Buddy Backups and Virtual Machines are the core of HexOS 1.1, which ships on Black Friday. Before then, a small group of users is running both features on their own servers, so we can see how the decisions we made hold up against real setups and real data before everyone has them.
This page explains what being in this beta means, what we ask of you, and how to request a place. For the other programs currently running, see Beta programs.
When your account is added to the beta, the features are switched on for you. There is nothing to install or configure. The next time you open the Command Deck you will find a Backups section, and Virtual Machines will appear as they roll out. Everything in them works today.
You will see a Beta badge on every screen that belongs to the program. Click it at any time for a short reminder of what beta means and a link to the beta channel on Discord.
Info: Your buddy does not need to be in the beta to host a backup for you, but they do need to be running HexOS 1.1. If nobody you know is on HexOS yet, a second server of your own is the quickest way to try everything.
The feature is finished and working. Beta means you have it before everyone else, and that what we learn from you shapes how it reaches everyone.
The choices in it are deliberate: what a button does, when a notice appears, what happens when space runs short or a server goes quiet. A beta is how we find out whether those choices match what people expect when it is their data and their setup, rather than ours. What we hear from you can change what ships.
Beta testing is not a formal commitment, and there is no minimum. The feedback that helps most comes from a few specific habits.
Run a real backup, for weeks. A test folder is fine to start. How it fits into your routine only shows over weeks of real use on a schedule.
Read the notices and tell us what you did next. When space runs short, when a backup stops arriving, when HexOS pauses something, it tells you what happened and what to do. We want to know whether that matched what you expected, and what you actually did.
Try the situations we designed for. Fill the reserved space. Unplug a server for a week. Remove a folder and add it back. Let your buddy decline your request. Each of these has a deliberate behavior, and we want to see it through your eyes.
Tell us what you expected, not just what happened. The gap between the two is the most useful thing you can tell us.
Warning: Keep any backup routine you already rely on running alongside Buddy Backups. A new backup destination should never be your only copy of anything.
Nothing is deleted automatically. Only you, removing a folder or a backup connection and confirming it, deletes anything. Read what removing things actually deletes before you need it.
You are told when something needs your attention. A backup that stops arriving raises a notice in the Command Deck.
Feedback is read by the people who built it. The beta channel is watched by the engineers on the feature. Expect follow-up questions.
Fill in the Buddy Backups and Virtual Machines beta signup form. It asks a little about your setup: how many servers you have, whether you have a buddy who also runs HexOS, and what you are hoping to protect. We are adding people in small groups, and expanding in stages before Black Friday.
If you have a question before you sign up, ask in the HexOS Discord Community.
Once you are in, start with Set up a backup, and read the Buddy Backups overview for what the feature does and does not do.
Contribute: to help to improve HexOS documentation join the #Docs channel on Discord today! Send feedback, suggestions or contribute a guide.