Segfault

thc.org · Compute · 1 record · JSON

Segfault (THC) Compute

★ qualifiesanonymousno cardDvolume-quota

www.thc.org/segfault/ · sandbox · compute/segfault-net · JSON · compare

Free tier	Quoted: 'Segfault offers free unlimited Root Servers. A new server (inside a Virtual Machine) is created for every SSH connection.' Access is `ssh [address removed]` with the password 'segfault'; no signup, no email, no account. The free server carries restrictions: 'The storage, memory, processing power and bandwidth is limited.' unit hours; metered on wall-clock
Price	none stated
Per-object cap	one root server per SECRET; a new SECRET yields a new server with a new /sec filesystem. Not a cap on how many you may hold.
Retention	Quoted: 'Data in your home directory and in /sec, /onion and /everyone are permanent. This data is cleared only if the server is not logged in for 30+ days.' Root filesystem and /tmp are wiped at logout: 'Data in (/usr, /tmp, ...) is only valid for the duration of the session'.
Egress	Quoted: 'the outbound traffic is throttled' on the free service; the throttle rate is not published. Outbound is routed through Mullvad/CryptoStorm/NordVPN exit nodes.
Identity	anonymous no account, no email, no card, no phone, no document. The login is `ssh [address removed]` with the password 'segfault'; a per-server SECRET is generated at login and is the only thing that identifies the machine back to you. Nothing is registered anywhere.
Limits	retention-clamped auto-shutdown when no shell is running in tmux or screen and nobody has logged in for 1.5 days source retention-clamped permanent data in /sec cleared after 30+ days without a login source volume-quota free servers are resource-restricted; the numeric memory, CPU and storage caps are not published on any page read today source per-ip-shaping outbound traffic is throttled on the free tier; the rate is not published source
Binding	volume-quota The free tier's memory, CPU and disk caps are unpublished, so the first thing that fails is whatever the per-container limit is, and you cannot know it before logging in and running `cat /config/self/limits`.
Interface	ssh SSH only, on port 22 or 443, plus a `.onion` and `.gsocket` route. Root inside the guest. No web console, no API. A reverse TCP/UDP port on a public IP is provided; `curl sf/port` prints the IP and port.
Tooling	any SSH client; OpenSSH must be new enough to support `-o SetEnv` (the FAQ names 'Bad configuration option: setenv' as the failure on old clients)
Composes with	An anonymous root shell with a public reverse port and no account of any kind: the cheapest possible way to hold a WireGuard endpoint or a cron-driven monitor without giving up an identity, at the cost of a 1.5-day idle reap.
Reliability	No reliability event observed. The operator states it may shut free servers down under resource contention and that it is 'no company' run in spare time, which is a capacity statement rather than an observed outage.
Notes	The only provider with a genuinely anonymous identity cost: no signup form exists to be filled in. Three things are unresolved and all three need a login must not perform. First, the numeric shape (vCPU, RAM, disk) is not on any first-party page; `cat /config/self/limits` prints it after login. A third-party writeup (nixsanctuary.com) states 128 MB personal storage, 16 GB shared and a read-only rootfs at 500 Mbit/s, which is reported-only and contradicts nothing but is unconfirmed. Second, the outbound throttle rate is unpublished. Third, 'unlimited Root Servers' is the operator's phrase; whether it means unbounded concurrent servers is unstated. The guest has no systemd, so a daemon has to be started from /sec/usr/etc/rc.local. A reverse port is explicitly provided, so an inbound listener works without a static IP of your own.
Evidence rung	documented The machine's numeric shape is unverified: no first-party page publishes it, and the config file in the public repository has every limit commented out.
Checked	2026-10-25 (live); stale on 2026-11-24
Parsed numbers	`$.extras.m10h_usd` price USD0.0 / month `$.extras.m24h_usd` price USD0.0 / month

Evidence (10)

date	source	what it proved
2026-10-24	www.thc.org/segfault/	quoted: 'Segfault offers free unlimited Root Servers. A new server (inside a Virtual Machine) is created for every SSH connection.' and the login block 'ssh [address removed] # The password is segfault'
2026-10-24	www.thc.org/segfault/	quoted: 'Outgoing traffic is routed through NordVPN/CryptoStorm/Mullvad.', 'Reverse TCP/UDP port on a public IP.', 'Encrypted storage in /sec and /home'
2026-10-24	www.thc.org/segfault/faq/	quoted: 'How long will the server run? Forever if you stay logged in (active session/connected). Auto-shutdown may occur if there is no shell running (in tmux or screen) and nobody has logged in for 1.5 days.'
2026-10-24	www.thc.org/segfault/faq/	quoted: 'Data in your home directory and in /sec, /onion and /everyone are permanent. This data is clearedo only if the server is not logged in for 30+ days.'
2026-10-24	www.thc.org/segfault/faq/	quoted: 'The FREE service is restricted and the outbound traffic is throttled.' and 'You can see your current restrictions by typing cat /config/self/limits.'
2026-10-24	www.thc.org/segfault/faq/	quoted: 'The server comes with around 54GB of pre-installed tools.' and 'There is no systemd/systemctl.'
2026-10-24	www.thc.org/segfault/free/	quoted: 'The free servers have restrictions in place. The storage, memory, processing power and bandwidth is limited. When there is a squeeze for resources we may shut down free servers.'
2026-10-24	raw.githubusercontent.com/hackerschoice/segfault/main/config	the public limit file ships every value commented out, e.g. '#SF_USER_MEMORY_LIMIT=256m', '#SF_USER_PIDS_LIMIT=128', '#SF_USER_CPU_SHARE=8', '#SF_CPUS= # automatic between 1..4 depending on host's cpu count' - these are examples, not the deployed defaults, so they cannot be read as the free shape
2026-10-24	blog.thc.org/disposable-root-servers	quoted: 'Over 8GB of the finest hacking/coding tools pre-installed.' and 'Reverse Port Forwards (forget ngrok. This is free & better).'
2026-10-24	raw.githubusercontent.com/hackerschoice/segfault/main/config	the public limit file ships every value commented out, e.g. '#SF_USER_MEMORY_LIMIT=256m', '#SF_USER_PIDS_LIMIT=128', '#SF_USER_CPU_SHARE=8', '#SF_CPUS= # automatic between 1..4 depending on host's cpu count' — these are examples, not the deployed defaults, so they cannot be read as the free shape

More fields (14)

{
 "shape": {
  "vcpu": null,
  "ram_gib": null,
  "disk_gib": null,
  "gpu_class": null,
  "gpu_count": null,
  "note": "not published on any first-party page; the config file in the public repo has the limits commented out and the FAQ points at `cat /config/self/limits` inside the guest"
 },
 "billing_model": "free",
 "term": "per session; persistent storage survives 30 days of non-use",
 "m10h_usd": 0,
 "m24h_usd": 0,
 "price_arithmetic": "no charge at any point and no payment field exists, so there is no rate to multiply",
 "free_tier_kind": "always-free",
 "network_out": {
  "allow_outbound": true,
  "allow_inbound_listen": true,
  "ports": "one reverse TCP/UDP port on a public IP, assigned by the service; `curl sf/port` prints IP and port",
  "static_ip": false,
  "ipv6": null,
  "per_session_bytes": null
 },
 "session_cap": {
  "wall_clock_min": null,
  "idle_reap_s": 129600,
  "restart_required": true,
  "note": "no wall clock while a shell is attached; auto-shutdown after 1.5 days with no login and no shell in tmux or screen. Every login without the SECRET creates a fresh server."
 },
 "signup_url": "https://www.thc.org/segfault/",
 "credit_usd": null,
 "credit_hours_at_shape": null,
 "card_hold_usd": null,
 "payment_methods": "none; there is no billing system and no account to bill"
}