Overview
Sandstorm is a self-hosting platform that packages web applications as "grains" — isolated, capability-based sandboxes built on Linux namespaces. Each app instance is strongly isolated from others, making security breaches harder to propagate. It features a marketplace-style app catalog, fine-grained sharing controls, and a unified authentication system. Primarily targets C++ and server-side web application developers willing to package their apps for the Sandstorm format.
Where it falls short of Heroku
- App ecosystem is very small; most popular self-hosted apps are not packaged for Sandstorm
- Project has limited active development; community and update cadence have slowed significantly
- No Docker support; apps must be specially packaged in Sandstorm's proprietary SPK format
- No horizontal scaling, load balancing, or modern cloud-native deployment patterns
We list the gaps honestly so you can decide if the trade-off is worth owning your data.
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