Hi all,
question to you: How many of your selfhosted Apps are improving your life? Which apps are you really using on a daily/weekly basis?
Many of my running containers are just for … running containers.
Portainer, Nginx Proxy Manager, Authentik, Uptime-Kuma, Wireguard … they are not improving my life, they are only improving Selfhosting. But we are not doing selfhosting just for the sake of it? Do we? …
Many of my running containers … are getting replaced by Open Source client software eventually
- I’ve installed Trilium Notes - but I’m using Obsidian (more plugins, mobile apps, easy backup)
- I’ve installed Vikunja - but I’m using Obisdian (connecting tasks with notes is more powerful)
- I’ve installed Snapdrop - but I’m using LocalSend (more reliable)
- I’ve installed Bitwarden - but I’m using KeePass (easy backups, better for SSH credentials)
- I’ve installed AdGuard - but I’m using uBlock (more easy to disable for Shopping etc.)
- …
So the few Selfhosted Apps, that improve my life
File Management
- Paperless NGX - all my documents are scanned and archived here
- Nextcloud - all my files accessible via WebUI (& replaced Immich/Photoprism with Photos plugin)
- Syncthing - all my files synchroniced between devices and Nextcloud
- Kopia - Backup of all my files encrypted into the cloud
And that’s a little bit sad, right? The only “Job to be done” self-hosting is a solution for me is … file management. Nothing else.
What are your experiences? How makes self-hosting your life better?
( I’m not using selfhosting for musc / movies / series nowadays, as streaming is more convenient for me and I’m doing selfhosting mainly because of privacy and not piracy reasons - so that usecase is not included in my list ;)My only SmartHome usecase is Philips Hue - and I’m controlling it with Android Tasker )
I don’t like selfhosting because of the maintenance and complexity. But I get to use Plex, Transmission with a VPN, wakeonlan out of home using Tailscale, etc. So really useful overall.
plex is my main purpose for self hosting and always has been. Also i’m a sr systems engineer, so my selfhosting environment is also for experimenting with things for my career. I was trying make my media accessible to friends since 2009 or so, back when the Boxee came out. I’ve made use of the *arrs. overseerr, so my people can just request content from there instead of piling up a wish list to dump on me out of the blue.
outside of media, these prove useful for life and my career (that aren’t just supporting the homelab)
I use synology for my storage and i like their email server / webmail.
syncthing i use for keeping my emulator saves in sync across all my devices, as well as some documents.
vaultwarden
privatebin (vault warden has this feature… but i don’t want my vaultwarden directly exposed)
usememos is my favorite quick note app. i like obsidian but i can’t get behind it until it’s web friendly. I know someone built a docker image of obsidian that runs from a webtop but egh it’s ugly. The ipad app is nice though. There are some other options that are closer to obsidian, but I just really like usememos.
slash is nice link shortener which lets you view metrics for the links you create. I think it’s made by one of the team members that made usememos.
resumeRX. I apply for different types of roles so i have several different resumes I need to tailor for different positions.
immich. just because i refuse to pay for apple/google photos storage and using enough space to be forced to keep using them.
phpipam/netbox. i like documenting my network but not in a spreadsheet.
duplicati. local and cloud backups
drawio. just a self hosted version of the web drawio. can’t be making diagrams containing sensitive information on some random publicly hosted server.
actualbudget. it’s helpful, but I still wish there was a better option for this. I know there is firefly III. actualbudget is cleaner and easier to navigate.
metube. i’m’ always needing to download youtube videos for some reason or another.
gitlab
planka (my wife and I both use this… basically trello)
Home assistant. I’ve got a lot automated. Mostly for fun, but still makes my life easier. My window shades, lights, fans, bathroom fans, TVs, presence sensors, A/C, garage doors, fridge, cameras, doorbell are all in node-red. My windows all close and lights turn off if my wife and I are both away unless there is a guest. etc. the windows open if it’s stormy (I love storms). bathroom fans come on when the humidity hits a threshold, my garage lights come on if a person or car is in my driveway, but not a squirrel or bird, etc.
I’m a big proponent of self-hosted apps, but I am not a fan of docker/containers so it’s definitely not just for the sake of running containers for me.
Using free online services is convenient, but if ALL you use is online services then someone else or some company controls you. I like to self host as much as I possibly can. If we don’t, cloud computing will take over, and home/consumer computer hardware will eventually die off.
The only reason I got a homeserver was jellyfin. I spend way too much on storage since then… make it stop… I also got an Nvidia shield for that reason. Couldve watched netflix, amazon and disney for years for that money, but I dont regret a second here and use it daily since. So yeah it did improve my daily life.
I actually host nightscout, that’s the one that is mainly useful for me personally. Technically nightscout advocates against self-hosting but it actually seemed simpler for me to self host than figuring out and keeping track of which providers will give me enough for free to run it since it keeps changing.