OpenLOSAbout ten minutes · No code
Your own OpenLOS, running today.
It runs in your own hosting account, not ours. You pay the host directly, about $18 a month for the app, its database, and encrypted document storage (Render's prices, October 2026). Nobody else ever holds your borrowers' data.
Five steps
From nothing to your first loan.
Create a Render account
Sign up at render.com with your shop's email and a card. Render bills you directly; OpenLOS never sees your account.
Click Deploy to Render
Render shows what it will create: the app, a Postgres database, and a disk for encrypted documents. Give it a name, like your shop's.
Choose a setup code
Render asks for OPENLOS_SETUP_CODE. Pick something only you know, 16 characters or more, like a short phrase. Then click Deploy; the first build takes about five to ten minutes.
Open your OpenLOS
Render shows your address, like your-shop.onrender.com. Open it, enter your setup code, and create your owner account. You're signed straight in.
Follow "Get set up"
The pipeline walks you through the rest: your company and NMLS ID, your lenders and rate sheets, your team, your business days, and two-step sign-in. Then start your first loan.
Save your encryption key
Render creates OPENLOS_ENCRYPTION_KEY for you. It encrypts SSNs, documents, and credit reports. Copy it from your service's Environment page into your password manager right away: without it, that data can't be recovered.
Before real borrowers
OpenLOS is alpha. An internal security review is published, but there hasn't been an independent one yet. Try it with fictional files first, read the Safeguards Rule self-assessment, and keep your current system alongside it.
Questions
Why isn't it free to run?
The software is free. Running it takes a server and a database, and those cost money wherever they are. Because your copy runs in your own account, you pay the host directly, at cost, and nobody in between holds your data.
Can I use my own domain?
Yes. In Render, open your service's Settings, add a custom domain like los.yourshop.com, and follow the DNS steps. Render handles the certificate.
How do I update to a new version?
New releases are listed on GitHub. In Render, open your service and choose Manual Deploy, then Deploy latest commit; that's the newest tested version. Database updates run on their own when it starts. If an update needs a new setting, Render shows it under Blueprints → Syncs with an Approve button; approve it and the update deploys.
What about backups?
Render keeps backups of paid Postgres databases and snapshots of attached disks, where your documents live; check what your plan includes in Render's dashboard. Keep your encryption key safe too: your data is encrypted with it, backups included.
Can I run it somewhere other than Render?
Yes: anywhere that runs Docker and Postgres. The self-hosting guide covers Docker Compose on your own server. Set OPENLOS_SETUP_CODE there too, or use the one-time link the app prints to its logs.
I'm stuck.
Open an issue on GitHub with what you tried and what you saw. Never post borrower information.