FAQ
Straight answers for people who run their own servers. Everything here describes what CloudZH does today.
Why does CloudZH cost money, and why is it not open source?
CloudZH is built and supported by one person. The subscription pays for that work: new versions, security fixes, the App Store, the license and update service, and answers to your questions. A paid license means every customer gets the same complete product, without an open core, ads or selling data, and the project can keep going. The apps CloudZH installs are the open-source projects you know, in their official images, and you keep root on your server: every container, file and setting stays visible to you.
What does my server send to the license service?
Once a day the server checks in with license.cloudzh.app. The signed request contains exactly:
- the server's random ID and a timestamp,
- its hostname and the CloudZH version,
- a hardware fingerprint: a hash of the machine ID and the mainboard UUID, never the values themselves,
- three numbers: dashboard users, administrators and installed apps.
The answer is a fresh signed license file. On activation the server also sends its public key. Update checks use the same signed request. Feedback and remote support only send something when you start them.
What is never sent?
Your media and files, file and folder names, passwords, API keys, the names and emails of your users, app settings, your library and logs, unless you attach something to a request yourself. The AI assistant is the only feature that sends content, and only to the AI provider you set up with your own key.
How long does my server run without internet?
14 days without any change. The license file is valid that long; after three missed daily check-ins the dashboard shows a banner. After 14 days without contact the server switches to restricted mode. Plex, your apps, the VPN and backups keep running the whole time, even in restricted mode, and everything is back as soon as the server reaches the license service again.
What happens in restricted mode?
The server works like Standard: no CloudZH feature updates, no new apps, no new users or invite links, and only the owner signs in. Everything that exists keeps running: Plex and all apps, the media library, VPN, backups, start and stop. Security updates of CloudZH, image updates of your existing apps and restoring a backup stay possible. Nothing is deleted. Restricted mode applies when a subscription has ended (paid plans after a 7-day grace period), when a license is paused or revoked, when the server was released, or after 14 days without contact.
Where is my data?
On your server. Media, files, accounts, app data, logs and backups stay on your hardware or on the backup target you choose, such as your NAS, your S3 bucket or your cloud storage. We have no access to your server and no copy of your data. Remote support only exists when you start it, for the time you choose.
Which hardware and systems?
A 64-bit machine (Intel, AMD or ARM, for example a mini PC or a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5) with Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS (recommended), Ubuntu 22.04 or 26.04, Debian 12 or 13, or Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit. Proxmox (VM or LXC), a VPS, and Synology, UGREEN, QNAP, TrueNAS or Unraid as a VM work too; Windows 10 and 11 run as a beta through WSL2. Not supported: Fedora, Arch and other systems outside the Debian family, macOS and 32-bit ARM. Details: Requirements.
Standard or Pro?
Both run every app with all security features. Standard has one dashboard account, for you; your family still watches through Plex or Jellyfin sharing. Pro adds accounts for family and friends, invite and guest links, off-site backups, automatic updates, the AI assistant, custom apps, your own branding, activity history, all notification channels and priority support. Switching never deletes anything. Full comparison: Licensing.
Cancel, refund, move, uninstall
- Cancel any time in your account at account.cloudzh.app. The subscription runs to the end of the paid period, then the server continues in restricted mode.
- Refund: no voluntary refunds for unused time. Billing errors, defects we cannot fix and the 14-day right of withdrawal for consumers in the EU, EEA and UK are covered. Details: Refund Policy.
- New hardware: CloudZH Move copies apps, settings and the license to the new server, or you release the old server in your account and activate the new one. See Move or reinstall.
- Uninstall:
sudo zh uninstallreleases the license seat and shows the commands to remove CloudZH. Your apps and data stay until you delete them yourself.
Does the AI assistant send my data somewhere?
Only if you turn it on, and only with your own API key from the AI provider you choose. The key is stored encrypted on your server, requests go from your server straight to that provider and never through us, and secrets are removed before anything is sent. The assistant only proposes actions; they run after you confirm them. It is part of Pro.
Does CloudZH come with indexers or content?
No. CloudZH ships open-source apps as they are and includes no media, no indexers, no Usenet providers and no other sources. You add your own. What you download and share is your responsibility: use CloudZH only for content you have the right to use.
How does support work, and when do you answer?
- Pro: an answer within 3 hours between 08:00 and 22:00 (Zurich time); requests outside these hours are answered the next morning.
- Standard: an answer within 24 hours.
- Channels: requests in your account at account.cloudzh.app (Pro requests are marked and come first), email to [email protected], and Discord for help from the community.
CloudZH is a one-person project. The times are for a first personal answer, not for a fix. See Getting help.
What happens if CloudZH is discontinued?
If we ever shut down the license service, we announce it by email at least 90 days in advance. Before it goes offline, customers with a valid license get a final update that removes the license check and permanently unlocks all features of the plan they bought. Your data and apps are not affected. This is in section 17 of the Terms.