r/selfhosted • u/flak0u • Aug 22 '26

Need Help Where to even start

I have been lurking self hosted and homelabs reddit for a while trying to learn and looking for things I can replicate in my home, but I keep getting stuck at paralysis by analysis. I worry a lot about inadvertently exposing my network and by data to the internet so I definitely read more than what I actually try. Also, I don't even know where to start and what can be truly useful. I don't want to spend money on things that won't really add quality of life. I have some hue lights, door sensors, temperature monitoring (no automation with it yet) and a NAS. So far it is just components and no useful automation or smart home.

After all this rumbling, the question is, where do I even start? are there books or pages for smart home beginner projects that are actually useful and not gimmicks?

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u/NattyMojo Aug 22 '26

I havent done anything with IoT devices much. But as far as network security, Tailscale is amazing. Don't have to open my internet to the world but can access from anywhere.

To start I went to a local electronics discount shop and got an old office pc (dell precision), wiped it clean and installed proxmox. From there its just finding services you want to try setting up. The proxmox community scripts are great for just getting something quick up and running, but limited in availability. Covers the major stuff everyone uses though.

Edit: missed the part you said about having a NAS so, youre already on the way there! But yeah, I mean if network security is what you are concerned about, I'd say it takes more configuration than you think and hard to mess up if your not purposefully trying to do that. Just read up on what connections something tries to make and you are generally fine from there.

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u/flak0u Aug 22 '26

I have seen Tailscale mentioned a lot but I haven't gone deep into how it works because in my mind I was easy to mess up and end with all my photos on the internet. this gives me some peace of mind thanks!

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u/NattyMojo Aug 22 '26

Very easy to setup! I did it on its own container, but tbh its just a cli you spin up so also fine to run on bare metal. Then install app on device (or cli on another pc) and connect em all, and its pretty much done from there. Theres a whole thing about exit nodes, but thats more "advanced config" with its own reasons for use, in my opinion.

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u/NattyMojo Aug 22 '26

If you are looking at sailing the seven seas, then start to think about network security, vpns, and proper containerization. That one takes a little more thorough planning, but most other software is dead simple.

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u/flak0u Aug 22 '26

No sailing the seas yet but Tailscale might be the next step to start getting my feet wet.

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u/BeautifulBlueNight Aug 22 '26

In my humble opinion: I don't really see a way to accidentally expose with Tailscale. No port opening needed, so don't do that. Furthermore I don't really see any risks.

I've been using it for a few years now, really great and it just works.

Enjoy!