Several years ago, during my graduate program, I took a quarter off to save money on tuition and try and hack together software that could be installed on single-board computers that would provision a captive portal and allow you to use Hugo templates to make local websites. I got the bootstrapping script and the UI of the admin portal, but I didn't get it to a state where I could do the work on it that would both satisfy the requirements of my degree and realize the vision of the project to my satisfaction. I archived the code and continued living. From time to time, I would think about pulling it out of cold storage, but I've never picked it back up.
This year, I had the privilege of attending HOPE in Manhattan. It was there I encountered Brandon, the person behind Pocket Servers. I was floored because it is an exceptional and exceptionally rare moment to meet someone whose brain is wired up similarly. I picked up a board from the table, went on my way, and began thinking about the types of static websites I would want to load onto the Pocket Server.
Back at our hotel, my wife asked if I purchased any computers while I was out. She asked this somewhat sarcastically but found herself facing brief horror when I said yes. I pulled the device out of my bag, and she's like, "Oh, it's so small. That's fine." She then asked, "Why is it naked?" Which, fair. Most people don't normally encounter computers as purely the printed circuit board (PCB).
While at the conference, I tinkered away at the first bit of software I would put on the device; that is still in progress. The second I got home, I pulled out the calipers and cracked open FreeCAD. I am not good at FreeCAD, and as amazing as the software is, it is also a testament to the virtues of paying for software (the virtue being that companies spend chestfuls of cash making things "simple"). After more hours that I would like something like this to take me, I've got a housing. The files are CC-BY-SA and can be found on ManyFold. This case was built for the 2026-defcon-0.1 boards. The board type can be found on the back of the PCB.
I wanted to use this post to walk through this file I designed and discuss some of the decisions I made and what I would do were I making a second version. I had three goals when starting this. To create a lidded enclosure that exposed the USB-C and MicroSD slots. Along the way, I racked up more desires that I didn't realize. I ended up adding a tab that the board can slide under. This is mostly to prevent it from immediately popping out when you pull off the lid.
I don't have many notes on the case itself. I do think I could have tuned the size a little bit more because there is a slight rattle when the device is slotted in. One thing I wish I did in FreeCAD is to make greater use of external geometry for constraints so that moving and resizing the slots and tabs would be more seamless.
The lid came last and suffers from the desire to stop working on it. I made it using the easiest method I could think of, which was pressure fitting. It's two rectangular pads with some filets and chamfers. I also eschewed making a vent for this. I'm not sure how hot these ESP32 chips get, but I do think a vented lid is in the future. Another oversight to this lid is that the Pocket Server contains GPIO pins and, with the current case, you cannot wire anything in. That's a bummer because there's real potential here, and it's something that anyone remixing the files should rectify.
When I was deciding between a pressure-fit lid or a tabbed mechanism, I came across this video on compliant mechanisms. As cool as they are, they are currently beyond my skill level (and available time). I opted to stash that idea in the back of my mind for when I have the bandwidth.
All in all, not a bad way to spend several hours. You can only get better with practice and practicing means making a lot of functional but perhaps mediocre things along the way. There's not a lot in the way of a guide but I hope it seeds some ideas all the same.
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License
This piece Housing the Pocket Server © 2026 by Glass Hound Computing, LLC is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
The header image Sitting with the Pocket Server and accompanying demonstration images © 2026 by Glass Hound Computing, LLC is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/