Henhouse creates privacy‑focused, open‑source tech products that emphasize platform independence and community ownership. Their offerings include a cooperative‑owned web hosting service, a lightweight uptime and performance monitor for solo developers and small teams, a curated Bluesky social media directory, a privacy‑first podcasting platform, and a directory of cooperatives and nonprofits.
- Developer Tools
- Software Only
Funding
Funding not disclosed
Founders
Product
Problem
Many developers and small organizations lack affordable, privacy‑preserving options for web hosting and service monitoring, forcing them to rely on centralized providers that collect data and limit platform choice.
Solution
Henhouse builds open‑source tools that give users control over their data and the platforms they use. The henhouse.coop service offers community‑owned web hosting with strong data‑sovereignty guarantees, allowing sites to run on infrastructure managed collectively rather than by a commercial vendor. Probes provides a lightweight, millisecond‑accurate uptime and performance monitor that tracks DNS, TCP, TLS, and time‑to‑first‑byte metrics, tailored for solo developers and small teams. Both products are released under permissive licenses, enabling users to self‑host, modify, or integrate them without vendor lock‑in while benefiting from the cooperative’s commitment to privacy and openness.
Target Audience
Primary users are independent developers, small tech teams, and organizations that prioritize data privacy and want to avoid vendor lock‑in for web hosting and service monitoring.
Features
- Community‑owned hosting platform (henhouse.coop) that stores data on cooperative infrastructure, ensuring user ownership and privacy
- Open‑source codebase for both hosting and monitoring tools, allowing full auditability and custom extensions
- Probes monitors DNS resolution, TCP connectivity, TLS handshake, and TTFB with millisecond precision, delivering real‑time performance insights
- Minimal resource footprint and simple configuration, suited for solo developers and small teams without complex setup
- Transparent data handling policies; no telemetry or third‑party data collection beyond what users explicitly enable
- Integration-friendly APIs and command‑line interfaces for automated monitoring and alerting workflows