We're rooting for builders
Dark Space Labs exists to make great infrastructure accessible — not just for businesses, but for the developers, students, and creators building the next generation of the web.
One of the biggest friction points for new developers and students is simply getting something online. The gap between "it runs on my machine" and "it's deployed somewhere real" shouldn't cost $50/month.
We want to help developers on GitHub, students in school, indie builders working late, and small open source projects get their work hosted affordably — and in some cases, for free. Not because it's a marketing tactic, but because we've been those people, and good infrastructure changes what you're able to build.
This isn't a formal grant program with lengthy applications. It's a genuine offer: tell us what you're working on, and we'll see how we can help.
Who this is for
We support a wide range of developers and creators at different stages. If you see yourself below, reach out.
Students & Learners
College students, bootcamp participants, and self-taught developers building portfolios, class projects, or learning in public. If you're learning to code and need a real place to deploy, we want to help.
Open Source Maintainers
Building something useful on GitHub? We love supporting projects that are open, collaborative, and community-driven. From project sites and documentation to hosted demos and tooling.
Indie Hackers & Solo Builders
Working on a side project, a small SaaS, or a useful niche tool? Indie developers deserve reliable infrastructure without enterprise pricing. We're in your corner.
Early-Stage Creators
Turning an idea into something real. Whether it's a newsletter site, a digital product, a creative portfolio, or a proof-of-concept — the early stages are where we can help most.
Hobby Developers
Not everything needs to be a startup. Building for fun, for learning, or just because you can — that matters too. We support hobby projects without requiring a business plan.
Small Teams & Communities
Small developer groups, student clubs, open source organizations, and communities building shared tools or resources. If the project serves others and isn't a commercial enterprise, reach out.
What we can offer
Support is reviewed case by case, but here's the range of what qualifying projects may receive.
Free Starter Hosting
Qualifying projects can get free hosting on our infrastructure under a dsl.ac subdomain. Ideal for portfolios, demos, and lightweight personal sites with low traffic requirements.
Discounted Plans
If your project needs a custom domain, higher resources, or more control, we offer deeply discounted hosting plans — often 50–80% off standard pricing — for qualifying students and indie builders.
Setup & Deployment Help
Not sure how to get your project deployed? We can help you configure your environment, set up your domain, and get your app running — without billing you for every question.
Technical Guidance
Have a question about your stack, your architecture, or how to approach a problem? We're happy to point you in the right direction. No support ticket required for a quick chat.
Eligible project types
These are the kinds of projects that typically qualify. If yours doesn't fit neatly into a category, reach out anyway — we're flexible.
Portfolio sites
Showcase your work to employers and collaborators
Student projects
Class assignments, capstone projects, thesis demos
Open source project sites
Docs, landing pages, and demos for OSS work
Prototypes & MVPs
Early-stage app ideas that need a real URL
Proof-of-concept tools
Experiments and technical demos worth sharing
Small web apps & tools
Lightweight utilities, calculators, generators
Community & info sites
Club pages, wikis, group project sites
Creative & personal projects
Blogs, art portfolios, personal landing pages
Not in scope: Large-scale production SaaS, high-traffic commercial applications, enterprise workloads, or projects primarily generating revenue. Developer support is for genuine small-scale, personal, educational, or community-oriented work.
How it works
No long forms, no hoops. Just a quick conversation.
Tell us about your project
Send us a short message through our contact page. Tell us what you're building, who it's for, what stage it's at, and why you're reaching out. There's no formal application — just a conversation.
We review and respond
We read every message and respond within one business day. If your project is a good fit, we'll outline what we can offer. If it's not the right time or scope, we'll tell you honestly and point you toward a better option.
We get you set up
Once we agree on what makes sense, we provision your hosting, help you get configured, and make sure things actually work before we hand it over. We don't disappear after setup.
Support is reviewed case by case — and that's intentional
We don't have an automated coupon code or a checkbox that unlocks "free tier." We review each request individually because we want to make sure we're helping people who genuinely need it, not just handing out free accounts to any request that mentions "student."
If you reach out and your project is a good fit, we'll tell you clearly what we can offer and get you set up quickly. If it's not the right fit, we'll tell you that too — no ghosting, no form rejection emails.
We're a small team building something we're proud of, and supporting developers along the way is part of that.
Tell us about your project
Send us a quick message. Tell us what you're building, who it's for, and where you're at. We read every message and respond within one business day.
No application form. Just a message.