Guides for running your own services instead of renting them from hyperscalers. Covers Nextcloud for file sync, Jellyfin for media, Vaultwarden for passwords, Gitea for version control, and dozens of other open source platforms that replace the subscription stack most people default to. Every guide includes the Docker Compose file, the reverse proxy config, the backup approach, and the failure modes we have hit in production. Self-hosting is not about paranoia. It is about owning the infrastructure your life runs on, understanding how it works, and keeping your data under your own roof. If you want sovereignty over your digital life, this is the practical path.
Run your own family history platform instead of renting one. Full Gramps Web deployment on a Raspberry Pi or mini PC with Docker Compose, including the first-boot traps nobody documents.
Self-Host Your Family Tree: Gramps Web on Ubuntu with Docker Read More »
Nobody needs an RMM in a homelab. My estate is managed with Ansible, and seventeen Linux hosts do not need remote monitoring and management on top of that. I deployed NetLock RMM at the end of last year anyway, out of curiosity, and because it is privacy-focused and European it sits on the same shelf
I Deployed a Self-Hosted RMM, Decided It Was Limited, and Was Completely Wrong Read More »
A self-hosted, European, privacy-focused RMM deployed with Docker Compose: what NetLock RMM is, how I run it, agent rollout with Ansible, the AI/Ollama layer, and the two gotchas that cost me hours.
NetLock RMM: Overview and Deployment with Docker Read More »
From zero to a working multi-domain Mailcow email server: the DNS that actually matters, the firewall gotchas nobody mentions, and how to prove your mail arrives.
How to Set Up Your Own Email Server with Mailcow (Complete Guide) Read More »
A weekend rabbit hole worth sharing. I stumbled across Project NOMAD a few days ago. It’s an open-source bundle (Apache 2.0, runs in Docker) that puts the useful parts of the internet on a Raspberry Pi or a mini-PC. The first thing that surprised me was that I’d never heard of it. The second was
Project NOMAD: Self-Hosted Internet in a Box for Practitioners Read More »
Port forwarding is how we exposed home services to the internet ten years ago. Nobody should be doing it in 2026. The single best free upgrade you can make to a self-hosted setup right now is replacing every forwarded port with a Cloudflare Tunnel. This post is the complete step-by-step for getting a tunnel live
How to Set Up Cloudflare Tunnels on Debian (2026) Read More »
The Commands That Actually Matter Docker has over 50 commands. You’ll use about 10 of them regularly. The rest are either for building images, managing swarm clusters, or edge cases you’ll look up once a year. This guide covers the 10 commands I run most frequently across six Docker hosts, with the flags I actually
10 Docker Commands Every Homelab Admin Should Know Read More »
The docker-compose.yml used in this guide (copy-paste ready). What Docker Compose Actually Is (and Isn’t) Docker Compose is a way to define and run multi-container applications using a single YAML file. Instead of typing out long docker run commands with a dozen flags, you describe what you want in a file called docker-compose.yml and run
Docker Compose for Beginners: A Practical Guide Read More »
Why Debian 12 for Docker Debian is what Ubuntu is built on, but without the extras. No snap packages, no Ubuntu Pro nag screens, no Canonical telemetry, no systemd-resolved stub resolver causing DNS headaches in containers. It’s a leaner, more predictable base for a Docker host, and there’s a reason it’s the default choice for
How to Install Docker on Debian 12 (Bookworm) Read More »
Why Docker on a Raspberry Pi Makes Sense I have three Raspberry Pis running Docker in my homelab. One handles DNS and ad blocking, another runs monitoring and a dashboard, and the third runs Listmonk for newsletter management. They draw about 5 watts each, run silently, and cost less than a month of any cloud
How to Install Docker on Raspberry Pi (2026 Guide) Read More »
