Digital sovereignty with the ArchivistaBox
Egg, November 25: Since 2007, the sources of ArchivistaDMS, ArchivistaERP, and ArchivistaVM have been subject to the GPLv2 open source license. With version 2025/XII, the ArchivistaBox is now subject to the AGPLv3 license. This means that the ArchivistaBox can be freely obtained as an ISO file, freely used, and also freely customized. In short, the ArchivistaBox AGPLv3 offers digital sovereignty today and now.
What does free or AGPLv3 mean?
With the release of ArchivistaBox under AGPLv3, interested parties can easily use our solution free of charge in accordance with the AGPLv3 license. ArchivistaBox is extremely “easy to maintain” in terms of installation and operation in the field of Linux solutions.
ArchivistaVM is an extremely easy-to-use virtualization platform. ArchivistaERP offers a 100% web-based ERP solution, and ArchivistaDMS allows documents to be managed digitally and securely over the long term. All of the functionality of the ArchivistaBox Dolder is available.
That’s why the ArchivistaBox is now available under AGPLv3
We are currently seeing extensive discussion about digital sovereignty. The vast majority of users utilize external cloud services, meaning our data is increasingly in the hands of others.
This situation has certainly come about because conventional IT solutions have become extremely complex. Linux, in particular, has unfortunately missed the opportunity to make things easier.
Anyone who talks to users who would currently like to switch from Windows to Linux will quickly learn that conventional Linux distributions are unfortunately all too often too complex. Not to mention the difficulties of running specific specialist applications. To name just two examples: Proxmox and Nextcloud are quick to set up. However, not everyone is able to run these services in the long term without support from the manufacturers.
The ArchivistaBox offers a good alternative here. Because the ArchivistaBox runs in the main memory and does not require installation, even less experienced users can get started just as easily as they have been able to with AVMultimedia for years.
In this sense, the ArchivistaBox offers digital sovereignty today and now. Where others talk about it, the ArchivistaBox makes a statement. Digital sovereignty subito and without ifs and buts.
Setting up ArchivistaBox AGPLv3
Ideally, a computer (AMD64) with at least 4 GB of main memory (RAM) should be available. If ArchivistaVM or virtualization is to be used, 16 GB (or more) is recommended. ArchivistaBox AGPLv3 can be obtained here (link protected with password ‘av2013’):
https://archivista.ch/cms/agplv3
Registration is not required. The password ‘av2013’ serves solely to ensure that the default password for the users ‘archivista’ and ‘root’ can be clearly communicated at this point.
If you want to install ArchivistaBox on a computer (notebooks and 2-in-1 tablets are also compatible), you must create a bootable USB stick. This can be done using etcher.io or on any Linux console with root privileges using the following command:
dd if=archivistabox_2025.iso of=/dev/sdx bs=64M;sync;sync
Here, ‘sdx’ stands for the desired stick (e.g., /dev/sdc or /dev/sdd). If you are unsure about the above command, use etcher.io.
The ArchivistaBox can also be used in a virtualized environment, in which case you can start directly with the ISO file.
Installation notes: UEFI is required on the desired device. SecureBoot must be disabled. The desired hard drive for installation must be deleted. The ArchivistaBox will only be installed on a hard drive if it is empty. If the hard drive is not empty, the ArchivistaBox will still start. It will attempt to use the largest partition on the first hard drive. This will usually work with Linux file systems, but not with Windows.
And so that everyone can get started without any problems, here are the default passwords again: av2013 for root/archivista, archivista for Admin/admin.
Further assistance can be found in the manual at https://archivista.ch/e2/help.
What does the open source version not offer?
Open source means that no liability is assumed for the software. Likewise, there is no entitlement to support. However, the ArchivistaBox AGPLv3 corresponds 1:1 to the version that is delivered to our customers with maintenance and support.
If you would like to purchase the ArchivistaBox with maintenance and support, you will find the corresponding versions in our shop. The ArchivistaBox Dolder, for example, starts at around 100 Swiss francs/euros.
Are any enhancements planned for the ArchivistaBox?
First of all, the ArchivistaBox is constantly being developed further. Of course, customer requests are also taken into account. The prerequisite for this is that a customer relationship exists (see above).
What will change for existing customers?
Nothing will change for existing customers. You benefit from our many years of expertise today and will continue to do so in the future.
ArchivistaBox AGPLv3 as a multimedia box
The ArchivistaBox AGPLv3 can of course also be used as a multimedia box in the sense of the AVBox (see avbox.ch). For this to work, the multimedia fields must be activated. Help with this can be found in the ArchivistaBox documentation at https://archivista.ch/e2/help.