Your data. Your hardware.
Your rules.
Brain OS is a complete NAS operating system that boots from USB. Enterprise-grade features, dead-simple setup. No cloud required.
Everything you need. Nothing you don't.
All features included in every tier. Only the number of disks differs.
Flexible Storage
MergerFS pools your drives. Mix any sizes and brands. Add or remove disks anytime without rebuilding arrays.
Parity Protection
BrainParity protects against drive failure. Lose a disk, rebuild from parity. Custom block-level kernel module — not SnapRAID, not mdadm.
Encryption
Full-disk LUKS encryption with PIN or password. Parity operates on encrypted blocks — never on plaintext. Ephemeral cache uses RAM-only keys that are destroyed on reboot.
Tamper Protection
Pull an ethernet cable and the system reboots instantly, wiping all LUKS keys from RAM. Encrypted disks lock in under a second. Cannot be disabled.
Docker Apps
Install from 40+ curated apps in the built-in app store, or bring any Docker image yourself.
GPU Passthrough
Pass your NVIDIA or AMD GPU to Docker containers for hardware transcoding, AI workloads, and more.
Enterprise VPN
Built-in WireGuard VPN with kill switch, DNS leak prevention, and IPv6 blocking. Access your NAS from anywhere.
Three steps to your NAS
From download to running NAS in under 10 minutes.
Flash USB
Download the ISO and flash it to a 64GB+ USB 3.2 stick using Balena Etcher. Three clicks, done.
Boot
Plug the USB into your server and boot. Brain OS runs from RAM — the USB is just for boot and config.
Done
Access your NAS at brain.local from any device on your network. Set up your disks and start storing.
How does Brain OS compare?
Feature comparison with popular NAS platforms, based on publicly available documentation and our own testing.
| Feature | Brain OS | Unraid | TrueNAS | OpenMediaVault | Synology DSM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data redundancy | ✓ Dedicated parity disk | ✓ Dedicated parity disk | ● Striped RAID (RAID-Z) | ● Striped RAID (mdadm) | ● Striped RAID (SHR) |
| Each disk readable alone | ✓ Yes — own filesystem | ✓ Yes — own filesystem | ✗ No — data striped across disks | ✗ No — data striped across disks | ✗ No — data striped across disks |
| Mix different disk sizes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✗ Same-size groups | ✗ Same size required | ✓ Yes (SHR) |
| Add disks without rebuild | ✓ Yes, instant | ✓ Yes | ● Slow expansion | ✗ Full rebuild | ● Depends on RAID type |
| Per-disk encryption | ✓ Yes, above parity | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes (ZFS native) | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Redundancy sees plaintext? | ✓ No — encrypted before parity | ✗ Yes — parity is unencrypted | ✓ No — ZFS encrypts before RAID | ✗ Yes — RAID sits below encryption | ✗ Yes — RAID sits below encryption |
| GPU passthrough to apps | ✓ Auto-detect | ✓ Plugin | ● Requires dedicated GPU | ● Manual setup | ● Removed on 2025 models |
| WireGuard VPN built-in | ✓ Server + client + kill switch | ✓ Plugin | ✗ Manual setup | ● Plugin | ● Third-party only |
| Runs from RAM | ✓ Yes, with USB persistence | ✓ Yes, USB boot | ✗ Installed to disk | ✗ Installed to disk | ✗ Installed to disk |
| RAM efficiency | ✓ Low footprint | ● Moderate | ✗ High (ZFS needs lots of RAM) | ✓ Lightweight | ● Moderate |
| Snapshot backups | ✓ USB + FTP + disk-to-disk | ● Plugin-based | ✓ Built-in snapshots | ✗ File copy only | ✓ Hyper Backup |
| Runs on any x86 hardware | ✓ Any PC | ✓ Any PC | ✓ Any PC | ✓ Any PC | ✗ Synology hardware only |
| License cost | Free (2 disks), from 19 EUR | From $59 USD | Free (Community Edition) | Free | Included with hardware |
The complete package. Real-time parity with encryption above it (parity disk never sees plaintext), mixed-disk flexibility, low RAM footprint, built-in VPN with kill switch, GPU passthrough, and snapshot backups to USB, FTP, or disk-to-disk — all out of the box. We believe this combination makes Brain OS the most complete NAS operating system available today.
This comparison is based on publicly available documentation as of February 2026. Features may have changed since then. If you spot an inaccuracy, please let us know so we can correct it.
40+ apps ready to install
One-click install from the built-in app store. Media servers, automation, cloud storage, and more.
Plex
Jellyfin
Navidrome
Calibre-Web
Tautulli
Immich
Sonarr
Radarr
Lidarr
Readarr
Prowlarr
Bazarr
Jellyseerr
Autobrr
FlareSolverr
NZBHydra2
Mylar3
qBittorrent
ruTorrent
SABnzbd
Paperless-ngx
Gitea
Home Assistant
Portainer
Heimdall
Homepage
Filebrowser
Syncthing
Duplicati
KitchenOwl
Mealie
Uptime Kuma
PeaNUT
Pi-hole
VaultwardenPlus any Docker image you want — bring your own containers too.
App names and logos are trademarks of their respective owners. Brain OS is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of the listed projects. Applications are installed from their official Docker images at the user's discretion.
Ready to take control?
Start with the free tier. No registration, no time limit. Upgrade when you need more disks.