Free for students & educators

Real infrastructure.
Zero cost.
Serious learning.

Deploy a full Linux virtual server in under 90 seconds. Root access, public IP, your choice of distro — no credit card, no vendor lock-in.

$ get_server --free → view specs
student@educloud ~ ssh
➜ ~ ssh root@box1337.boxedtux.com
# Ubuntu 24.04 LTS · 1 vCPU · 1 GB RAM
Last login: Mon Apr 14 09:12:03 2026

root@box1337:~# htop --no-color | head -4
CPU: 12% Mem: 487/1024MB ↑ healthy

root@box1337:~# docker compose up -d
✔ Container postgres Started
✔ Container api Started
✔ Container nginx Started

root@vs-42:~#
wow+Active students
0+Partner universities
99.7%Uptime
0€Cost · no card needed
// how it works

From signup to SSH in 3 minutes

No configuration wizards, no hidden fees. Verify your student status, pick a distro, and get real server access immediately.

step 01
Verify student status

Sign up with your university email or upload your student ID. Instant verification for .edu domains.

01
step 02
Choose your OS

Ubuntu, Debian, or Rocky Linux. Server is provisioned and ready to SSH into within 90 seconds.

02
step 03
Build & experiment

Full root access. Install anything. Run Docker, host projects, break things and learn how to fix them.

03
step 04
Renew each semester

30-second re-verification every 6 months. Active learners can request extensions at any time.

04
// specifications

Everything included, free

Each vServer is dedicated to you — not shared compute. Real resources, real root, real IP.

Compute

vCPU cores1 vCPU
Memory1 GB DDR5
Storage10 GB NVMe
Architecturex86_64

Network

IPv4 address0
IPv6 /64 blockincluded
Monthly bandwidth200 GB
Port speed50 Mbit/s

Operating systems

Ubuntu 24.04 LTSavailable
Debian 13available
Rocky Linux 10available
FreeBSDvia BoxyBSD

Access & features

Root SSH accessfull root
Web consoleincluded
VNC accessincluded
DDoS protectionoptional
// use cases

What students build

From first web server to machine learning pipelines — here's what your peers are running on EduCloud.

WEB

Web development

Deploy Node.js, Python, PHP. Learn Nginx, SSL, reverse proxying on a real public IP.

CTR

Containers & Docker

Run full Docker Compose stacks. Practice container orchestration and microservice patterns.

DB

Database systems

Set up PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB. Practice queries, replication, and backups in isolation.

SEC

Cybersecurity labs

Ethical hacking in a safe environment. Firewalls, VPNs, CTF challenges, vulnerability scanning.

ML

ML & data science

Jupyter notebooks, model training, API hosting. Python, Conda, CUDA — fully configurable.

SYS

Linux sysadmin

Scripting, cron jobs, systemd services, logging, monitoring. The fundamentals of the real world.

// eligibility

Who can apply

Exclusively for educational use. Here's what qualifies — and what doesn't.

// eligible

  • + Enrolled university & college students
  • + Teachers & professors for coursework
  • + Academic research projects
  • + Coding bootcamp participants
  • + Open-source student project teams
  • + High school IT & computer science programs

// not eligible

  • - Commercial or for-profit use
  • - Cryptocurrency mining
  • - Hosting production customer data
  • - Bulk email or spam services
  • - Any illegal activity
// Note: running a non-profit or OSS project outside academia? reach out — separate program available.
// operating systems

All major distributions, ready to deploy

Supporting all major Linux distributions and more. Whatever you want to learn — you’ll find it on BoxedTux.

DEB

Debian-based

Debian, Ubuntu, Devuan — stable, widely used, and perfect for learning server fundamentals.

RHEL

Enterprise Linux

AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, CentOS — production-grade environments used in real enterprise setups.

CUT

Cutting edge

Fedora, OpenSUSE — latest packages, modern tooling, and fast-moving ecosystems.

MIN

Minimal & advanced

Alpine Linux, Gentoo — lightweight, customizable, and ideal for deep system understanding.

ALT

Alternative ecosystems

OpenEuler, PegaProx and more — explore different architectures and emerging Linux platforms.

BSD

BSD systems

Looking for FreeBSD, OpenBSD or NetBSD? Available via our BoxyBSD project — also free.

// Available distributions: Debian · Ubuntu · CentOS · AlmaLinux · Rocky Linux · Alpine · OpenEuler · Fedora · Gentoo · OpenSUSE · PegaProx · Devuan · and more
// sponsors

Project Sponsors

BoxedTux is made possible through generous sponsors providing compute, networking, and infrastructure that keep the platform running.

// faq

Common questions

Yes, completely free for eligible students and educators. Funded and sponsored by gyptazy.
We will provide additional ways for legitimations wihout .edu domain at a later time.
Servers are granted for 6-month terms aligned with semesters. You'll get an email 2 weeks before expiry. Renewal takes 30 seconds with a quick student re-verification.
Yes. Full root SSH access. Install any software from your distro's package manager, compile from source, run Docker, configure any service — within the acceptable use policy.
There isn't any grace-period! Make sure to keep the expire date watched and renew early enough. Expired boxes will be immediately deleted.
No! There aren't any upgrade options available.
// get started

Ready to deploy?

Apply in 2 minutes with your university email and your server will be live before your next class!

$ apply --free → read the docs