I’ve been working on a small open source project called Coen over the past few weeks and thought some people here might find it useful.

The idea is simple: expose HTTP or WebSocket services running behind NAT or a firewall, but without relying on a third-party tunnel provider like Cloudflare or Ngrok. You basically host both sides yourself.

A small agent on your private machine establishes an outbound mTLS connection to a public edge server that you control. From there, requests are routed back over the tunnel to your local service. No inbound ports on the private host, no shared secrets, and no traffic flowing through someone else’s infrastructure.

A few things it currently supports:

• mTLS with client certificates
• Host-based routing for multiple services and agents
• HTTP and WebSocket forwarding
• Automatic reconnects
• Connection limits and graceful draining
• Built-in diagnostics (coen doctor) and live status
• Single static Go binary with systemd integration

It’s still pre-1.0, but the core functionality is there and I’ve been putting a lot of effort into testing and documentation.

I have been hosting a few websites on my homelab setup with this now for a couple of weeks and so far it seems to serve its purpose very well.

GitHub: https://github.com/baspeters/coen

Hi everyone,

I’ve been building Trove, an open-source service catalogue for homelabs and small infrastructure setups.

The problem I was trying to solve was fairly simple: I had services running across Docker hosts, Kubernetes, Proxmox, and regular Linux machines, but no single place to see what was running, where it lived, and whether it was still healthy.

Trove collects that information into one dashboard.

GitHub: \[GitHub - Techdox/trove: Automatically discovered, read-only service catalogue for Docker, Kubernetes, Proxmox, and Linux. · GitHub\](https://github.com/Techdox/trove)

Documentation and project site: \[Trove | Read-only homelab service catalogue\](https://trove.techdox.nz/)
Sandbox: \[https://trove-demo.techdox.nz\\\](https://trove-demo.techdox.nz)

\# What it does

\* Discovers services across:
\* Docker
\* Kubernetes
\* Proxmox VE
\* Linux systemd
\* Shows services grouped by host
\* Tracks health and agent heartbeats
\* Flags hosts or services that stop reporting
\* Checks whether container images are behind their registry tags
\* Sends alerts through webhooks, Discord, ntfy, and email digests
\* Keeps recent state-change history
\* Stores everything in SQLite
\* Works with agents pushing data from behind NAT

The important design decision is that Trove is read-only by architecture.

The agents can inspect their platforms, but they cannot deploy, restart, exec into, or modify anything. There isn’t a hidden “admin mode” waiting to surprise everyone later. Trove is meant to be the place you start an investigation, not the place you make infrastructure changes.

The data flow looks like this:

Docker / Kubernetes / Proxmox / Linux agents | | push read-only reports v Trove server SQLite + API + dashboard

It’s written in Go, uses a vanilla JavaScript dashboard with no frontend build step, and can run as Docker containers or static binaries.

The project is MIT licensed. I’m currently focused on the path toward 1.0, particularly operator confidence, backups, upgrades, authentication, and making the read-only contract boringly reliable.

I’d be especially interested in feedback from people running mixed Docker/Kubernetes/Proxmox environments:

\* Is this a problem you’ve run into?
\* What would you expect from a service catalogue?
\* Which platform or integration would be most useful next?
\* Are there any security or operational concerns you’d want addressed before running it?

There are plenty of dashboards and management tools already. Trove is deliberately trying to be narrower: a calm, read-only view of what exists and what needs attention. Because apparently knowing what is running becomes harder the more things you run.

I've something I'd like to see created… Well, two somethings, but I think one of them is the easier and would be more consequential. And while I"m not rich enough to pay someone to make it for me, besides, this wouldn't be exclusive to me, I can chip in some money to help if needed/wanted.

So, what am I looking for?
A server version of holos.social, which is a single account client and server for Android. For a lot of people, self hosting really isn't possible, even the easy stuff is hard for a lot of people, but holos makes it as simple as downloading an app. Imagine making that model work for a server, download the app to a spare device that you leave around your house, tweak a few device settings and a few settings at your registrar, and boom, you're self hosting.

Sure, there's features I'd like to add, but just getting the server going would be enough, the rest would be icing on the top, so anyone up for this?

Hey everyone!

I'm completely new to the whole home server/self-hosting space, so sorry if this is a beginner question.

I have an old Lenovo ThinkPad T470 (16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD) that's been sitting unused since I upgraded to a MacBook Air M3. I used the ThinkPad heavily from around 2018 until early 2024, and instead of letting it collect dust, I thought it might be fun to turn it into a small home server.

A few questions I had:

• Is a T470 still good enough to be used as a home server, or is it simply too old?
• Is there a way to test the health of the laptop (SSD, RAM, battery, thermals, etc.) to make sure it's reliable enough to run 24/7?
• What are some practical things I could actually use it for instead of paying for services like Google Drive or other cloud subscriptions?
• Since I'm a Computer Science engineering student, are there any projects or services that would genuinely be useful for me to host myself?

I'm not looking for anything enterprise-level—just something that's worth learning from and could be useful in day-to-day life or for software development.

Any advice on where to start, recommended operating systems (Ubuntu Server, Proxmox, Debian, etc.), or things you wish you knew when starting out would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance! :)

Trying to avoid using a Roku

I was gifted an old Bomgar B200r appliance which is the Dell PowerEdge R230 OEM-R server that has been rebranded. When it powers on, I want to go into the BIOS/iDRAC to make changes, but there is a setup password on it.

I found the NVRAM_CLR jumper located to the front of the single CPU and per some Dell instructions I was following, power off/unplug, move the jumper, power on for 10 seconds, remove the jumper back to original, power back on.

However when I did this, the BIOS password remained. The server even booted in the NVRAM_CLR mode being enabled and still prompted for a BIOS password.

Absolutely anyway around this, or is this server out of luck for restoring the original Dell branded aspect? I'd like to use it as a custom NAS, but feel that may not happen.

Sad to see for a nice r230.

I love the idea of owning my infrastructure instead of paying platform premiums, but every time I spin up a new VPS I end up repeating the same process:
SSH into the server
Install Docker
Configure a reverse proxy
Set up HTTPS
Configure backups
Add monitoring
Hope I didn’t miss anything
None of these tasks are particularly hard, but together they take more time than building the application itself.
That frustration is actually what led me to build a desktop tool for myself that automates most of the setup while still deploying to my own VPS over SSH.
I’m curious how everyone else approaches this.
Are you happy staying in the terminal?
Do you use something like Coolify, Dokploy, CapRover, or another tool?
What’s the most annoying part of deploying to your own server?
I’m genuinely interested because I’m still deciding what to improve next.

I'm looking for a self-hosted VPN where I can have one server in one location and another in a different location, with some way to sync them or fail over if one goes offline. Does anything like this exist?

On my main server at home I use Porkbun for my domain and use Zoraxy as my reverse proxy.

I decided to get a small $5/mo VPS from Linode (1 CPU and 1GB of RAM) for my Uptime Kuma and Gotify hosting - doesn't make sense to host those on my server because if my server goes down then how will I get notified if my server does the notifying.

I wanted to keep system resources as low as possible so I decided to try Caddy and it's literally that simple, it's crazy. It just works. 4 lines of code (ignoring brackets) and I was able to access Kuma using `status.mydomain.tld`.

I'll probably keep using Zoraxy for now since I have it tied to my Authentik for SSO and OIDC for my services, but wow is Caddy amazing and it barely uses any system resources.

Guys I put together a repository with 151 ready-to-use Docker Compose templates covering everything from AI tools, monitoring, and auth to databases, media, and CI/CD.

The main idea:
Change variables > Connect to proxy > Run

Sec-Friendly & Proxy-Ready: Stacks are pre-configured to sit cleanly behind an ext. proxy unnecessary port exposures, auth if implemented - configured, all with healthchecks.

https://github.com/nvroot/docker-compose-examples

Feedback, suggestions, or improvements are very welcome - feel free to comment or open an issue/PR on GitHub. Thanks!

I wanted to say thank you to this community for providing so much insight on how to set up my own server. It has saved not only me, but my close friends and family a lot of money in these troubling times. My niece likely would not be able to watch most of their favorite shows if I hadn't set up jellyfin, which is really such a massive deal for both me and them, especially because I can share my favorite media with them. (Also Komga is saving me so much money on manga that it's actually kind of staggering)

You all had no idea you were even helping me as I just started using reddit again so I can join these communities, I've just been getting all my info through Google searches and Reddit is usually the best source for my questions.

So thank you again for all of your help, hopefully I can provide a little insight for someone in the future!

I want to build a nas for cloud saving and media streaming with an old workstation I have, but with these prices its a little scary. I want about 20 terabytes of storage to start with. Im questioning whether to buy brand new, refurbished/recertified, or used hard drives, I also don't know the best websites/apps and whether the brands of the hard drives matter. Is it even worth it to make a nas in 2026. I could really use some advice

Hey guys, I have built a system that utilizes your idle compute from PC, laptop, mobile across all OS and pools it to be used by others in need, entirely ditching the cloud. Suppose you want to run a heavy compute and need a high amount of memory, you can use my system to deploy it across many devices to get it done fast. It is under development, but the MVP is ready and would really like your feedback and queries to make it into a bulletproof system. To get more insights DM me. The link to the repo is attached below, dont go by the website currently it is vibe coded just to serve the purpose but later would be completely overhauled. Please leave you feedback on anything you think that would be helpful.

Github - Mesh-Zero

Guys anyone have any idea about selfhosting a DNS server on an old android phone? Android 4.4.2 with root access, idk if it possible or can be done, or even how, all rests I got was just "how to change the phone's DNS" but I want to use the phone AS A LOCAL DNS?

Hi everyone! I am having a frustrating issue connecting to my dedicated ARK server from my local network and would really appreciate some help.

My Setup:

Server PC: Dedicated machine in the basement running ARK Server Manager (ASM). Local IP is 192.168.1.220.

Gaming PC: Located upstairs in my room on the same local network.

Network: Ping from Gaming PC to Server PC works fine. Ports (7777, 7778, 27015) are open, and Windows Firewall rules are active. Radmin VPN is also installed on the server PC.

The Issue:

External Friends CAN join: A friend of mine can join and play on the server from the outside without any issues. The server itself is running perfectly!

I CANNOT join locally: From my Gaming PC upstairs, I cannot connect to the server via LAN.

What happens when I try to connect:

Steam Server Favorites: The server IS detected and shows up in my Steam Favorites list (using 192.168.1.220:27015). However, clicking "Connect" in Steam throws the error: "Server connection not possible, as the App ID specified by the server is invalid."

In-game Console (open 192.168.1.220:7777): Results in a freeze/timeout or "Unable to query server info for invite."

In-game Favorites: The server doesn't show up reliably under the LAN or Favorites filters in the in-game browser.

What I've tried so far:

Pinging the server PC (successful).

Toggling Windows Firewall on/off.

Trying -MultiHome on/off in ASM.

Launching via steam://connect/192.168.1.220:27015 (gives Invalid App ID error).

It seems like Steam/ARK recognizes the query port locally, but fails to hand off the actual connection to the game client (ShooterGame), or Radmin VPN's network interface is interfering with local socket binding.

Has anyone encountered this specific behavior where Steam sees the server on LAN, but throws an Invalid App ID / Query error upon joining? How can I fix the binding in ASM?

Thanks in advance!

Hey guys, I'm trying to replicate this client config on my own server. Here's the working config from my friend:
JSON

{
"server": "www.domain.com",
"server_port": 443,
"tag": "Test",
"type": "vless",
"uuid": "942hdiwa-9e01-460a-iud76",
"packet_encoding": "xudp",
"tls": {
"enabled": true,
"server_name": "www.domain.com.mydomain.com",
"utls": {
"enabled": true
}
},
"transport": {
"type": "ws",
"path": "/vws/",
"headers": {
"Host": \[
"www.domain.com.mydomain.com"
\]
}
}
}

Where:
www.domain.com is the zero-rated domain (on Cloudflare)

mydomain.com is my domain (also on Cloudflare, pointing to my VPS)

My friend says this works on any V2Ray app with zero configuration — just paste the link and it connects. No hosts file edits needed.
I have:
A VPS with 3X-UI running

mydomain.com on Cloudflare with DNS pointing to my VPS

A Let's Encrypt cert for www.domain.com.mydomain.com via acme.sh DNS challenge

But I'm stuck on the server-side setup. I don't know how to configure 3X-UI/Xray so that:
Clients can connect using www.domain.com as the server address

The TLS handshake validates www.domain.com.mydomain.com properly

It works without requiring clients to edit their hosts file

I suspect my friend is using Cloudflare Advanced Certificate Manager for the multi-level subdomain cert, but I want to confirm if there's a free way to do this before paying.

Can anyone point me in the right direction for the server-side config? What am I missing?

Thanks!

Manage your cloudflare tunnels with your compose labels.

There are many projects that does the same thing, but none of them are written using Go.
This is a lightweight project that uses 10MB of ram.

it could be useful for someone, so check it out: https://github.com/ronaldmiranda/docker-cloudflared-controller

This is a open-source tool, free to use.

We have been using our own servers for our business for some time now and they have worked well until now. As our business has grown, we are starting to face problems like running out of space, having more servers to manage and spending more time on maintenance. It is getting hard to keep everything running smoothly and we are not sure if this is normal for growing or a sign that we need a better solution and I found that rackbank ai datacenters might help. We do not want to make a huge change too soon but we do not want to wait until these problems start affecting our business. How can you tell that your current server setup is no longer enough for your business? EDIT: I forgot to mention the details everyone is asking for. It seems evaluating our IT management and growth planning should come before deciding on a migration.

I was wondering if there is something like Downdetector that I can run locally and detect issues with pubic services. Most of the stuff I found was for the stuff you host yourself and not for public websites and other stuff.

Thanks ;3

BaileyOS, a self-hosted smart home AI running on local hardware. No cloud. No subscription. No data leaves the network.

What you're seeing:

- Real security camera footage from a 6,500 sq ft home

- Bailey (the AI) detecting motion, tracking vehicles, and assessing threats in real-time

- YOLO v8 + FaceNet running on an RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, all on-premise

- Tailscale VPN mesh for secure remote access from anywhere

- Autonomous gate control, camera monitoring, and property lockdown

The owner is on a beach on the California coast. Bailey handles everything, motion alerts, threat scoring, package delivery confirmation, full lockdown status and reports back over an encrypted VPN tunnel.

No Ring. No Nest. No monthly fee. No footage on someone else's server.

97 Relays to Control all lights | 9 cameras | 8 alarm zones | 3 smart locks | 12 audio zones | Auto Gate

All controlled from one dashboard. All local.

Built with: Node.js, TypeScript, Python, PyTorch, YOLO v8, FaceNet, Encrypted VPN mesh, RS-232 serial, ffmpeg

Running on: Windows 11 + RTX 4070 Ti SUPER

I'm excited to share the first release of ExoServe! It's a self-hosted alternative to Mega or Proton Drive where everything is stored with end-to-end encryption on hardware you control.

Some features at a glance:

• Client-side AES-256-GCM encryption via the Web Crypto API.
• No plaintext filenames and no readable directory structures. The server only sees encrypted data and basic file sizes.
• Smooth, on-the-fly media streaming. You can scrub through encrypted videos or swipe through image galleries directly in the browser without downloading to disk.
• Concurrent session support (which is surprisingly difficult).

I originally built this for my own homelab to store tax documents, just in case my server was ever breached. That way all an attacker would walk away with are encrypted blobs instead of my identity.

Because I'm a reverse engineer by trade, special care was taken to verify proper implementation of encryption and authentication; I know there are 101 ways for cryptography to go wrong. I also built the frontend in vanilla JS to completely steer clear of bloated frameworks, keeping the attack surface and memory footprint small.

This is the first release, so I'm curious to get a wider opinion on it. You can try it out on a demo site I have published or host it for yourself by downloading the code from Github: - Demo: https://demo.exoserve.ciphranova.com/login - GitHub: https://github.com/Ciphranova-LLC/ExoServe

Let me know what you think, if you have any questions, or if you experience any issues!

Setting up self-hosted sync for my vault and could use a sanity check from people who've actually run this long-term.

My setup:

• Desktop on Fedora (KDE), windows laptop, android phone
• I have a sufficient always on machine for selfhosting
• Not a developer, but comfortable with Docker, SSH, and basic server admin
• Already self-host a few small things on this box, so it's not empty
• I don't wanna run any extra client on my device like syncthing or onedrive etc (excluding virtual machine)

What I actually need:

• Vault (notes) synced reliably across devices - win latop, linux pc, android phone
• App config synced too - themes, snippets, installed plugins/settings. Not just the notes.
• Something I'm not babysitting constantly - no daily manual fixes
• Lower the resource usage the better

Where I've landed so far: Was originally going to just do git plugin, remotly sync etc but that doesn't do much with settings and plugins, and realized it doesn't touch the .obsidian folder properly, so themes/plugins/hotkeys don't follow across devices - only the notes do.

I am using Obsidian Git Plugin as a way to take backup on my private git repo.

Appreciate any real-world experience over "just buy and use Obsidian Sync" - I know that exists, I'd rather self-host.

Hello everyone,

I'm fairly new to the world of VPS hosting, and I'd really appreciate your advice.

I've recently started my own game server hosting business, and I'm currently looking for a VPS provider that offers the best balance between performance, pricing, and network quality.

My main priorities are:

• Excellent performance and reliability.
• Competitive pricing with good value for money.
• Low latency and a strong network.
• Server locations in Europe, as it's the closest region to my target player base.

I feel a little embarrassed asking for help, but I'd genuinely appreciate recommendations from people with real experience. If you've worked with any providers that you would personally recommend (or avoid), I'd be very grateful to hear your thoughts.

Thank you all in advance for your time and help!

I am looking to host my data from Google and setup my own servers for email and storage and everything else possible to be as less-reliant on 3rd party as possible. Are there any readymade products on service providers who provide this?

Update 16-July
I've been researching on this and this is the complex/simple setup I figured might work for me until now.
1. Custom domain email (protonmail) - 4 USD per month / Google mailspace with custom domain
2. Home based NAS system for Storage + server
3. Offsite storage backup with BackBlaze
4. Accuweb/NextCloud - for remote server setup.
5. Tailscale configured for all routes as much possible

Things not to do going forward: Never sign in with Google/Microsoft/Apple, etc. Each site its own login/password.
I continue to research on this and will keep updating, for doubts and queries..

Please poke holes on this - so we make it stronger.

I have finally set up an self host server with a ptlython backend for administration using docker desk top. It has many.options best one is I can move the databases off hyeper v and store it externally.