This is Not a Box Store

Self-hosted, community-owned infrastructure for the commons. A distributed network of open hardware and software serving farms, libraries, makerspaces, and civic organizations.

Build Your Own Farm Hack Box Sponsor a Box
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Open Tools
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Projects
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Datasets
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Organizations
7
Active Boxes

Choose Your Box

Pre-configured open infrastructure for different communities. Each box is fully customizable and inter-operable.

Farm Hack Box

The original. Open source tools for resilient agriculture.

  • Forgejo git hosting & CI/CD
  • Commons Registry with 200+ farm tools
  • Equipment library & seed sharing
  • Offline-first documentation
Reference Design

Library Box

Offline knowledge commons for libraries and schools.

  • Kiwix offline Wikipedia & OpenStax
  • Kolibri educational content
  • Digital lending system
  • Community archival tools
In Development

Civic Data Box

Open data infrastructure for community organizations.

  • OEDP governance tools
  • GIS & environmental monitoring
  • Community asset mapping
  • Public data dashboards
In Development

Open Science Box

Citizen science and research data commons.

  • JupyterHub notebooks
  • Sensor data aggregation
  • Research collaboration
  • Preprint hosting
Coming 2027

Maker Lab Box

Digital fabrication and repair documentation.

  • DocuBricks hardware docs
  • 3D print file library
  • Repair café toolkit
  • Tool lending integration
Coming 2027

Learning Commons Box

Distributed education for underserved communities.

  • Course management (Moodle)
  • Video streaming (PeerTube)
  • Study group coordination
  • Credential verification
Coming 2027

Upcoming Build Events

Join us to build boxes together — no experience required.

July 8-12, 2026 Build Party

DWeb Camp 2026

Build your first Farm Hack Box at our hands-on workshop during the decentralized web gathering.

Alte Hölle, Germany
August 2026 Workshop

Library Box Sprint

Partner with your local library to deploy offline knowledge infrastructure.

Virtual + Regional Hubs
Fall 2026 Pilot

10-Node Pilot Network

First federated deployment across farms, libraries, and community spaces.

Northeast USA

All Box Types

Each box is a complete, self-contained infrastructure package that can operate independently or as part of the Open Box Network.

Farm Hack Box

The original. Open source tools for resilient agriculture.

  • Forgejo git hosting & CI/CD
  • Commons Registry with 200+ farm tools
  • Equipment library & seed sharing
  • Offline-first documentation
Reference Design

Library Box

Offline knowledge commons for libraries and schools.

  • Kiwix offline Wikipedia & OpenStax
  • Kolibri educational content
  • Digital lending system
  • Community archival tools
In Development

Civic Data Box

Open data infrastructure for community organizations.

  • OEDP governance tools
  • GIS & environmental monitoring
  • Community asset mapping
  • Public data dashboards
In Development
Back to all boxes

Farm Hack Box

The reference implementation for agricultural commons infrastructure

The Farm Hack Box is the original open infrastructure node, designed for farms, food hubs, and agricultural cooperatives. It hosts the Commons Registry — a federated catalog of open source tools, datasets, and documentation for resilient agriculture.

Software Stack

Forgejo 8
Git hosting & Actions CI
Woodpecker CI
Lightweight CI/CD
PostgreSQL 16
Relational database
Caddy
Auto-TLS reverse proxy
Commons Registry
Tool & resource catalog
Restic + B2
Encrypted backups

Get Started

View Live Demo Build Instructions
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Library Box

Offline knowledge commons for libraries, schools, and community centers

The Library Box brings the world's knowledge to communities with limited connectivity. It serves offline Wikipedia, educational content, and digital lending — transforming any space into an information commons.

Software Stack

Kiwix
Offline Wikipedia & more
Kolibri
Educational content platform
Calibre-Web
E-book management
ArchiveBox
Community web archiving
In Development
The Library Box is currently being designed with input from rural libraries and community centers. Join the development at git.farmhack.community/openteam/library-box
Back to all boxes

Civic Data Box

Open data infrastructure for community governance and environmental monitoring

The Civic Data Box empowers communities to collect, analyze, and publish their own data. Built in partnership with OEDP and GOAT, it provides tools for participatory governance and environmental stewardship.

Software Stack

QGIS Server
GIS mapping & analysis
Metabase
Data dashboards
InfluxDB
Sensor data storage
ODK Central
Mobile data collection
In Development
The Civic Data Box is being co-designed with OEDP and community partners. Pilot deployments planned for Fall 2026.

Build Your Own Box

Everything you need to assemble open infrastructure for your community — no experience required.

1

Gather Your Hardware

Source the components below. Total cost is typically $250-300. All parts are off-the-shelf and globally available.

See Bill of Materials below ↓
2

Flash the Boot Media

Download our pre-configured image and flash it to your NVMe SSD or SD card using the Raspberry Pi Imager.

wget https://box.farmhack.community/images/farmhack-box-v1.img.xz
xzcat farmhack-box-v1.img.xz | sudo dd of=/dev/nvme0n1 bs=4M status=progress
3

Assemble the Hardware

Connect the NVMe HAT, attach the RFID reader, and mount in the enclosure. No soldering required.

Pi 5 → NVMe HAT (M.2 slot) → SSD
Pi 5 GPIO → RC522 RFID Reader (SPI pins)
Enclosure → Mount standoffs → Close
4

First Boot Ceremony

Power on and complete the setup wizard. Name your box, connect to your network, and join the federation.

1. Connect Ethernet and power
2. Find your box at http://farmhack.local
3. Create admin account
4. Configure domain (optional)
5. Tap RFID card to activate (gift economy mode)
5

Join the Network

Your box automatically discovers peers and begins syncing the Commons Registry. You're now part of the Open Box Network!

✓ Federation JSON published
✓ Mirror sync configured
✓ Backup schedule active
✓ Welcome email sent

Bill of Materials

ComponentSpecificationSourceEst. Price
Raspberry Pi 58GB RAM modelRPi Foundation / Adafruit / PiShop$80
NVMe SSD500GB-1TB, M.2 2280Amazon / Newegg$50-80
NVMe HATPCIe to M.2 for Pi 5Pimoroni / Geekworm$20
Power Supply27W USB-C PD (official)RPi Foundation$12
EnclosureAluminum case with fanArgon / GeeekPi$25
RFID ReaderRC522 13.56MHz (optional)AliExpress / Amazon$5
RFID CardsMIFARE Classic 1K (pack of 10)Amazon / AliExpress$8
Ethernet CableCat6, 2mAny$5
Total (with RFID)$205-255

Tip: The RFID reader is optional but enables the gift economy features for tool libraries and member check-in. For bulk orders (10+ boxes), contact us for discounted component kits.

Network Partners

The Open Box Network is built collaboratively by organizations committed to commons-based infrastructure.

Farm HackOpen Source Agriculture OpenTEAMAgricultural Technology GOATGathering for Open Ag Tech OEDPOpen Environmental Data CS&SCode for Science & Society HolochainDistributed Applications
GIAAGrassroots Innovation Assembly
Raft FoundationResilient Systems
Your Organization?Join the network