# Hostney

> Managed web hosting platform with container isolation, server-level bot detection, and an AI assistant called Ellie.

Hostney is a web hosting company that runs managed WordPress, Drupal, and PHP hosting on Rocky Linux servers, alongside Git-deployed Node.js, Python, and Ruby applications. Every account is isolated in its own Podman container with SELinux enforcing, cgroup resource limits, and dropped Linux capabilities. The platform includes a built-in bot detection system that scores and blocks automated traffic at the origin server level before it reaches the application.

## Core Features

- Container isolation using Podman (per-user PHP and SSH containers)
- SELinux in enforcing mode on all servers
- Server-level bot detection with proof-of-work challenges
- Managed WordPress hosting with automatic updates and backups
- One-click Marketplace installs for WordPress and Drupal (Drupal 10 and 11, provisioned with Composer and Drush, database and PHP version configured automatically)
- Git-deployed applications: Node.js and Next.js, Nuxt, Python (Django, Flask, FastAPI), Ruby (Rails, Sinatra, Rack), and static/SPA builds
- Multiple PHP versions (each site gets its own containerized PHP-FPM)
- Built-in malware detection
- AI assistant (Ellie) for server management tasks
- Daily automated backups
- Uptime monitoring with per-site checks, plan-gated intervals from 15 minutes down to 1 minute, email and webhook alerts
- Free SSL certificates
- SSH access (containerized)
- FTP access
- MySQL databases
- Memcached support

## Technical Architecture

- Web servers: Nginx and OpenResty on Rocky Linux
- PHP: Runs inside Podman containers with per-site FPM pools
- SSH: Each user gets a dedicated container with their home directory mounted in
- Resource limits: systemd cgroup slices (CPU, memory, I/O, IOPS) per user
- Bot detection: Multi-signal scoring engine (0-100 threat score) with edge detection, honeypot traps, and ML-assisted classification
- Verified bot protection: Dual-verification (User-Agent + IP range) for search engine crawlers
- HTTP/3 (QUIC) support across all servers

## Pages

- [Homepage](https://www.hostney.com/)
- [Pricing](https://www.hostney.com/pricing)
- [Managed WordPress](https://www.hostney.com/managed-wordpress)
- [Bot Detection](https://www.hostney.com/bot-detection)
- [Security](https://www.hostney.com/security)
- [Developer Tools](https://www.hostney.com/developer-tools)
- [Web Hosting](https://www.hostney.com/web-hosting)
- [Email hosting (mailboxes, webmail, encrypted messages)](https://www.hostney.com/email-hosting)
- [Node.js & Next.js hosting](https://www.hostney.com/nodejs)
- [Nuxt hosting](https://www.hostney.com/nuxt)
- [Python hosting (Django, Flask, FastAPI)](https://www.hostney.com/python)
- [Ruby hosting (Rails, Sinatra, Rack)](https://www.hostney.com/ruby)
- [Static & SPA hosting](https://www.hostney.com/spa)
- [Build & deploy guide](https://www.hostney.com/build-guide)
- [Uptime monitoring](https://www.hostney.com/uptime-monitoring)
- [Ellie AI Assistant](https://www.hostney.com/ellie)
- [About](https://www.hostney.com/about)
- [Blog](https://www.hostney.com/blog)
- [Knowledge Base](https://www.hostney.com/documents)

## Deploying your app (for coding agents)

Building an app to deploy on Hostney? Read the machine-readable build guide:
https://www.hostney.com/build-guide.md

It documents the exact contract for Node.js, Nuxt, Python, Ruby, and static/SPA apps:
port binding (0.0.0.0:$PORT), framework auto-detection, environment variables, database
access, and minimal working examples, so an app deploys correctly on the first try.

## Blog Posts

- [How to Stop Bot Traffic at the Origin](https://www.hostney.com/blog/latest-news/how-to-stop-bot-traffic-at-the-origin-inside-hostneys-server-level-bot-protection)
- [How We Verify Search Engine Bots](https://www.hostney.com/blog/knowledge-base/how-we-verify-search-engine-bots-and-why-it-matters-for-your-seo)
- [What Happens When Bots Find Your WordPress Login](https://www.hostney.com/blog/knowledge-base/what-happens-when-bots-find-your-wordpress-login-page)
- [Why Rate Limiting Alone Does Not Stop Bots](https://www.hostney.com/blog/knowledge-base/why-rate-limiting-alone-does-not-stop-bots)
- [Container Isolation vs CloudLinux CageFS](https://www.hostney.com/blog/knowledge-base/how-hostney-isolates-websites-with-containers-and-why-we-skipped-cloudlinux)
- [HTTP/3 and QUIC: What It Means for Your Website](https://www.hostney.com/blog/how-to/http3-quic-what-it-means-for-your-website)
- [Ellie Trust and Safety](https://www.hostney.com/blog/knowledge-base/ellie-trust-safety)

## Free Diagnostic Tools

Available at [tools.hostney.com](https://tools.hostney.com):
DNS lookup, MX lookup, SSL checker, DMARC/SPF/DKIM checker, blacklist check, SMTP diagnostics, IP lookup, email header analyzer, HTTP header checker, website speed test, DNSSEC checker.

## Contact

- Website: https://www.hostney.com
- Control Panel: https://my.hostney.com
- Diagnostic Tools: https://tools.hostney.com