Cozystack is the open-source cloud platform Ænix created and maintains, and a CNCF project. It runs virtual machines, containers, managed databases, S3 object storage, and GPU workloads on bare metal you own — under one Kubernetes-native control plane with multi-tenant isolation. Apache 2.0 license, currently CNCF Sandbox (CNCF Incubating expected late summer 2026), CNCF-Certified Kubernetes Distribution, OpenSSF Best Practices badge.
This page describes Cozystack as Ænix’s open-source product. The open-source project itself lives at cozystack.io with documentation, install guides, and the community. For the turnkey commercial cloud-in-a-box on top of Cozystack, see Ænix Platform with its three platforms.
What’s in Cozystack
KubeVirt VMs KVM-based VMs with live migration, snapshots, templates. Side-by-side with containers on the same Kubernetes platform.
Multi-tenant control plane Tenant CRD, nested tenants, per-tenant quotas, RBAC, audit. Built for service-provider model.
Managed databases PostgreSQL (CloudNativePG), MariaDB, MongoDB, ClickHouse, Valkey, OpenSearch, Kafka, NATS, RabbitMQ, Qdrant, FoundationDB.
S3 object storage SeaweedFS-based S3-compatible storage for backups, applications, AI training data.
GPU as a service NVIDIA GPU Operator with passthrough for VMs and containers, HAMi for fractional sharing across tenants. A100, H100, H200, L40S, Blackwell validated. MIG-partitioned multi-tenancy is roadmap.
Cilium networking eBPF-native, network policies, MetalLB, BGP. Replaces NSX-equivalent functionality.
LINSTOR storage Replicated block storage via LINSTOR/DRBD (Piraeus operator). SeaweedFS for S3.
Observability VictoriaMetrics + VictoriaLogs included.
Self-service portal & WHMCS Cozystack Dashboard for self-service. Production-ready WHMCS billing integration with two modes.
Cozystack the project vs Ænix the company vs Ænix Platform the product
- Cozystack — open-source platform. CNCF project (currently Sandbox; CNCF Incubating expected late summer 2026). Apache 2.0. Community-governed. Anyone can deploy, contribute, fork.
- Ænix — the open-core company that created and maintains Cozystack. Largest single contributor. Maker of Ænix Platform.
- Ænix Platform — Ænix’s turnkey commercial cloud-in-a-box on top of Cozystack. Three platforms on one engine — Public Cloud, Private Cloud and AI — that combine rather than exclude each other. Adds hosting panel, billing, portals, payments, support, productized installer, enterprise SLA. Explore platform →.
- cozystack.io — official project site. Documentation, install, releases, community. Vendor-neutral, CNCF-aligned.
- aenix.io (this site) — Ænix’s commercial offering and product surface.
You can use Cozystack open-source without Ænix; Ænix’s commercial offering (Ænix Platform + engagement services) is optional. Many customers choose Ænix Platform for the turnkey package — billing, portals, payments, support — without building those layers themselves.
Who runs Cozystack in production
Production deployments across the EU, DACH, and Central Asia. Customer base spans:
- Service providers running multi-tenant cloud products (publicly: GoHost.kz, HDReady, Beby Cloud, HiKube, UseTech, Cloupard, Cloudsy on Ænix Public Cloud Platform)
- Banks and insurers under DORA / sectoral regulation (NDA until mid-2027)
- Telecom operators with sovereign-cloud product launches (NDA)
- AI / GPU operators with sustained inference workloads (NDA)
- Public-sector and quasi-public organizations (NDA)
- Enterprise platform teams building internal developer platforms
Cozystack is also listed in the CNCF Landscape — community production users beyond Ænix’s customer base.
"Running Nuvolos on sovereign bare metal meant we needed hyperscaler-grade multi-tenancy without the hyperscaler. Cozystack delivered exactly that — isolated tenants, shared GPUs, KubeVirt for legacy workloads — and it's why we can promise our customers infrastructure control, not just a workspace."
Alexandru PopescuCEO, Nuvolos
How to use Cozystack
Before either path: what a trial actually costs
There is no kind or single-binary demo, and pretending otherwise wastes an evening. Cozystack assumes Talos Linux and a real disk layout, because the storage and networking layers it manages are not simulated.
The smallest honest lab is three nodes — physical hosts, or virtual machines with host CPU passthrough, which is what most people use. Per node: 8 cores, 24 GB RAM, a 50 GB system disk and a 256 GB raw secondary disk for the data pool. That is enough for a couple of tenants, a few tenant Kubernetes clusters and some VMs or databases. Three cheap dedicated servers from any provider will do it; so will one workstation with 96 GB of RAM running three VMs.
The getting-started tutorial walks the whole path: Talos install via boot-to-talos, cluster bootstrap with Talm, Cozystack install, first tenant, then a VM and a managed database. Expect an afternoon the first time.
Path 1: Self-deploy
Cozystack is open source. Install, documentation, community at cozystack.io. CNCF Slack and Telegram for community support.
Suitable when:
- Your team has Kubernetes expertise to operate
- No commercial support requirement
- Lower-stakes / non-production initially
Path 2: Ænix-supported deployment
Ænix runs the engagement end-to-end:
- Platform Readiness Assessment — 14-28 days, written assessment
- Build engagement — 3-12 months, integrated team, knowledge transfer
- Managed engagement — Ænix operates the platform under contract
Suitable when:
- Production-grade SLA from day 1
- Regulator-aligned deployment with audit-readiness
- Knowledge-transfer acceleration desired
For specific use cases see:
- Private cloud consulting — broad scope
- VMware alternative — VMware exit
- Sovereign AI — AI workload focus
- DORA compliance — financial services
Pricing
Cozystack the platform is free (Apache 2.0). Anyone can run it.
For commercial Ænix support and the turnkey cloud-in-a-box on top of Cozystack, see Ænix Platform — three platforms plus two supporting products, with four support tiers (Basic from $1,250/month per 10 nodes; Standard $3,000; Plus $5,500; Enterprise Custom).
Entry tier — enterprise support for Cozystack — for product teams running Cozystack on their own / leased servers (Hetzner, OVH, regional bare-metal) without the commercial portal/billing layer.
- cozystack.io — install, documentation, community
- Cozystack architecture article
- Ænix Platform — turnkey commercial cloud-in-a-box on top of Cozystack
- Public Cloud Platform — for organisations selling cloud, from regional hosters to national operators
- Private Cloud Platform — for regulated organisations running cloud for themselves, developer self-service included
- AI Platform — for inference, fine-tuning and RAG on your own GPUs
- Platform Readiness Assessment — engagement methodology
Cozystack is a CNCF project (currently CNCF Sandbox; CNCF Incubating expected late summer 2026), Apache 2.0. Ænix is the open-core company that created and maintains it, and the maker of Ænix Platform — the turnkey commercial cloud-in-a-box.