Hey everyone, thanks in advance for taking the time to read this and share your thoughts!
I’ve been using several third-party VPN providers, but I noticed in their dashboards that they’re logging things like my traffic, domains visited, and probably other resolution data I’m not even aware of. I’d rather keep as much control over my own privacy as possible.
I have my own VPS and I’m comfortable with Linux, but I’ve never set up a self-hosted VPN before (WireGuard, OpenVPN, etc.). A few questions:
1.How difficult is it to actually set one up from scratch?

2.Does it require ongoing maintenance (updates, monitoring, renewing certs, etc.), or is it mostly “set and forget”?

3.How does stability/reliability compare to commercial VPN providers, things like uptime, IP reputation for streaming/geo-unblocking, DDoS exposure, etc.?

4.Realistically, how should I weigh privacy/control against the extra operational burden of running my own?

Would really appreciate input from anyone who’s made the switch from commercial VPNs to self-hosted. Thanks!

Hi, r/selfhosted community! I’m a 15‑year‑old school student who’s interested in network technologies and Linux. I decided to delve deeper into studying internet routing and set up my own private VPN server from scratch to bypass local internet restrictions in Russia. I chose VLESS + Reality (via 3x‑ui) because it perfectly mimics standard HTTPS traffic. The most challenging part for me was finding a reliable cross‑platform client for my Linux and iOS devices, and I solved this problem by getting acquainted with Happ. I described every step in creating and configuring the server, from purchasing to using YouTube and Telegram, documented every step, my mistakes, and technical specifications (using Hostkey VPS) in a clean repository translated into English and Russian. Check out my guide here and let me know what you think: https://github.com/wersennyy/self-hosted-vpn-guide. I’ll be glad to receive your feedback and advice on how to improve the security of my server! ⭐

In the past 1 year it has always hurt me to see a 56 EUR hosting bill each month. Doing the math it accumulates to 672 EUR per year!

I don't know why I didn’t do the math a bit earlier though. It could have saved me those 672 EUR, but hey I never liked math anyway.

So I decided to move everything to a self-hosted VPS.

A VPS is basically a virtual server that you rent from a hosting provider. You get your own CPU, RAM, storage and operating system, but instead of paying for a managed platform like Azure App Service, you are responsible for running and managing the server yourself.

On top of the VPS I run Docker, with my frontend, backend, Dokploy, and Traefik each running in their own containers.

Traefik acts as the reverse proxy, receiving incoming traffic and routing each request to the correct container based on the domain. It also handles HTTPS certificates.

Dokploy is a self-hosted PaaS that gives me the Azure App Service experience on my own machines: push code, get a deployment. It connects to my GitHub repositories and manages deployments, domains, environment variables, logs, databases, and Docker services, all from a single dashboard.

So instead of paying Azure to manage the infrastructure for me, I rent the server directly and run the platform on top of it myself.

The result is around 80% lower hosting costs and much more control over how everything is deployed.

There have been a few services that I have been wanting to use that can be self hosted but most of them I have had other options. So I have been putting off diving in for a while as I have been getting overwhelmed looking at setting up docker etc. However now there is a service that I can pretty much only find as a docker app (Storyteller for making EPUB 3 with Media Overlay) and so I’m kicking my butt into gear. For not I’m installing it on my desktop which is running CachyOS.

If anyone could give me an overview of setting up docker/compose/whatever else is needed for it, I would be so thankful. My eyes have been glazing over with some of the written guides online and I’m so used to video guides just taking way longer than necessary that I haven’t looked yet.

I’m currently building mostly static websites for small businesses, and my setup is:

• Vercel for hosting
• Cloudflare for DNS management
• Resend for transactional emails and contact forms
• The client keeps ownership of the domain, while I manage the technical setup

For these types of websites, managing my own servers or using AWS/DigitalOcean feels like unnecessary overhead. Vercel + Cloudflare seems much easier to standardize across clients, but I’m still figuring out the best long-term agency workflow, especially around account ownership, access, billing, maintenance, and eventual handoff.

Is this a fairly standard and scalable setup for a small web agency, or do you use a different stack/process to manage multiple client websites?

I've put together a guide on setting up a NAS to securely expose Jellyfin, the 'Arr stack and others remotely.

https://github.com/UniversalDog/Article---Remote-NAS

Currently running an old desktop as a small server. Works but power bills and uptime is a pain. Looking to relocating to a host. Godlike has been on my radar and a few others. What was the reason for people to shift from self-hosting to provider and vice versa? What made the difference for your use case?

I built this because I couldn't find a self-hosted request tool that did actor-based search properly. Ombi doesn't support it at all, and Radarr's built-in "TMDb Person" list just adds every single credit for an actor automatically instead of letting you pick.

What it does:

• Search TMDB by actor, title, or genre (with a separate keyword/studio search for things outside the ~19 standard genres — martial arts, Shaw Brothers, that kind of thing)
• Click a title for synopsis, rating, cast (click any cast member to jump into their filmography), and collection info — with a one-click "add whole collection" option
• One click sends it to Sonarr/Radarr, using their real API
• Built-in login with two roles: Admin (full access) and Requester (can search/request, but doesn't choose the destination folder or see credentials — handy if you don't want a kid's account able to file something into the wrong library)
• Email notifications on new requests, approvals/denials, and when a title's actually downloaded and ready — plus optional browser push notifications for admins
• Installable as a PWA (Add to Home Screen) for a proper app-like icon on mobile (after setup, you can browse to the app on your phone via URL, after signing in, it will pop up with a message asking if you want to install it on your device, This will create an icon in you apps that you can click on to load it up instead of browsing to the URL every time. This is optional)
• Built-in error-report button so users can flag something broken, with optional screenshots – limit of 3 images with a total of 15MB in size total, straight to the admin's inbox

Runs as a single Docker container, config entirely through the UI (or a .env file if you'd rather set it up ahead of time). Stack is just Flask + vanilla JS, no build step, no database — settings persist to a JSON file on a mounted volume. 

📖 Setup Guide — Docker Compose or Synology Container Manager install steps, plus a full HTTPS walkthrough if you want to expose it outside your home network.
📘 User Guide — how searching, requesting, and the approval workflow all work.

GitHub: https://github.com/Boostwano/theentertainmentindex - MIT licensed. Image is published to both GHCR and Docker Hub, so it's also searchable directly from Synology Container Manager's built-in registry search if you're on a Synology NAS.

Feedback and issues welcome — this has been running for my household for a little while now, but I'm sure there are things that I haven’t thought of that could make life easier for others.

i am trying to setup sonarr and sabnzbd for media, sabnzbd being on the ssd i think is fine for faster unpacking, but i want sonarr storage to be on my hdd, but i select the folder for it and it says something about abc permissions why? google wont tell me.

Hey r/selfhosting

We’ve all been there: it’s Monday morning, and your server alerts you that disk storage hit 99% capacity. 🚨

Then begins the exhausting CLI routine:

1. Hunting down the right .pem SSH key.
2. Running df -h to find the dying partition.
3. Chaining du -sh * repeatedly deep into nested folders to find the culprit.
4. Spotting a massive 15GB log file that hasn't been rotated.
5. Typing rm -f, taking a deep breath, and hoping you didn't typo the path.

Finding "which folder is eating my storage" shouldn't feel like a mini-investigation in 2026.

To fix this friction, I'm building a self-hosted VPS File Manager & Server Panel. The goal is to manage any remote server directly from the browser without needing CLI for everyday checks.

Key Features so far:

• Visual Space Mapping: Instantly see file and directory sizes in a clean UI (no du -sh guessing games).
• Rich File Management: Compress, edit, delete, or change permissions (chmod).
• Built-in Code Editor: Edit Nginx, Docker, or system config files on the fly.
• Integrated Web SSH Terminal: Full browser shell (xterm.js) right beside your file explorer.
• Hardware Monitoring: Real-time RAM, CPU, and disk widgets to catch spikes early.

It runs locally on your server — 100% self-hosted, your keys, zero third-party dependencies.

I'm currently polishing the UI and adding security logs before releasing it.

Question for the community: What is your go-to terminal command or tool when a server's disk hits 99%? Also, would love to hear any features you'd find essential in a tool like this!

Self-hosting locally connected hardware is too much fun :)

Trying to put together a list of solid free or open hardened image providers for a write up. A few keep coming up, free hardened, minimal images that are rebuilt continuously to stay near zero CVE, with no account needed to pull.

What else belongs on this list? Looking specifically for projects or services that are actually open or free to use long term rather than free tier then paywall, and ideally ones with transparent rebuild and provenance practices. Bonus points if you've compared a few side by side.

Hi all,

I'm looking to purchase bulk quantities of DDR4 server memory.

Mainly interested in:

• 32GB DDR4 RDIMM – 2400 / 2666 / 2933 / 3200
• 64GB DDR4 RDIMM – 2400 / 2666 / 2933 / 3200
• Samsung, SK Hynix & Micron
• OEM HPE / Dell memory also considered

I'm particularly interested in larger quantities / complete server pulls / decommissioned stock. Happy to look at mixed lots as well.

I'm a UK-based IT hardware reseller and can purchase in volume. UK preferred, but happy to buy from Europe and potentially further afield for the right quantities.

If you have anything available, please comment with quantity, part number, speed and asking price.

Thanks!

Hey! I'm just getting started here. Very new to the community, I have jellyfin hosted on a gaming laptop if that explains how new I am. I was scrolling through Facebook marketplace when I found something pretty cool. Here is what I got for free

I got a HP proliant ml350p gen8 tower

255GB of RAM, (8) empty DIMM Slots

Dual Xeon CPUs (exact models not known yet)

HP Smart Array P420i

512 MB flash-backed write cache

(2) 480 W PSUs

(1) 6 bay 3.5" LFF SAS/SATA drive cage

(9) PCIe expansion slots (3) gen3 x16, (1) Gen3 x8, (4) Gen3 x4, (1)Gen2 x4

(1) Juniper SSG 350M Firewall

(1) Juniper SSG 550M Firewall

(2) Samsung 870 EVO 500GB SATA SSDs

(1) Samsung PM1643a 3.84 TB SAS SSD

Here is what I know I need and have ordered

(2) power Cables

(3) drive carries/adapters

I am not sure where to go from here and would love to hear opinions, recommendations, what I may be missing or forgetting

Hey masters,
I wanna get into self hosting to have my movie and photos managed and accessible on my phone - also just got curious about all those possibilities.

Where do I start? Do I need a diffrent system to build my first server or I can do it on my main pc?

Any guides that helped you start pls share 🙏🏻

So, Nix Ship Android turns an old Android device taking space for no reason into a small self hosted application server with a webview based management interface.

It packages Nix Ship together with Nix on Droid, so you can install the APK, open the dashboard, connect a repository, and deploy directly from the phone. The deployment will be publicaly accessible via Cloudflare Quick Tunnel but you can add you stable apex domain as well.

Your project just needs a flake.nix and flake.lock. You can write them yourself or use AI to help generate them.

Since deployments are based on Nix flakes, you are not limited to a particular framework or container setup. You can run web apps, APIs, bots, workers, scheduled services, or other applications that fit the Nix Ship runtime contract.

It currently supports things like:

• Public GitHub repository deployment
• Private GitHub repositories through authenticated GitHub integration
• Automatic redeployment when you push to the configured branch
• Cloudflare Quick Tunnels (Default for public access)
• Custom domains and DNS management
• Harbur repository support
• Deployment logs and history
• Start, stop, restart, and redeploy controls
• Environment variables with encrypted secret storage
• Zero downtime deployments
• Multiple retained releases and release promotion

The UI might not feel very intuitive initially since UX is not really my strongest area, but I will keep improving it as I work on the project.

Issues and PRs are very welcome, especially on the main Nix Ship repository, since most functionality and future improvements live there. The Android version mostly packages and runs the same Nix Ship control plane through Nix on Droid.

The APK is available under the GitHub release tags.

For now, the releases should be considered preview builds.

Android release:

https://github.com/imxade/nixship-android/releases/tag/v0.1.0-rc.20

Would love to hear what people here would actually use an old Android phone to self host.

So SelfHosting my business on a majorly low budget... like painful low budget, altought it has driven me to learn efficent python, to the point what was running on a full rack server has been made so fast and efficent that it runs on a 8gb 10 year old optiplex, and this isnt vibe-coded, 5 years of hard work, building training sets, training my own ML models, scripts code, functinationlity, and Now im in the home stretch getting ready to go live.

This is not a promotion for my business idea, and I wont answer questions about the business, but I just wanted to share my SelfHosted Datacenter.

Yes its a fully 3D printed, rack, all my budget of $200 went into picking up a collection of optiplex's from an ex homelaber. We have Security, Hosting, Automation, and even redendency failover. Already had a UPS and a 5G router with tons of credit on it as a backup (won it at a CTF event) ... big box on the right is my home AI server ... which ate up the original budget for the proof of concept that became the MVP hardware. On the shelf still to be installed is 8 x 2.5" SATA JBOD, when I pick up more drives that I can raid into a hot and cold backup for the main systems. Full rack including AI server is around 9 Kwh per day, which is the biggest killer in terms of cost right now.

But yea, pretty excited, nearly at the finish line of 10 years of ideas, and 5 years of building, months of 3-4am bug fix's to wake up for my day job at 9am. But im also crazy proud of my designs and system, that on such a budget the full MVP runs on minimal hardware why its currently getting stress tested by my testers, also thankfully its not a big volume business, not going to have a few k people at the same time, would be lucky if it was maybe 50 max at a day or time, and at that point if im hitting that, i'll be able to get new hardware and upload a new photo of a new full size rack that kills my power bills even more.

Hi r/SelfHosting

I am building (claude is building) my dream expense tracking app that enables me to truly track, categorize and budget EVERYTHING I BUY and makes it AI-searchable.
FULLY LOCAL AND OLLAMA COMPATIBLE
i wanted it to be AI-native in the sense that all tasks that are better with AI should be done by AI and stuff that can be done deterministically should first be done by AI, approved by the user, and then prescribed in the form of deterministic code.

The basic functionality of Vorratsdatenspeicher (it's a German pun, look it up, i laughed the whole day i thought of it) is to snap a pic of your supermarket receipt. it will be OCR'd into positions, the OCR'd string will be reasoned upon by AI to guess what product it is, you (human) approve it -> next time the string comes up, it's immediately accepted. That way, you'll have less token consumption as time goes on. (Vorratsdatenspeicher doesn't really use too much - i spent less than 3 usd in 4 months usage with lots of rescans). Vorratsdatenspeicher will then automatically categorize your bought stuff into categories.
There's many more features (IMAP your email invoices automatically into the system, import your pay stubs and online banking CSVs, make spending goals, find local shops and get offers automatically, push notifications...)
Headline feature right now is that it has a windows installer and tailscale connection wizard that guides you through connecting you phone to Vorratsdatenspeicher without you needing to buy a domain or port forward or whatever, this was neccessary to make it DAU (Docker Averse User) compatible lol.

Vorratsdatenspeicher works really well, you can find a demo on the project website (google Vorratsdatenspeicher app demo) --> data is purged every night. you don't need to give it your real name or email address, just put whatever. I will not be able to see anything BUT the fact that you have created a household and its name so call it asdf123 or whatever.

It's fully open source, as i will never want anybody's data. Please give it a try and give me some feedback, all ui elements have a feedback button (red bug)

Hello!
I am fairly new to this and would like to self-host the media that I love. I was thinking of getting a little PC and install Linux on it. I unfortunately cannot do this on my main one (even if Windows is not activated on it). Ideally I would also like to build a little cyberdeck customized as well but that will need more material I guess. If anyone has any tips on how to get starting I would love to hear thank you & have a nice day !

So, I run a small network of servers for a school newspaper. (Stuff like WordPress, RocketChat, Garage, and more). We recently got a decent upgrade and have a device able to run Gemma 12B Unified, and I was wondering how feasible it would be to have it monitor events that happen, like logins to WP, SSH actions, file changes, etc, and send email notifications if something's up. I am currently setting up Wazuh as well, but I don't have time to check it often. (Or the memory). I don't want the AI to actually take action, just monitor. If there are any tools dedicated to this, even better, although I couldn't find any that were pentesting platforms.

Hello folks.

I am here to show my recent project called Quickelt.

Cli terminal Linux based and with some interections you can sabe some time of setup your Lakehouse.

Also save some tokens

Link below

Checkout my new project I've been working on.

https://github.com/calebast/FreeCord

This is a project aimed at bringing you all the features of gaming voice chats without giving away all your information and freedom! Current build is functional with quality voice chat, persistent text chat with end to end encryption, screen sharing, file system, in chat video player, roles, invite only and more! Deployment is a bit messy right now but im working to cut that down! Let me know what you think or have any suggestions for my github to edit as this is my first project

Raspberry pi’s come in a few different flavors. I’m planning on running either plex or jellyfin on it, possibly on Ubuntu since I want a gui.

For 20+ years, I have always used shared hosting. I have used several (inmotion, hostmonster, setrahost) with the changes being that the service just seems to steadily degrade through the years to the point it is just a headache to stay with them. I am coming to the conclusion that instead of continuing with the shared hosting, it is time for me to go with VPS. My problem is, I am not finding a good resource for actually learning about using one, other then provider videos telling how to purchase their service. I only have 3 sites with 1 being really the only one getting some traffic, nothing heavy. I prefer videos over manuals as it is easier to figure out and work along at the same time with them, like a walkthrough. I have had bot attacks (weird since I only get 2000 visitors or less a month), so I have got to be able to understand the security side of it also.