How does it connect to my devices when I'm away from home?

Harbor uses Tailscale, a widely-used networking service built on WireGuard. You install the free Tailscale app once on each device. In most setups your phone talks directly to the dock over an encrypted tunnel, with nothing in between. When a direct connection isn't possible (some mobile carriers, restrictive wifi), Tailscale relays the encrypted traffic — they can see that you connected, not what you sent. Harbor's servers are never in the data path; we don't see your files at any point.

Does it work on iPhone, Android, and desktop?

Yes. Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, and Android all work. Once you install Tailscale on your device, the dock appears like a local server. Open any browser, type its name, and your files are there.

What happens if my home internet goes down?

Devices on your home Wi-Fi can still access the dock normally. It is a local network device first, remote second. Remote access from outside the home pauses until your internet returns, the same as any home server. Your files are never lost; they live on your drive.

The Harbor Dock itself, a small low-power device, plus a power adapter, an Ethernet cable, and a quick-start card. You bring your own USB drive (any size, any brand).

What size USB drive can I use?

Any standard USB drive works. Common sizes range from 1TB to 20TB. Use one drive for personal storage, or pair two docks (one at home, one at a friend's or family member's place) for automatic encrypted off-site backup.

What happens if the drive dies?

A single dock with a single drive has the same failure profile as any single-drive setup: if the drive fails, what was on it is gone. Harbor isn't a RAID array; we don't pretend it is. The intended pattern for anything you can't afford to lose is two docks at two locations, syncing to each other. That's the off-site backup story. If you only buy one dock, treat it like you'd treat any external drive holding important files: keep a separate copy of the photos and documents you can't replace.

How much power does it use?

It's a low-power ARM device designed to run 24/7, like a Wi-Fi router. The impact on your electricity bill is minimal, closer to a smart hub than a desktop computer.

Will it be open source?

Yes, that's the plan. The dock software and companion tools will be open for anyone to audit, build, or fork. You probably won't ever need to look at the code, but knowing the option exists is the difference between owning your storage and renting it.

What if Harbor Dock the company disappears?

Your drive keeps working. Files are stored in standard formats. Plug the drive into any computer and read them directly. Tailscale is independent infrastructure that keeps running without us. You are never stranded.

Comparison

Harbor Dock vs Raspberry Pi DIY

Harbor Dock and a DIY Raspberry Pi NAS sit on the same hardware class: small ARM single-board computers, low power, friendly to 24/7 operation. The interesting differences aren't in the silicon. They're in who owns the integration and who owns the ongoing maintenance. If you read self-hosted forums for fun, you already know which side of this you fall on.

Who each is for

Pick a Pi DIY build if…

You enjoy the setup as much as the result.
You want maximum control over which services run, which filesystem, which backup tool, which container runtime.
You're comfortable being the support team.
You want to learn Linux administration as part of the experience.

Pick Harbor Dock if…

You looked at the Pi-NAS guide and bounced.
You want the same hardware class but configured by us.
You want preinstalled cloud import + backup orchestration instead of composing it yourself.
You want ongoing security updates handled in the background.

Side by side

	Harbor Dock	Pi DIY
Audience	People who want the result, not the project.	People who enjoy the project and want full control.
Hardware class	ARM SBC (NanoPi Neo3) preconfigured.	ARM SBC (Raspberry Pi 4 / 5, Rock Pi, etc.) you assemble.
Initial cost	One unit price. Drive separate.	Pi + power supply + case + microSD + USB enclosure + optional UPS HAT. Adds up.
Setup time	Plug in drive, plug in ethernet, type http://harbor.	An afternoon, minimum. More if you're new to Linux.
Stack you run	Opinionated: file browser, rclone-driven cloud import + backup orchestration, Tailscale.	Whatever you choose: CasaOS, Umbrel, Cosmos, OpenMediaVault, or build your own.
Remote access setup	Tailscale preinstalled, asks you to log in once.	You install Tailscale (or pick alternative), set up sharing rules.
Updates	Automatic security updates managed by Harbor (opt-out).	You apt update / docker pull / reboot. You miss one, you're vulnerable.
Failure mode	Hardware: warranty. Software: support channel.	You debug. The community is excellent, but the buck stops with you.
Cloud import / consolidation	Built in: connect Dropbox/Drive/Proton/iCloud/OneDrive/Mega via the rclone UI.	rclone is OSS and free; you configure each remote, set up sync schedules, manage credentials.
Backup orchestration	Built in: distributed cloud free-tier backup when one dock; mutual sync when two.	Pick rsync / restic / borg / Syncthing / Tailscale-share. Compose yourself.
Open source	Open source on launch. You'll be able to flash a different image if you want.	Pi software stack is fully OSS, by definition.
Customization ceiling	Lower. We pick the stack so you don't.	Unlimited. Whatever you can run on Linux.
If you don't enjoy projects	It just works.	It will work eventually. The DIY path assumes you find the journey rewarding.
Long-term maintenance	Background.	Yours, ongoing. Containers update, certs renew, drives age. You handle it.

The honest version

If you're comfortable enough on a Pi to read this far, you can absolutely build something equivalent. The cost will land in the same ballpark once you tally everything (board, PSU, case, SD card, USB enclosure, UPS hat if you're sensible). The difference is the Saturday or three of integration work, plus the ongoing maintenance you'll do for as long as the box is on your network.

Harbor Dock isn't cheaper than a Pi build by much. It's cheaper in time and cheaper in cognitive load. Whether that tradeoff is worth it depends on whether your relationship to homelab work is “hobby” or “chore”.

Bottom line

Pi DIY is the right answer for most readers of self-hosted subreddits. We're honest about that. Harbor Dock is the right answer for the people who looked at those subreddits, said “not for me”, and went back to paying for cloud storage. We want to bring that audience back, not replace the DIY path.

We're pre-launch and the dock OS will be open source on launch, so even if you start with a Pi today and decide later you want the appliance experience, the migration path runs both directions. Reserve a unit and we'll keep you in the loop.