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A 47-DOLLAR USED PS4 TURNED INTO A HOME SERVER

Sony launched the PS4 at 399.99 dollars in 2013. Tech By Matt bought one at a ShopGoodwill auction for 46.55 dollars and turned it into a home server running Jellyfin, Pi-hole, Home Assistant and a Minecraft server.

by DionKill (Diego Pireddu)

FULL CAD BOM FIRMWARE DOCS

AutomationHome

difficulty
●●●○○
time
a weekend
license
MIT
repo
repo ACTIVE101 stars
Videos
1
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COMPAREE VERDICT

This turns a launch-model PlayStation 4 into a Linux home server without touching its internal hard drive. Tech By Matt paid 46.55 dollars at a ShopGoodwill auction for a CUH-11xx on firmware 9.50, jailbroke it with GoldHEN through a browser exploit, and runs CachyOS from an external USB SSD with CasaOS on top: Samba, Jellyfin, a Crafty Minecraft server reachable through Playit.gg, Pi-hole and Home Assistant. His wall meter showed about 76 W. The catch: the exploit has to be re-run every time the console boots, and consoles with the Baikal southbridge have the least Linux support. DionKill's MIT-licensed guide walks through the Linux install step by step; CasaOS and the services are not part of it, so you set those up yourself. If you have an old PS4 sitting unused, this is a weekend project that makes it useful again.

GOOD TO KNOW

  • —The PS4 Linux Tutorial is a step-by-step guide hosted at dionkill.github.io, with its source on GitHub (DionKill/ps4-linux-tutorial).
  • —The guide is MIT-licensed.
  • —The guide covers consoles up to system software 13.52.
  • —For external installs the guide recommends a SATA SSD with a UAS-capable SATA-to-USB adapter; it does not list specific tested drives.
  • —The exploit (PSFree + Lapse into GoldHEN in the video) has to be re-run after every boot.
  • —The Baikal southbridge has the least support and known issues, especially on PS4 Pro.

Parts to buy

2 items

From our check of the build. Exact quantities and part numbers are in the creator’s BOM.

  • PS4 that can run GoldHENFind
  • Keyboard and mouseFind

Can I build this?

Printnothing required
BuyA PS4 that can run GoldHEN (the video uses a launch-model CUH-11xx on firmware 9.50), a USB SSD or a SATA SSD with a UAS-capable USB adapter, and a keyboard and mouse.
ToolsA computer to download the files and transfer them to the PS4 over FTP.
SkillsComfortable following terminal commands on Linux, patience with exploit steps, and basic Docker or CasaOS experience if you want to run the same services.
TimeA weekend: the jailbreak and Linux install, then the server services.
Cost$$: Tech By Matt paid $46.55 for the console at a ShopGoodwill auction, plus the SSD.
SafetyNo mains wiring or power tools. The install formats the external drive, so back up anything on it.

Build at your own risk. Projects involve tools, electronics and sometimes mains voltage — follow the creator’s safety notes.

Videos

Turning an Old PS4 into a Home Server! (2026)44:35

Tech By Matt walks through buying a used PS4, jailbreaking it, booting Linux from an external USB SSD and setting up the home server services.

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Start here

Navigation into the creator’s own docs — we don’t rewrite the guide, we route you to the source.

  1. 1.Read the PS4 Linux Tutorial key information page (The guide covers console requirements, exploit setup, the kernel and distro files and installation.)
  2. 2.Check your PS4 firmware and southbridge(In Settings > System Information write down your system software version, southbridge and GoldHEN version. The guide covers firmware up to 13.52.)
  3. 3.Get the extra hardware(You need a keyboard and mouse for the PS4, a PC to move files over FTP, and a USB SSD for the Linux install.)
  4. 4.Jailbreak with GoldHEN (PSFree + Lapse in the video)(This must be repeated every time the console boots.)
  5. 5.Install CachyOS or another supported distro to the external USB SSD(The external drive method leaves the internal hard drive untouched. The install formats the external drive, so back it up first.)

Resources

Documentation, files and community threads for this build — we link straight to the original sources and never rehost the creator’s files.

KNOWN ISSUES

  • Not every PS4 is equal: the Baikal southbridge has the least support, known issues especially on PS4 Pro, and no internal HDD install. Note your southbridge in Settings > System Information before you start.
  • The exploit is not a one-time setup; you have to run it again after every boot.
  • The guide warns not to use GoldHEN v2.4b18.8 because it doesn't boot, and to update to the latest GoldHEN.
  • Booting from a USB stick works but is slow. The guide recommends a SATA SSD with a UAS-capable SATA-to-USB adapter and a USB 3.x cable.
  • The guide covers consoles up to system software 13.52. Check your firmware version first.
  • CasaOS and the services shown in the video are not covered in the Linux guide; you will need to set that part up separately.

Does this work on PS4 Slim or Pro?

The guide says all consoles that can run a homebrew enabler such as GoldHEN can run Linux. What matters is the southbridge: Belize has the best support, Baikal the least, with known issues especially on PS4 Pro and no internal drive install. Tech By Matt used a launch-model PS4 (CUH-11xx).

Does the jailbreak have to be done every time?

Yes. The guide says you need to exploit your console at every boot. In the video that is a browser exploit chain (PSFree + Lapse) loading GoldHEN.

Can I still play games on the console?

Yes. The guide says the external drive method doesn't touch the internal HDD at all, and your games and saves stay intact.

How much power does it draw?

Tech By Matt's wall meter showed about 76 W. Under Minecraft server load the CPU hit 97% and 70 °C.

What distro should I use?

Tech By Matt used CachyOS with the LXQt desktop on an external USB SSD. The guide lists several prebuilt distros, including a CachyOS server edition without a desktop.

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Discussion1

FROM THE COMPAREE TEAM

Tech By Matt runs Jellyfin, Pi-hole, Home Assistant and a Minecraft server on a console he bought for $46.55. What would you host first?

CompareeTEAM5d ago

We checked that the DionKill guide is live at dionkill.github.io/ps4-linux-tutorial and MIT-licensed. The CasaOS setup shown in the video is not covered in the tutorial, so you piece that together yourself. The biggest gotcha is the exploit: it is not a one-time jailbreak and has to be re-run after every boot, so after a power cut the server stays down until you redo it.

DionKill (Diego Pireddu)

DionKill (Diego Pireddu) publishes the PS4 Linux Tutorial, a free MIT-licensed guide for running Linux on PS4 consoles up to system software 13.52. It covers console setup, the kernel and distro files, internal and external installation and post-install tuning. The build shown here, with video, is by Tech By Matt on YouTube.

GitHub Web

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