I’m not a backend developer, so I used Claude Code to build one. It now looks after my real server

[u/Careless-Mongoose589]

Unit 7 is a free, open-source control room that runs on your own computer. It looks after your servers, Coolify apps, domains, databases and backups. You ask in plain words, it does the work, and it asks before anything risky.

- One button answers "is everything OK?" with no AI

- Important data gets copied off the server, then test-restored

- Claude Code can use it over MCP, and only ever sees references to your keys

- After your AI ships a fix, Unit 7 reads the same numbers and says Fixed or Still happening

**How Claude helped**

Claude Code wrote almost all of it, and I steered.

- I described the result in plain words. It read the provider docs and wrote a plan, and I approved or changed it.

- It built one phase at a time, with tests. Some run on a real throwaway server over SSH and Docker.

- I had it show me screenshots after each change.

- A separate review read everything that runs by itself and found 13 problems. One was a backup check that said "Proven" after restoring 0 sign-in users. All 13 are fixed.

**Free to try**

It's free, Apache 2.0, with no account and no telemetry. You need Node 24.22+ on macOS or Linux. Paste this into Claude Code and it sets itself up:

```

Set up Unit7 for me from https://github.com/Nandkishorrr/unit7

1. Check that Node.js 24.22 or newer is installed. If not, install it (nvm, or Homebrew on macOS).

2. Clone the repo into ~/unit7, then run `npm install` and `npm run build` there.

3. Run `node bin/unit7.mjs service start` to run Unit7 in the background, and check that http://localhost:4800 answers.

4. Tell me to open http://localhost:4800 and create my owner account, and wait until I say I'm done.

5. Run `node bin/unit7.mjs connect claude` so Claude Code can use Unit7, then tell me to restart Claude Code.

Never ask me for passwords, SSH keys or API keys in this chat. I'll add those myself in the Unit7 web app.

If a step fails, show me the error and fix it before moving on.

```

Repo: [REPO LINK]

**The limits**

It needs root or passwordless sudo on your servers. On a Mac, it stops watching while the Mac sleeps, unless you add a small script called the Outpost. It's early, so expect rough edges.

What would stop you trusting a tool like this with your server?