# hostFree for agents hostFree helps people and AI agents compare free hosting for websites, files, apps, and agents. It is a directory, not a hosting provider or a deployment API. - Website: https://hostfree.com/ - Hosting records: https://hostfree.com/hosts.json - This guide: https://hostfree.com/agents.md ## How to use it 1. Ask what the user made and inspect the actual artifact with their permission. Determine whether it is a static web page, a document/media file, a browser app, serverless functions, a running server, an agent service, an MCP server, or a code sandbox. 2. Read hosts.json. Each record includes its official sources and a checked date. Follow those sources to verify current capabilities, limits, and free-plan terms; the records are a snapshot, not live entitlements. 3. Narrow to compatible hosts. The directory treats several selected publishing formats, runtimes, or agent hosting roles as alternatives (OR), not a promise that a host supports all of them. If the project needs multiple capabilities together, verify each one separately. 4. Explain the fit, storage/upload/bandwidth limits, account requirements, retention/expiry, domain support, password protection, and commercial-use terms. Unknown is not confirmation. Do not equate a free trial with permanent free hosting. 5. Use the chosen host's official MCP/API/skill or publishing instructions. The agentLabel field distinguishes dedicated agent routes from CLI/Git workflows. A documented API does not automatically mean that API access is on the free plan. 6. Prepare the artifact and a reviewable publishing plan. Ask the user to authorize publishing before creating a public deployment, unless the user already explicitly authorized it. Keep credentials out of generated files and pages. ## Record shape hosts.json is a JSON array. Important fields include id, slug, name, url, formats, agent, agentLabel, freeHeadline, freeDetail, storage, account, retention, domains, password, caveat, checked, capabilities, billing, execution, freeOffer, and sources (label + url). formats may include html and docs. These indicate documented publishing categories, not universal file-format, viewer, framework, runtime, or size support. Verify the actual artifact. A host's agent field means the directory found a dedicated agent publishing route, not that every integration has been tested. ## Capabilities and matching cautions Each record has a capabilities object. runtimes lists reviewed free browser, serverless, or server hosting. agentModes lists agent (own agent service), mcp (own MCP server), and sandbox (code execution) roles. An empty list means no verified Free support in this snapshot, not proof that the provider can never support it. freeDomain, freePassword, commercial, and alwaysOn are true, false, or null. Null is unverified. Optional freePasswordRuntimes/freePasswordAgentModes/freeDomainAgentModes narrow an entitlement to specific hosting roles; a static-site password does not imply Worker password protection. The website uses these record facts rather than separate provider-ID lists. Unknown domain/password/continuous-process entitlements do not count as confirmed matches. Unverified commercial permission remains a visible terms check, not certification. A false commercial value can represent personal-only or non-production Free scope; read the caveat. agent and agentLabel describe publishing automation; agentModes describes what the host runs. A deployment MCP tool does not make its provider an MCP server host. Horizon hosts Python MCP servers; its built-in chat agent is not arbitrary agent-process hosting. Northflank's free container services run continuously but are for testing. Render sleeps. Upstash freezes. EdgeOne agent and sandbox sessions have a time limit. freeOffer, when present, is ongoing for the new entries. No introductory-credit-only provider was added in this expansion. billing and execution record checked billing behavior and runtime constraints, with explicit unknowns. Hosting allowances do not imply free external LLM calls. Password fields distinguish shared site passwords from email/OAuth/identity access controls. Browser apps match HTML candidates; verify APIs, databases, framework builds, exact file types and size separately. Several selected runtimes or agent roles are alternatives: if the project needs all of them, verify each independently. Each source link and checked date belongs to that record; review dates are not a guarantee of uptime or indefinite retention. ## Bookmarkable host pages Each host has a saved slug and a canonical page at https://hostfree.com/hosts/{slug}/. The vendor website remains in url. Slugs are separate from display names and should not be regenerated when a provider renames. Host pages contain reviewed facts and official links in their HTML, so agents can read a listing without running JavaScript or fetching the entire catalog. ## Agent brief workflow The website's “Get brief for my agent” button generates a copyable text brief from the user's choices and selected host. It includes the reviewed limits, official sources, and unresolved checks. It does not upload files or publish a site. You can construct the same kind of brief directly from hosts.json without driving the browser. No login, API key, or account is needed to read hostFree's directory files. Vendor publishing may require an account or credentials. Do not send files or credentials to hostFree: there is no publishing endpoint here. ## Evidence and independence The 39 records have individual checked dates from October 11–12, 2026. Twenty-nine additions were reviewed against official pricing and documentation on October 12. HostFree has not tested provider deployments, privacy controls, support, or uptime. There are no paid placements or affiliate links in this edition. Independent by PLUSDEV: https://plusdev.com/.