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212 lines
13 KiB
Markdown
212 lines
13 KiB
Markdown
[](https://github.com/balena-io/open-balena/actions/workflows/flowzone.yml)
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[](https://dashboard.balena-cloud.com/deploy?repoUrl=https://github.com/balena-io/open-balena)
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OpenBalena is a platform to deploy and manage connected devices. Devices run
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[balenaOS][balena-os-website], a host operating system designed for running
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containers on IoT devices, and are managed via the [balena CLI][balena-cli],
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which you can use to configure your application containers, push updates, check
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status, view logs, and so forth. OpenBalena’s backend services, composed of
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battle-tested components that we’ve run in production on [balenaCloud][balena-cloud-website]
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for years, can store device information securely and reliably, allow remote
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management via a built-in VPN service, and efficiently distribute container
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images to your devices.
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To learn more about openBalena, visit [balena.io/open][open-balena-website].
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- [Features](#features)
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- [Getting Started](#getting-started)
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- [Compatibility](#compatibility)
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- [Documentation](#documentation)
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- [Getting Help](#getting-help)
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- [Contributing](#contributing)
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- [Roadmap](#roadmap)
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- [Differences between openBalena and balenaCloud](#differences-between-openbalena-and-balenacloud)
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- [License](#license)
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- [FAQ](#faq)
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- [How do you ensure continuity of openBalena? Are there security patches on openBalena?](#how-do-you-ensure-continuity-of-openbalena-are-there-security-patches-on-openbalena)
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- [How do you ensure the "Join" command actually works between openBalena and](#how-do-you-ensure-the-join-command-actually-works-between-openbalena-and)
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- [Is it "production ready"?](#is-it-production-ready)
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- [Can a new device type be added to openBalena?](#can-a-new-device-type-be-added-to-openbalena)
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- [Are there open-source UI dashboards from the community for openBalena?](#are-there-open-source-ui-dashboards-from-the-community-for-openbalena)
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## Features
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- **Simple provisioning**: Adding devices to your fleet is a breeze
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- **Easy updates**: Remotely update the software on your devices with a single command
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- **Container-based**: Benefit from the power of virtualization, optimized for the edge
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- **Scalable**: Deploy and manage one device, or one million
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- **Powerful API & SDK**: Extend openBalena to fit your needs
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- **Built-in VPN**: Access your devices regardless of their network environment
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## Getting Started
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Our [Getting Started guide][getting-started] is the most direct path to getting
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an openBalena installation up and running and successfully deploying your
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application to your device(s).
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## Compatibility
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The current release of openBalena has the following minimum version requirements:
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- balenaOS v5.2.8
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- balena CLI v18.2.2
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If you are updating from previous openBalena versions, ensure you update the balena
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CLI and re-provision any devices to at least the minimum required versions in order
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for them to be fully compatible with this release, as some features may not work.
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While in-place openBalena upgrades may succeed, when performing major updates, it is
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recommended for a new instance to be deployed in parallel with the existing one, followed
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by copying state across and pointing a test device to the new instance.
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## Documentation
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While we're still working on the project documentation, please refer to the
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[balenaCloud documentation][documentation]. BalenaCloud is built on top of
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openBalena, so the core concepts and functionality is identical. The following
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sections are of particular interest:
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- [Overview / A balena primer](https://balena.io/docs/learn/welcome/primer)
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- [Overview / Core Concepts](https://balena.io/docs/learn/welcome/concepts)
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- [Overview / Going to production](https://balena.io/docs/learn/welcome/production-plan)
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- [Develop / Define a container](https://balena.io/docs/learn/develop/dockerfile)
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- [Develop / Multiple containers](https://balena.io/docs/learn/develop/multicontainer)
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- [Develop / Runtime](https://balena.io/docs/learn/develop/runtime)
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- [Develop / Interact with hardware](https://balena.io/docs/learn/develop/hardware)
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- [Deploy / Optimize your builds](https://balena.io/docs/learn/deploy/build-optimization)
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- [Reference](https://balena.io/docs/reference)
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- [FAQ](https://balena.io/docs/faq/troubleshooting/faq)
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## Getting Help
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You are welcome to submit any questions, participate in discussions and request
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help with any issue in [openBalena forums][forums]. The balena team frequents
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these forums and will be happy to help. You can also ask other community members
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for help, or contribute by answering questions posted by fellow openBalena users.
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Please do not use the issue tracker for support-related questions.
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## Contributing
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Everyone is welcome to contribute to openBalena. There are many different ways
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to get involved apart from submitting pull requests, including helping other
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users on the [forums][forums], reporting or triaging [issues][issue-tracker],
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reviewing and discussing [pull requests][pulls], or just spreading the word.
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All of openBalena is hosted on GitHub. Apart from its constituent components,
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which are the [API][open-balena-api], [VPN][open-balena-vpn], [Registry][open-balena-registry],
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[S3 storage service][open-balena-s3], and [Database][open-balena-db], contributions
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are also welcome to its client-side software such as the [balena CLI][balena-cli],
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the [balena SDK][balena-sdk], [balenaOS][balena-os] and [balenaEngine][balena-engine].
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## Roadmap
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OpenBalena is currently in beta. While fully functional, it lacks features we
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consider important before we can comfortably call it production-ready. During
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this phase, don’t be alarmed if things don’t work as expected just yet (and
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please let us know about any bugs or errors you encounter!). The following
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improvements and new functionality is planned:
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- Full documentation
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- Full test suite
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- Simplified deployment
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- Remote host OS updates
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- Support for custom device types
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## Differences between openBalena and balenaCloud
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Whilst openBalena and balenaCloud share the same core technology, there are some key
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differences. First, openBalena is self-hosted, whereas balenaCloud is hosted by balena and
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therefore handles security, maintenance, scaling, and reliability of all the backend
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services. OpenBalena is also single user, whereas balenaCloud supports multiple users and
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organizations. OpenBalena also lacks some of the commercial features that define
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balenaCloud, such as the web-based dashboard and updates with binary container deltas.
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The following table contains the main differences between both:
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| openBalena | balenaCloud |
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| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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| Device updates using full Docker images | Device updates using [delta images](https://www.balena.io/docs/learn/deploy/delta/) |
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| Support for a single user | Support for [multiple users](https://www.balena.io/docs/learn/manage/account/#application-members) |
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| Self-hosted deployment and scaling | balena-managed scaling and deployment |
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| Community support via [forums][forums] | Private support on [paid plans](https://www.balena.io/pricing/) |
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| Build locally and deploy via `balena-cli` | Build remotely with native builders using [`balena push`](https://www.balena.io/docs/learn/deploy/deployment/#balena-push) or [`git push`](https://www.balena.io/docs/learn/deploy/deployment/#git-push) |
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| No public device URL support | Serve websites directly from device with [public device URLs](https://www.balena.io/docs/learn/manage/actions/#enable-public-device-url) |
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| Management via `balena-cli` only | Cloud-based device management dashboard |
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| Download images from [balena.io][balena-os-website] and configure locally via `balena-cli` | Download configured images directly from the dashboard |
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| No remote device diagnostics | Remote device diagnostics |
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Additionally, refer back to the [roadmap](#roadmap) above for planned but not yet
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implemented features.
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## License
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OpenBalena is licensed under the terms of AGPL v3. See [LICENSE] for details.
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## FAQ
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### How do you ensure continuity of openBalena? Are there security patches on openBalena?
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openBalena is an open source initiative which is mostly driven by us, but it also gets
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contributions from the community. We work to keep openBalena as up to date as our
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bandwidth allows, especially with security patches. That said, we do not have a policy or
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guarantee of a software release schedule. However, it is in our best interest to keep
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openBalena updated and patched since we also use it for balenaCloud.
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### How do you ensure the "Join" command actually works between openBalena and
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balenaCloud?
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The `balena join ..` command is frequently used for moving devices between openBalena,
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and balenaCloud environments. This command extends `balena os configure ..`, which is the
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basic tool balena uses for configuring devices.
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### Is it "production ready"?
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While we actually have some rather large fleets using openBalena, we consider it to be
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perpetually in "beta". This means potentially introducing breaking changes between
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releases.
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### Can a new device type be added to openBalena?
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openBalena imports the following public [device-types] "out of the box". You can specify
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your own contracts repository by overriding `CONTRACTS_PUBLIC_REPO_NAME`,
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`CONTRACTS_PUBLIC_REPO_OWNER` and `IMAGE_STORAGE_BUCKET` environment variables on the API
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service/container.
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### Are there open-source UI dashboards from the community for openBalena?
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Yes! Here are a few:
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- [open-balena-admin / open-balena-ui](https://github.com/dcaputo-harmoni/open-balena-admin) by [dcaputo-harmoni](https://github.com/dcaputo-harmoni) who first posted about [here](https://forums.balena.io/t/open-balena-admin-an-admin-interface-for-openbalena/355324) in our Forums :)
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- [open-balena-dashboard](https://github.com/Razikus/open-balena-dashboard) by [Razikus](https://github.com/Razikus)
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[balena-cli]: https://github.com/balena-io/balena-cli
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[balena-cloud-website]: https://balena.io/cloud
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[balena-engine]: https://github.com/balena-os/balena-engine
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[balena-os-website]: https://balena.io/os
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[balena-os]: https://github.com/balena-os/meta-balena
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[balena-sdk]: https://github.com/balena-io/balena-sdk
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[documentation]: https://balena.io/docs/learn/welcome/introduction/
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[forums]: https://forums.balena.io/c/open-balena
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[getting-started]: https://balena.io/open/docs/getting-started
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[issue-tracker]: https://github.com/balena-io/open-balena/issues
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[LICENSE]: https://github.com/balena-io/open-balena/blob/master/LICENSE
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[open-balena-admin / open-balena-ui]: https://github.com/dcaputo-harmoni/open-balena-admin
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[open-balena-api]: https://github.com/balena-io/open-balena-api
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[open-balena-dashboard]: https://github.com/Razikus/open-balena-dashboard
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[open-balena-db]: https://github.com/balena-io/open-balena-db
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[open-balena-registry]: https://github.com/balena-io/open-balena-registry
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[open-balena-s3]: https://github.com/balena-io/open-balena-s3
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[open-balena-vpn]: https://github.com/balena-io/open-balena-vpn
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[open-balena-website]: https://balena.io/open
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[pulls]: https://github.com/balena-io/open-balena/pulls
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[device-types]: https://github.com/balena-io/contracts/blob/master/contracts/hw.device-type
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