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🚀 First Walkthrough

After creating a bootable USB stick (Create Bootable Media) and starting the server for the first time, you will see the following on the screen:

root@MOS:~
MOS running MOS 0.2.3-beta - built on Devuan GNU/Linux
IPv4: 192.168.1.51
MOS Login: ▊

Once the system is fully booted, the initial setup wizard is accessible through the WebUI at http://MOS-IP/.

1. 🔐 Root Password​

The first step is to set the root password. This password is used for SSH and console access to the server.

Root Password Setup

Enter and confirm the desired root password in the two input fields:

  • Root Password — Enter the root password
  • Confirm Root Password — Re-enter the same password for confirmation

Click Next to proceed to the next step.

note

The root password is required for direct system access via SSH or the physical console. The WebUI uses a separate login covered in the next step.

2. 🌐 Web Login & Settings​

The second step configures the WebUI administrator account and display preferences.

Web Login & Settings

Fill in the following fields:

  • Username — The WebUI administrator username
  • Web Password — Password for WebUI access
  • Web Password — Re-enter the same password for confirmation

Additional settings:

  • Samba User — Toggle to enable Samba user functionality
  • Language — Select the display language (default: English)
  • Byte unit — Select byte unit format (default: Binary)
  • Dark Mode — Toggle to enable dark mode interface
  • UI Color — Choose the primary UI color from the color palette

Click Finish to complete the initial setup.

3. 🔑 Login​

After completing the setup wizard, you are redirected to the MOS Portal login screen.

Login Screen

A notification appears at the bottom confirming:

✅ First setup successfully completed

Enter your credentials to log in:

  • Username — The WebUI administrator username configured in the previous step
  • Password — The WebUI password configured in the previous step

Click Login to access the MOS WebUI.

4. 📊 Dashboard​

After logging in, you are taken to the MOS Dashboard which provides an overview of your system.

Dashboard

The Dashboard displays the following information:

  • OS — System information including platform, name, version, hostname, uptime, architecture, MOS version, channel, build, kernel, frontend, and API version
  • Processor — CPU details including brand, architecture, cores, temperature, and current load
  • Pools — Storage pool status (currently showing "No pools available")
  • Network — Network interface information including type, state, IPv4 address, speed, and MAC address with a traffic graph
  • Memory — Memory usage statistics showing installed, usable, used, and free memory with a visual bar
  • Disks — Disk status (currently showing "No disks in pools available")

5. 🌐 Network Configuration​

One of the first settings to configure is the network interface. Click the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top-left corner to open the sidebar navigation.

Menu

Select Settings from the menu to access the system configuration page.

Settings

Navigate to Network → Network Interfaces to configure your network adapter.

Network Interfaces

The Network Interfaces page allows you to configure:

  • Interface — The physical network interface (e.g., eth0)
  • Enabled — Toggle to enable or disable the interface
  • Type — Select the interface type (ethernet or bridged)
  • IPv4 DHCP — Toggle automatic IP assignment via DHCP
  • Enable IPv6 — Toggle IPv6 support
⚠️ Network Configuration Safety

When applying network changes, MOS protects you from accidental lockouts.

After applying a new network configuration:

  • MOS starts a 60 second confirmation timer
  • You must click Accept to confirm the new configuration

If the configuration is not confirmed within 60 seconds:

  • The previous network configuration will be automatically restored

This prevents losing access to the WebUI due to incorrect network settings.

For detailed network configuration options, including static IP assignment, VLANs, and advanced settings, refer to the Network Configuration documentation.

6. ⚙️ System Settings​

The System Settings page contains essential system configuration options. Navigate to Settings → System Configuration → System to access these settings.

6.1 🖥️ General Settings​

System Settings - General

Configure basic system parameters:

  • Hostname — The system hostname (default: MOS)
  • Keymap — Keyboard layout for console access (default: de-latin1-nodeadkeys)
  • Timezone — System timezone (default: Europe/Vienna)
  • CPU Governor — CPU frequency scaling policy (default: performance)
  • Global Spindown — Disk idle time before spin-down in minutes (default: 20)
  • Persist History — Toggle to preserve command history across reboots
  • Web UI HTTP Port — The port for the WebUI (default: 80)
  • Network Interfaces — Select which network interface to use for the WebUI

6.2 🔊 Display & Notification Sound​

System Settings - Display

Configure display and notification behavior:

Update Settings:

  • Update Checks — Enable automatic update checking
  • Update Check Schedule — Define when update checks occur

Display Settings:

  • Powersave — Enable display power-saving mode
  • Powerdown — Time before display powers down in minutes (default: 60)
  • Timeout — UI inactivity timeout in minutes (default: 30)

Notification Sounds:

  • Sound on reboot — Play sound when system reboots
  • Sound on shutdown — Play sound when system shuts down
  • Sound on startup — Play sound when system starts

6.3 💾 Memory & Binary Format Settings​

System Settings - Memory

Configure memory management and binary format support:

Swapfile:

  • Enable Swapfile — Use a swap file for additional virtual memory
  • Swapfile Path — Location of the swap file
  • Swapfile Size — Size of the swap file
  • Swapfile Priority — Priority relative to other swap devices (default: -2)

Zswap:

  • Zswap Enabled — Compress memory pages before swapping
  • Shrinker Enabled — Enable the zswap shrinker
  • Zswap Max Pool Percent — Maximum memory percentage for zswap pool (default: 20)
  • Zswap Compressor — Compression algorithm (default: zstd)
  • Zswap Accept Threshold Percent — Threshold for accepting pages (default: 90)

Binfmt:

  • Enable Binfmt — Support for additional binary formats
  • Binfmt Architectures — Supported additional architectures

6.4 🕐 Time & Proxy Settings​

System Settings - Time & Proxy

Configure time synchronization and network proxy:

Date & Time:

  • Currently — Shows the current system date and time
  • NTP Enabled — Enable network time synchronization
  • NTP Mode — Synchronization mode (default: iburst)
  • NTP Servers — List of NTP servers for time sync (default: 0.pool.ntp.org, 1.pool.ntp.org)

Proxy:

  • HTTP Proxy — HTTP proxy server address
  • HTTPS Proxy — HTTPS proxy server address
  • FTP Proxy — FTP proxy server address
  • No Proxy — Addresses/domains that bypass the proxy

For detailed information about all system settings, refer to the System Settings documentation.

7. 🛍️ MOS Hub​

The MOS Hub is an integrated application hub similar to an app store for MOS. It provides access to plugins, Docker templates, and Docker Compose templates that can be deployed directly from the WebUI.

Navigate to Settings → System Configuration → MOS Hub Settings to configure the hub.

MOS Hub Settings

Configure the MOS Hub settings:

  • MOS Hub — Toggle to enable or disable the integrated MOS Hub
  • Initial Update — Toggle automatic refresh of repositories on each new session (login or new WebUI session)
  • Update Schedule — Define when the MOS Hub automatically updates using cron syntax (default: 15 7 * * * — every day at 07:15)

For detailed information about the MOS Hub, including how to deploy applications, refer to the MOS Hub documentation.

8. 💾 Install to Disk​

If you installed MOS from a USB stick and want to permanently install it to an internal disk, use the Install to Disk option. Navigate to Settings → Hardware → Boot to access the boot configuration.

Boot Settings

Click Install to Disk to install the system bootloader and copy the /boot contents to a selected disk.

warning

After the installation finishes, shutdown or reboot your server immediately. All further changes after "Install to Disk" will not be saved.

The recommended procedure:

  1. Click Install to Disk and select your target device
  2. Shutdown your server
  3. Remove the old boot media (USB stick)
  4. Start your server
  5. Change the boot order in your BIOS if necessary to boot from the new disk

When clicking Install to Disk, you can configure:

  • Device — The target disk where the bootloader will be installed
  • Filesystem — The filesystem for the boot installation (ext4 recommended for HDD/SSD/NVME)
  • Extra Partition — Optionally create an additional partition for storage pools, Docker data, or shares

For detailed information, refer to the Boot documentation.

9. 🔄 System Update​

The System Update option allows you to update the MOS firmware to a newer version. Navigate to Settings → System → Update system to access the update dialog.

Update System Dialog

The update dialog displays:

  • MOS Version — Currently installed version (e.g., 0.2.3-beta)
  • MOS Channel — Current update channel (e.g., beta)
  • MOS Kernel — Current kernel version (e.g., 6.18.20-mos)

Select your target firmware:

  • Channel — Choose the update channel:

    • alpha — Early access releases
    • beta — Pre-release versions (selected by default)
    • stable — Production-ready releases

  • Release — Select the specific version to install:

    • latest — Most recent version in the selected channel
    • Or choose a specific version from the list (e.g., 0.2.3-beta, 0.2.2-beta, etc.)

  • Update Kernel — Toggle to include kernel updates with the firmware update

Click Ok to start the update process, or Cancel to close the dialog without updating.

tip

It is recommended to check for updates regularly to ensure your system has the latest security patches and features.

Parts of this documentation were created with the assistance of AI tools. All AI-generated content has undergone review, but it may still contain inaccuracies, omissions, or outdated information.