C:\susie\artlog\my-self-hosting-setup.txt

My Self Hosting Setup

2026-10-15

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In this entry I will be showcasing all the stuff I self host and how (kinda)! I'm not super well versed in this area but I want to show that you don't need good hardware or smarts to be able to setup and run useful stuff. If I can do it, ou can! Also it's been months since I touched the config / setup side of anything so please expect some misinfo.

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HARDWARE

A 7 year old hp laptop with an i3 processor 4gb ram. Not a whole lot but it gets the job done.


If you are in any way serious about this I highly recommend actually buying stuff but if you're like me and just want to mess around, you really don't need much.

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SOFTWARE

My server currently runs linux mint because I read the RAM usage wasn't too crazy. If you are only familiar with windows I recommend it, it's very similar and easy to use. Definitely look into other options though because there's so many other distros and stuff like Proxmoxwhich is probably way better. You can use windows or mac but as far as i know with docker anyway linux just makes it easier.

To run and deploy my apps I use docker. You kinda configure stuff in dockerfile (you can copy paste nearly all of it) run a few commands and you're set.

I like to use a web gui (?) with it called Portainer. This way you can compose and deploy stuff from your browser (on any device as long as you're on same network/ vpnning / portforwarding) and also see the status of all the containers you got running.


I like to use a VPN called Tailscale to be able to access my apps (services?) from outside my home network. You create an account and login on all your other devices and boom you got a Tailnet. There are other vpn stuff or you could like open some ports on your router maybe (bad idea) but yeah this is simple and it works. Also my mobile data on my phone won't work unless I connect to it which is strange so god bless tailscale.

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WHAT I RUN

Live Sync for Obsidian

This might be my most used (using it to draft this blog rn) because I love a notes app, and not having to pay 7 euro a month is pretty neat. You have to set up a database with CouchDB or the other options, install an extension in obsidian and then go through a setup thing. I had a few issues when I first started with stuff going out of sync, but turns out you just need to set the syncing option to LiveSync on all your devices and it's chill idk why it's not the default.

Jellyfin

This is a media streaming service. It's mainly for videos but it works grand for music and I think they have ebook features as well? For the video stuff you probably want halfway decent specs and wifi for it to be worth using but if you have similar stuff to me, it still absolutely works. And i've had zero issues with music.

Seafile

This is a file hosting thing like google drive. I actually recommend NextCloud instead but I think I had some issues accessing it from my other devices so I switched to this. Works grand but I have to use the website instead of a more convenient client on mobile. Also haven't noticed any performance issues despite my laptop.

Qbittorent WebUI and Filebrowser

I use these together with Jellyfin to start downloading a show/movie/album, then move said download into Jellyfin's media folder so I can start streaming. Makes it super easy to expand and manage my library.



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RESOURCES

This isn't a guide and is just self hosting propaganda but if this sounds cool to you and you want to learn, check out these actual resources!