Omarchy recommended
DHH's opinionated Arch-based Linux. It ships agent-first: Docker is already there, and an AI coding agent is a first-class citizen rather than something you bolt on. If you want the shortest path from bare metal to "say the sentence and let the agent do it", this is it.
Needs a 64-bit PC. Omarchy is x86_64 only, so this is the spare-desktop or mini-PC route, not the Pi route.
omarchy.org →
The Omarchy manual →
github.com/basecamp/omarchy →
Raspberry Pi OS
The quiet, low-power option, and the least proven. A Pi 4 or Pi 5 plus a USB ethernet adapter should make a tidy gateway for a normal household. Write the card with Raspberry Pi Imager, choose the 64-bit image, enable SSH in the Imager settings, and you are most of the way there.
Omarchy does not run on a Pi, so you install Docker yourself. It is two commands and the guide in the repo walks your agent through it.
Raspberry Pi Imager →
Pi getting-started docs →
Install Docker on Pi OS →
Any Linux you already run
Already have a Debian, Ubuntu or Arch box humming in a corner? Use it. Genkan is containers and one small host script that hands the USB network adapter to the gateway. Nothing else on the machine is touched.
The questions everybody asks first.
Will it run on a Raspberry Pi? It should, on a Pi 4 or 5, and the guide is written carefully. But be clear on what that means: nobody has actually run Genkan on a Pi yet. The container image has never been built for ARM. If you try it, you are the first, and we would genuinely like to hear how it goes. Use the 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS, add a USB ethernet adapter for the second port, and give it an SD card you do not mind writing to (or better, boot from USB or NVMe).
Can I put Omarchy on the Pi? No. Omarchy is built for 64-bit PCs. On a Pi you run Raspberry Pi OS. Genkan behaves identically either way, because everything that matters runs in containers.
Do I need a 64-bit machine? Yes. Some of the containers no longer publish 32-bit x86 builds, so an ancient netbook will not work. Anything from roughly the last fifteen years will.
How much RAM? 4GB is comfortable. 2GB works for a small household but you will feel it when the database and the filter are both busy.
Does it need a screen and keyboard? Only to install. After that the box sits headless in a cupboard and you talk to it from your phone or laptop.
Do I have to know Linux? No. You install the OS by clicking through an installer, then you hand the machine to your AI agent and it does the rest. The point of the project is that the hard parts are the agent's job.
The one piece of hardware to get right. Genkan needs two network ports: one to your existing router, one to the kids' access point. Almost no machine has two, so a cheap USB 3.0 gigabit ethernet adapter is the missing piece. Any of them work. Buy one before you start.