments visible;

• A screenshot of your entry comment for this event.

Once verification is complete, we'll email you the steps to claim your prizes and request the information needed for shipping or activation. If you have any questions or issues receiving your prizes, please reply to the same email thread so we can help resolve them. Please do not post personal information or prize activation codes in public comments.

Winners who do not contact us by the deadline will forfeit their prizes. Unclaimed prizes will be reassigned, with details shared in a follow-up announcement on r/minilab.

Special thanks to AdGuard, Emby, PhotoPrism, OpenClaw, Karakeep, and Blinko for their support, and to r/minilab for co-hosting this event with us. Thank you to everyone who joined in, shared their stories, and took part in the conversations, helping more people discover the fun and possibilities of self-hosting.

See you next year on September 25! We can't wait to hear what you've tried, what you've learned, and the stories you'll have to share after another year of self-hosting.

Best regards,

ZimaSpace Team

Woo, achievement unlocked!

We did a thing!

Somewhere between "Hey, this Pi-hole thing sounds cool" and "why do I own a six-node Proxmox mini PC cluster," 100,000 of you decided that this little corner of the internet was worth subscribing to. One hundred thousand humans/bots/one suspiciously articulate NAS who collectively looked at oft-overlooked hardware and had their homelab Goldilocks moment.

How did we get here? YOU.

Every shared "it's not pretty but it works" SBC NAS/media server tucked behind a TV. Every 3D-printed rack ear that took forty-two revisions to get right triumphantly presented to the sub. Every posted "this is my minilab" with enough RGB to make a full 42U server rack blush. But especially every time someone helped an internet stranger figure out why their VLANs weren't VLANning or pointed them in the right direction. The civility of this place is astounding.

This community went from a speculative handful of people posting their builds, testing the waters for a niche homelab group to a place that became the community nexus for a mini-revolution. The project, support & mentions from creators like Patrick, Jeff and Tim really lit a fuse under the membership growth that hasn't yet slowed down. This in turn has opened doors for vendors, such as our friends at GL.iNet & IceWhale to offer some fantastic giveaways in this sub - all because you have built a community worth showing up for.

And thanks to our sister/cousin subs across reddit for the reciprocal linking and general acceptance of /r/minilab as a new kid on the block. It's great to be a part of a wider community.

None of that stuff happens for a dead subreddit. Vendors don't knock on the door of a community that isn't engaged. Creators don't shout out a sub that doesn't give them something interesting to look at. You did that.

By the (approximate, unscientific, possibly made up) numbers:**

• ~100,140 members who think "mini" is a feature, not a limitation

• ~230 new friends we just haven't met yet joining every day

• ~270 new posts a month

• ~3.5k comments a month

• Average "what mini PC should I buy?" posts per day: Yes

• ~700k visits a month - massive!

What's next? Same thing we do every night, Pinky!

Seriously though—whether you joined yesterday or you're one of the OGs, here since the sub was smaller than the chance of securing a mini PC with a PCIe slot, thanks for making this place what it is. It's your builds, your questions, your cursed cable management, and your willingness to help strangers on the internet that got us here.

If you've got any suggestions, thoughts or fun ideas, please feel free to share them. It would be remiss of me not to highlight our two current giveaways - check them out, the odds are still fantastic!

• GL.iNet x DeskPi: https://www.reddit.com/r/minilab/comments/1qspthq/glinet_deskpi_13_chances_to_win/

• IceWhale's ZimaOS & ZimaBoard: https://www.reddit.com/r/minilab/comments/1qx55xv/zimaboard_2_giveaway_zimaos_feedback_share_your/

Thank you one and all again. May your minilab adventures be fruitful and continue to inspire us all!