Bento office suite: wetin one HTML file fit do

Wetin be Bento

Bento na office suite wey dey ship as one HTML file. You download one file, open am for any modern browser, and that file na both the editor and the document. Installer no dey, and account no dey needed. E get MIT license, the source code dey for github.com/nyblnet/bento, and the first release come out on 21 July 2026. As of 1 August 2026, e never reach two weeks old. Na the most important fact for this post, and na why the last section dey talk about evaluation instead of migration.

Wetín “fits dey inside one file” really mean

Self-hosted office suite normally na stack. Nextcloud na PHP wey dey behind web server, plus database, cache, and background job runner. The editor na another service beside am, either Collabora Online or ONLYOFFICE Docs, usually for e own container. Browser dey communicate with am through HTTP. The document dey for filesystem and one database row, while editing session dey inside editor service.

Bento remove the stack. The download na Bento_Slides.bento.html, about 571 KB for release v1.0.11 (27 July 2026). Inside that one file dey:

• the editor, wey still be the viewer
• presentation runtime wey dey show the deck full screen
• the fonts and images wey the deck dey use, embedded
• the document itself, as readable JSON block near the top of the file

Na saving be the unusual part. The file dey rewrite e own data block. The page dey ask browser for write access through the File System Access API (browser interface wey let page write back to file wey user pick), and for browsers wey no get that API, you go get download instead. When you edit deck, e dey produce new copy of the same self-contained file. Nothing dey upload, because nothing dey upload go.

Na this detail people dey get wrong when dem hear “single file”. E no be one server binary wey dey run your office suite as one process for your VPS. No process dey at all. Browser na the runtime, so VPS, if you use one, go serve static file and nothing else.

Bento office suite wey dey available today

"Office suite" na wetin the project wan become, no be wetin e get now. One application dey: bento/slides, wey dey edit presentations. The roadmap list bento/spaces for notes, bento/dash for sheets and tables, and bento/vault. Dem plan each one as separate self-contained .bento.html file. If you need word processor or spreadsheet today, Bento no get am.

Release pace high. v1.0.6 for 21 July 2026 na the first release build, and v1.0.11 land for 27 July 2026: six releases for seven days. This show say the maintainers dey active, but e also warn you about the software. Anything wey dey change that fast still dey find bugs. The release notes show am: fixes for large text wey dey crash live collaboration, stylesheet duplication for saved files, and chart baselines for negative values.

Why one file dey suit small VPS

To publish a deck mean say you copy one file enter directory wey your web server don already dey serve. Nothing dey to coordinate, no container to keep running, and no database migration when you upgrade. Compare am with the editor services, using each vendor own published minimums:

[
  {
    "label": "bento/slides (no backend)",
    "min_ram_mb": 0
  },
  {
    "label": "Collabora Online CODE",
    "min_ram_mb": 1024
  },
  {
    "label": "ONLYOFFICE Docs, Debian package",
    "min_ram_mb": 2048
  },
  {
    "label": "ONLYOFFICE Docs, Docker",
    "min_ram_mb": 4096
  }
]

Na vendor-published minimums be these as of August 2026; dem no be numbers we measure for running machine. Collabora publish 1 GB for the system plus roughly 50 MB per user, so 1024 MB na the minimum before your first user connect. ONLYOFFICE Docs need 2048 MB from the Debian package and 4096 MB for Docker, plus 4 GB of swap and 40 GB of disk. Bento editing backend need 0 MB because editing backend no dey. Under either editor service, you still dey run Nextcloud itself with its database and cache. So for 2 GB VPS, na this gap decide wetin else you fit host.

Backup dey simpler for the same way. To restore Nextcloud mean say you restore files and database wey agree with each other for the same point in time. To restore Bento deck mean say you restore one file. E still need proper backup with history, because editor dey rewrite the file in place, and in-place write fit fail: scheduled restic snapshot of that directory go cover am.

One optional server component dey. Live collaboration dey use wetin the project call blind relay, and you fit self-host am from server/sync-worker/ for the repository. Browser dey encrypt documents with AES-GCM (Galois/Counter Mode, an authenticated encryption mode), room key no ever leave the file, and relay dey hold ciphertext, connection timing, and hash of that key. If na only you dey edit, you no need relay.

Wetín you give up compared with Nextcloud and Collabora

Access control na the biggest gap. For Bento, the collaboration key dey created together with the document and e dey inside the file, so anybody wey get the file don become member of the session. To rotate the key na how you revoke somebody access. That model no get accounts, groups, single sign-on, or audit trail. Nextcloud give you users, share links wey get expiry dates, quotas, server-side version history, and mobile clients. If two people need different access levels for the same document, Bento no fit represent that.

Format interoperability na the second gap. Bento dey store im own JSON, and na exactly why the file dey readable and why script fit edit am. Collabora and ONLYOFFICE dey made to round-trip OOXML (the .docx and .pptx family) with high fidelity, because na that format the rest of the world go send you. Check the release notes to confirm wetin the version wey you download fit import and export before you build workflow wey assume say e compatible with PowerPoint.

Maturity na the third gap. The project dey document im own rough edges plainly, and that na one good point about am. Undo during live collaboration dey use snapshots, and e fit revert another collaborator concurrent edit to the same property. Editing dey desktop-first, while phones better for viewing and presenting than for editing. The save-as menu still no fit well inside phone screen. Those na the known limitations for v1.0.11. Since the project only don exist for two weeks, unknown limitations still dey.

Make you trust real documents to am?

Split the question based on wetin the document need. Conference talk, sales deck, or lecture wey you wan open again for ten years na good fit, because the file carry im own editor and e no need the project to still dey exist for 2036. Contract wey get three reviewers, retention policy, and named approver no be good fit, because that document need accounts and server-side history.

Two practical guards. Keep decks for version control or backup wey get history, because file wey rewrite itself when you save fit also corrupt when you save am, and you go need yesterday copy. And treat a .bento.html from person wey you no know as program, no be document, because na that e be: web page wey get complete application inside am. Open am the same way you go open any untrusted web page.

The automation part really useful and e worth mention. Because the document na plain JSON inside the file, coding agent fit edit a .bento.html directly, and the project ship Claude Code skill for that. E also work with local open-weight models, so box wey already dey run Ollama to serve your own model fit draft slides without sending anything comot from the machine.

Where Bento dey fit for small server

Bento dey belong with other single-purpose tools wey fit earn place for small VPS because dem remain small: self-hosted RSS reader or Actual Budget for personal finance. One job, small footprint, and data wey you fit read without the application. People wey dey replace their notes app with one of the self-hosted Notion alternatives dey make the same trade-off, and the wider guide to wetin you fit self-host cover the rest of that list.

If you need complete document platform wey get users, sharing, and version history, Nextcloud for VPS with Docker, TLS and backups still be the answer. Bento no dey compete for that position. Na the thing wey you send give person outside your server, as one file wey go open for dem without login or plugin.

FAQ

Bento replace Nextcloud and Collabora?

No be for the same work. Nextcloud with Collabora or ONLYOFFICE give you accounts, shared folders, permissions and server-side version history, and e need real server stack to provide dem. Bento give you one portable file wey fit open anywhere and e no need server. Use Bento when document suppose self-contained. Use Nextcloud stack when different people need different access to the same document over time.

Bento need server or VPS?

No. A .bento.html file fit open from local disk for any modern browser and e fit edit offline. VPS dey useful for two optional things: serving the file over HTTPS so other people fit download am, and running sync relay for live collaboration. You fit self-host the relay from server/sync-worker/ for the project repository, and e dey store ciphertext plus connection metadata, so e no ever see your content.

Which format Bento dey use to save documents?

E get im own JSON format, written as readable block near the top of the HTML file, with fonts and images embedded alongside am. Open the file for text editor and you fit read the document structure. Na why scripts and AI agents fit edit deck in place. This also mean say the stored format no be OOXML, so no assume say .pptx workflow go work until you don test import and export for the release wey you dey run.

How collaboration dey work when user accounts no dey?

Bento dey create the collaboration key when e create the document, and the key dey inside the file. So anybody wey hold the file fit join the session. Edits dey merge with a CRDT (conflict-free replicated data type, structure wey dey merge concurrent changes without central authority) and dem dey travel encrypted with AES-GCM. Presence names na claims, dem no be proof. So read the participant list as label, no be identity check. To revoke access, rotate the key and redistribute the file.

Bento ready for important documents?

E get MIT license and people dey develop am in the open. But e never reach two weeks old on 1 August 2026, and e get six releases for im first week. Treat am as software wey you dey evaluate this month, no be software wey you go standardise on this quarter. Keep every deck for backup with history. Test the export path wey you depend on before you depend on am. Keep anything wey get compliance or retention requirement for system wey get accounts and version history.