Gitea self-hosted for free, includes docker registry too?
I'm just curious, since I'm looking for a self-hosted git server, and I like the idea that some of my projects require building images, and having them automatically be created and available within my homelab, for free would be nice.
https://redd.it/1r6koxo
@r_SelfHosted
Discord Alternatives Comparison
https://redd.it/1r643fj
@r_SelfHosted
How I deployed Matrix
# I've seen countless comments saying how hard it is to deploy Matrix. So here is how I did it.
This setup gives you:
1. Short handles (@me:example.com instead of @me:matrix.example.com)
2. Web Client (Element) included
3. GUI Admin (Synapse Admin) included
4. Federation working out of the box
### 1. The Setup (Don't skip this)
First, create the directories so data persists.
mkdir -p /opt/matrix/synapse
matrix.example.com, your user handles will be long and ugly. We want @user:example.com.docker run -it --rm \
--mount type=bind,src=/opt/matrix/synapse,dst=/data \
-e SYNAPSE_SERVER_NAME=example.com \
-e SYNAPSE_REPORT_STATS=yes \
matrixdotorg/synapse:latest generate
example.com {
# Server-to-Server Discovery
handle_path /.well-known/matrix/server {
header Content-Type application/json
header Access-Control-Allow-Origin "*"
respond `{"m.server": "matrix.example.com:443"}`
}
# Client-to-Server Discovery
handle_path /.well-known/matrix/client {
header Content-Type application/json
header Access-Control-Allow-Origin "*"
respond `{"m.homeserver": {"base_url": "https://matrix.example.com"}}`
}
}
# 2. The Actual Matrix Subdomain
matrix.example.com {
reverse_proxy <matrix:port>
}
services:
matrix:
container_name: matrix
image: matrixdotorg/synapse:latest
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "8448:8008"
volumes:
- /opt/matrix/synapse:/data
admin:
image: awesometechnologies/synapse-admin:latest
container_name: synapse-admin
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "8449:80"
element:
container_name: element
image: vectorim/element-web:latest
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "8450:80"
volumes:
- /opt/matrix/element_config.json:/app/config.json
depends_on:
- matrix
/opt/matrix/element_config.json so the login page defaults to your server:{
"default_server_config": {
"m.homeserver": {
"base_url": "https://matrix.example.com",
"server_name": "example.com"
}
}
}
docker compose up -d
docker exec -it matrix register_new_matrix_user http://localhost:8008 -c /data/homeserver.yaml --admin
example.com.
the fear of the next step
Yeah the title sounds a bit exagerrated, but for myself I am standing in front of a wall and don't know what to do exactly, or how to do. Maybe reddit have some tips. here is my 'problem':
Over the last years I made myself a cool homelab (most of it runs in proxmox) that serves my purposes really well. Besides jellyfin, audiobookshelf and all the media related stuff I also configured nginx as security feature where my services layed behind. My Containers also have proper firewall rulings. I got really confident in hosting services, EXCEPT it incolves 'exposing' my services to some kind of a public. I dont hurt myself on using wireguard as vpn, but this makes me feel kinda unease.
Now, when I think about hosting a minecraft server for my friends, or setting up a Teamspeak-server (related to the bad things Discord did) I hesitate and kinda start overthinking about possible security risks that could come along with it and then stop doing it.
I know about the basic behavior (running non root user, no access from outside for important systems, unattended upgrades etc), and then the next thing I see on this sub is that someone runs a minecraft server on a damn phone.
Do I overthink the whole topic of security? What really is important for hosting a simple dumb private minecraft or ts server for my friends? Everytime this questions come up I feel like hitting a wall of a mass of knowledge I have to acquire before I even dare to try set someting up.
https://redd.it/1r5enr7
@r_SelfHosted
Server Management Web UX recommendations?
I'm in the process of setting up a small (N100 mini pc) Ubuntu LTS server. I've got basics set up via the CLI but what options are best for a management web UX on top? Server is just running dockers. I'd like a web UX that covers docker compose from yml files with reports on memory and CPU + basic Samba/share management + CPU/Mem/Network reporting.
Any recommendations? I've tried Cockpit so far but wasn't that impressed as it forces Podman which I don't want.
https://redd.it/1r5e9it
@r_SelfHosted
Show HN: CozyUI – An Open-Source WebOS for Server Management (Next.js + MUI)
https://preview.redd.it/xvz2r4nnnmjg1.png?width=1915&format=png&auto=webp&s=db19be359959986e3bae9ca57096425434faf8f0
I built an open-source Web-based Server OS that gives your server a real desktop-like experience inside the browser.
Meet CozyUI.
It’s a modern server management dashboard built with Next.js 14 + Material UI, featuring draggable windows, dock, menu bar, terminal, file manager, and even a built-in browser.
🌐 Live Demo: https://swingsql.space/
Username: starvarse
Password: 123456
# 🖥️ Desktop Experience
Draggable, resizable windows
Dock with app shortcuts
Menu bar with system info
Custom wallpapers & themes
# 💻 Built-in Apps
File Manager (drag & drop, syntax preview)
Terminal (xterm.js powered)
Code Editor (Monaco Editor)
Web Browser with tabs
PM2 Manager
PostgreSQL Manager
Caddy Manager
CertBot Manager
Server resource monitor
# ⚙️ Tech Stack
Next.js 14 (App Router)
Material UI
SQLite + Prisma
Zustand
xterm.js
Monaco Editor
JWT Auth
GitHub:
https://github.com/starrvarse/CozyUI
Would love feedback, ideas, and contributors 🙌
MIT Licensed.
https://redd.it/1r5a9zo
@r_SelfHosted
I got TS6 Beta running on a Pi5
Per title, I got TS6 self hosted server running on a Pi5.
It works surprising well, so I wanted to share.
My initial thoughts,
The good: TS6 looks much like Discord, look and feel is solid. Screen sharing can do 4k at 60fps. Works very well. Webcam streams work great too. Overall it seems to do 90% of what Discord does.
The bad: Text channels are tied to voice channels. Annoying, not a big deal if you're just making a space for you and the boys (i.e. 99% of the chat happens in the default channel anyway). TS6 is still closed source. In theory they could be recording everything you say. If you're super paranoid, something open source like Mumble might be better, though Mumble lacks a lot of features TS6 has. Limit of 32 slots for free tier. I can't find the equivalent of a giphy plugin for chat either.
If you're just looking for a small friends space to hang out on, and you have a Pi5 lying around, I think its very feasible.
https://redd.it/1r51uzx
@r_SelfHosted
Looking for an alternative to Nextcloud
I'm currently using Nextcloud to store my files. However, Nextcloud has been very unstable for me over the last years. One time I did an upgrade, Nextcloud suddenly started deleting all of my files for unknown reasons. If I hadn't set up snapshots back then, all my files would have been gone. When I upload files, I can never be sure that it will really be uploaded and is fully available to this server. I still have regular broken files to this day. Nextcloud would just upload the first 100 MB and just throw away the remaining bytes (see [https://github.com/nextcloud/desktop/issues/8739](https://github.com/nextcloud/desktop/issues/8739), this issue still regularly shows up). I am using the latest versions of Nextcloud on all my devices and on the server.
Because of this instability, I want to get rid of Nextcloud and try something else. I was wondering if anybody here knows any good alternatives. I would love like a full Google Drive replacement. The most important points for me would be:
* An app for Android, Linux, and MacOS
* A web app (no syncthing)
* Files should be actually stored on the files (no deduplication like Seafile does), because I want to use my snapshots to travel back in time
Do you have any recommendations for software?
https://redd.it/1r4vgve
@r_SelfHosted
Seerr is finally out!
**Seerr** is the **new unified successor to Overseerr + Jellyseerr**. The two teams have merged into **one project + one shared codebase**, combining **all existing Overseerr functionality** with the **latest Jellyseerr features**, including **Jellyfin + Emby support**.
# Highlights
* Jellyfin + Emby support (alongside Plex)
* Optional **PostgreSQL** support (in addition to SQLite)
* **Blocklist** (movies/series/tags) + **Override rules** for smarter request defaults
* **TVDB metadata** support (experimental) + TVDB indexer
* **DNS caching** (experimental) to reduce DNS spam (Pi-hole/AdGuard friendly)
* **Dynamic placeholders** in webhook URLs
* Notification QOL (e.g., optional embedded posters) + lots of bug fixes
# Migrating from Overseerr/Jellyseerr
You **must** follow the migration guide linked below carefully. **BACKUP FIRST** so you can roll back if needed Release notes: [https://github.com/seerr-team/seerr/releases/tag/v3.0.0](https://github.com/seerr-team/seerr/releases/tag/v3.0.0)
Release announcement: [https://docs.seerr.dev/blog/seerr-release](https://docs.seerr.dev/blog/seerr-release)
Migration guide: [https://docs.seerr.dev/migration-guide](https://docs.seerr.dev/migration-guide)
If you hit any issues during upgrade/migration, please report them in our Discord (with steps/logs) and we’ll help you out!
https://redd.it/1r52i8u
@r_SelfHosted
How do you manage your SSH Keys and what is best practice for a homelab?
I have only have 6 servers right now that I SSH into. I've read that it's best to disable root and password login, so I'm looking to do that and set up public key authentication.
Do you all typically create a new keypair for each server? Appreciate any guidance!
https://redd.it/1r4y8pe
@r_SelfHosted
What privacy problems do you still not self host and why?
I see a lot of people here self hosting storage, services, backups, even email. But there still seem to be gaps where self hosting is not realistic or not worth the effort when it comes to privacy. What do you use instead?
https://redd.it/1r0a1cl
@r_SelfHosted
Let's get a self-hosted Discord "replacement" thread going for 2026.
We've all seen the big news: Discord is introducing facial ID as a requirement to actually use the app starting next month. Which means one thing: people are about to dig through dozens of ancient "what's the best self-hosted Discord alternative?" threads on here and find antiquated opinions and advice.
What are we actually using? What are the clients that work well? What are options that pass the "wife test" of actually being something you could convince your not-techy friends and family to install on their phones?
Let's get into it. I know I'm already anticipating self-hosting something to replace Discord for communities/friend groups who'll naturally slough off when face ID comes along.
https://redd.it/1r08bd8
@r_SelfHosted
HA with consumption optimization
https://redd.it/1qzx2b0
@r_SelfHosted
Building a small VPN project — what mistakes did you make in the beginning?
https://redd.it/1qzv3er
@r_SelfHosted
The truth about self hosting and it's hidden costs
I've really enjoyed being able to take control of my own media again, having privacy and control over my data, images etc, but there are many hidden costs which I think many folks omit when glorifying the benefits (which there are many) of self hosting.
24/7/365 Oncall Rotation
* I've put a lot of effort into tuning uptime kuma, grafana, loki, prometheus etc so this is less of an issue now but time to time things will break and sometimes it will be something crucial that you depend upon.
* Previously you could rely on the 6figure salary SRE's that would fix the issues at google, dropbox etc at 4am, but now it is on you, whether you are busy with work, grieving a loved one or on holiday (happened once to me). You can of course reduce this a lot by ensuring failovers, backups, good alerting, self remediation etc.
Hardware Costs
* I'm fortunate enough to afford decent hardware, spin up fallback proxmox nodes, have HA opnsense firewalls etc, but most will not be able to set all this up, considering these recent RAM prices and other hardware prices going up (even HDD's which I've stockpiled for the next 2 years of upgrades)
* This is likely a lifelong pursuit, with the way big tech, cloud, ai industry is booming, can you confidently say you will be able to afford the odd few drives that die in the next 5/10/15 years? It could also be the RAM or the mobo etc that dies, who is to say where prices will be and if it will even be comercially available/viable.
Software Updates
* Of course turning off auto-updates is step 1 to sanity, but this doesn't mean you can so easily ignore critical security patches and updates. CVE's seem to be popping up more and more often, you're almost always switched on and on the lookout to protect your homelab.
* Eventually some apps will stop supporting older versions, see immich and jellyfin as examples for this, so you will need to spend an hour or two running these upgrades, ensuring no breakage, rollbacks if needed, fixes if needed. All this will add up.
* [Example](https://www.reddit.com/r/immich/comments/1qy2x8a/i_didnt_touch_anything_immich_just_stopped_working/) of Immich randomly breaking for some users with no intervention.
Steward of Data
* Does anyone else rely on the services you host or the data you store? This will mean you need to be even more reliable and you will need extra plans if you are unable to operate or maintain the server
* What would happen in the event of your death? In the event you were in an accident with a brain injury and can no longer remember passwords or how your system works? You could document everything and ensure someone else would be able to help but it would be a massive risk and hassle in the process.
I guess the benefit of privacy has to be greater than the cost of monthly/yearly subscriptions and abdication of control/privacy. Which it is for me, but it is not simply a way to 'save' money. Especially if you value your time and headspace from now till death. Some things are probably fine to be deferred to a bigtech company.
All this to say I love self hosting and this community, I don't plan to stop anytime soon. I feel grateful to have the time and resources to be able to fund such a rewarding hobby.
Just wanted to share some recent thoughts and hear what folks think I might have missed and if there are any fixes to my approach I have not already seen!
https://redd.it/1qzrrjg
@r_SelfHosted
MediKeep - Personal Medical Records Keeper
For some time i've been searching for a selfhosted solution to keep my medical records (lab tests, weight, blood pressure, medical visits, etc., etc) and ditch Withings online services and Excel spreadsheets.
A couple of weeks ago i've came across MediKeep after it was mentioned on the Selfh.st newsletter and i've using it since then. I can say it is just what i was looking for and much more. It's been actively developed and its dev is a very approachable person, promptly fixing bugs that are detected and still adding features.
It has:
\- Multi patient
\- Medication tracker
\- Lab results history with trend analysis and a fair large database of blood work tests
\- Treatment plans linked to medications
\- Procedures history
\- Vital signs history (blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, weight, BMI, blood glucose and A1C) with trend analysis
\- Symptoms tracker and history
\- Conditions
\- Allergies
\- Injuries tracker
\- Immunization tracker
\- Visit history
And more like insurance details, emergency contacts, practitioners, pharmacies, etc. It also has a feature to export records so you can take them with you to show to your health care professional.
If you're looking for something very complete to centralize the health information of your family in a clear and simple way, be sure to check it out:
https://github.com/afairgiant/MediKeep
Disclaimer: i'm not part of the dev team but im currently a sponsor since good foss should be rewarded.
https://redd.it/1r6auq1
@r_SelfHosted
Change my mind: There is no good alternative to Discord (yet?)
There is no alternative which offers:
(group) voice chat, (group) text chat, live screen sharing, permission system
easy selfhosting with docker
open source
respects privacy (looking at you matrix)
decentralized at best
costs nothing
Checked:
XMPP based services
Matrix
Stoat
Mattermost
https://redd.it/1r5stz9
@r_SelfHosted
Turning a physical mailbox into an event source using Zigbee, MQTT, and Home Assistant
My mailbox is in the building entrance hallway, several walls away from my flat, with no power outlets nearby.
I wanted a push notification the moment a letter arrives, not when I open the mailbox.
I used an Aqara P1 motion sensor inside the mailbox, but it couldn’t reliably reach my Zigbee coordinator because of distance and metal interference.
The solution was flashing a Sonoff Zigbee Dongle-E with router firmware and powering it from a power bank to extend the mesh closer to the mailbox.
Unexpected issue: the power bank kept shutting down because the router draws too little power. I fixed it by adding a small USB keep-alive module (dummy load) to prevent auto shutdown.
Now the flow is:
Sensor → Zigbee router → Zigbee2MQTT → Home Assistant → instant push notification
I also added a watchdog using last_seen so Home Assistant notifies me if the router goes offline.
Works reliably now.
Full breakdown with architecture diagrams and setup:
https://jonathas.com/how-i-made-my-physical-mailbox-send-me-real-time-push-notifications/
https://redd.it/1r5jznp
@r_SelfHosted
Single shared PostgreSQL vs. separate per service
Hey,
Running a Proxmox setup at home with a bunch of self-hosted services on VM with docker. Right now, each service has its own DB – mostly PostgreSQL instances, a couple MySQL. But I’m wondering if it’s smarter to consolidate into one central PostgreSQL server that all services connect to.
https://redd.it/1r5bvhk
@r_SelfHosted
Why is Matrix not the answer to Discord? Genuine question
I don't get why so many people are looking for other open source alternative while Matrix already has the closest UI and feature. Why not just use what's out there already and make it better?
There are way too many posts about new projects that want to replace discord...
https://redd.it/1r5c9ti
@r_SelfHosted
Searching A Platform to share utilities with friends and neighbours
Hey,
I am looking for a Plattform to selfhost for friends, family and the neighborhood. The goal I have in mind is sharing utilities and maybe skills to stop mindlessly buying stuff and also building a community.
Someone has a generator which he/she needs for 5 days a year? Put it in the platform if someone else needs it on one or two of the other 360 days he/she can write you a message and you can share.
So far the closest I found are marketplace plattforms which are not really what I am looking for. Has anyone an tips?
thanks in advance & kind regards!
https://redd.it/1r59ol2
@r_SelfHosted
What are the minimum security steps every self-hosted server should have?
What are the minimum security steps every self-hosted server should have?
https://redd.it/1r4lpld
@r_SelfHosted
Henceforth I win - found the monitoring i needed with Kuma
https://redd.it/1r4r2rt
@r_SelfHosted
Any teamspeak alternatives open source for self hosting?
https://redd.it/1r3uvet
@r_SelfHosted
GoSpeak: self-hosted encrypted voice chat I built in Go, just open-sourced it
I've spent the last few weekends building a voice chat server in Go to self-host for my friend group. The news the last few days around Discord and [yesterday's post asking for alternatives\] made me finally document this thing and open-source it, figured others might be interested too.
So I just released GoSpeak v0.1.0, a privacy-focused voice chat server + desktop client (Windows & Linux).
Why I built this: I wanted voice chat without trusting Discord or TeamSpeak with our data. GoSpeak encrypts all voice traffic with AES-128-GCM and the server just relays packets without ever decoding audio.
Server runs on two ports: TCP :9600 (TLS control plane) and UDP :9601 (encrypted voice). An admin token prints to stdout on first run.
Features:
Encrypted voice chat (Opus codec, 48 kHz)
TLS 1.3 control plane (auto-generates certs, or bring your own)
Hierarchical channel system with sub-channels
Role-based access control (Admin / Moderator / User)
Token-based auth, share tokens with friends, no account system needed
Text chat per channel
Desktop client for Windows & Linux (native GUI)
YAML config for channels
Prometheus metrics + Grafana dashboard included
Single binary per platform, SQLite database
Honest about the crypto: The server generates the encryption key and distributes it to clients over TLS. It chooses not to decrypt, but a compromised server could. The trust model is: you run the server yourself, so you only need to trust yourself. I'll take that over trusting Discord any day.
Built in Go, AGPL-3.0 licensed.
GitHub: https://github.com/NicolasHaas/gospeak
Example server you can join with the Client: gospeak.haas-nicolas.ch
Let me know what you think! I might add it to the Unraid Community Apps repo too if there's interest.
Screenshot
https://redd.it/1r4wigq
@r_SelfHosted
Discord enshitification begins. Self hosted alternatives?
Alright discord wants my government ID now, that’s fun and cool. So what self hosted options are there that have a similar feature set? Multiple voice channels, text channels, media sharing. Nextcloud comes to mind but that’s overkill. I know teamspeak is popular but it’s only voice. Anything exist out there people like?
https://redd.it/1r0cffb
@r_SelfHosted
The "Cloudflare Anxiety" finally got to me. Ditched Tunnels for a raw VPS gateway to bypass CGNAT.
I’ve spent the last year relying heavily on Cloudflare Tunnels to punch through my ISP's CGNAT. Honestly, it felt like magic at first - exposing my Nextcloud and Jellyfin without opening a single port on my router or paying for a static IP. It was the perfect "lazy" solution.
But recently, I’ve been getting increasingly paranoid about the Terms of Service regarding non-HTML traffic. I stream a lot of media remotely, and reading horror stories about accounts getting nuked for pushing terabytes of video traffic through their free tier made me realize I was building my entire home lab on rented land that could vanish overnight.
So this weekend, I decided to rip off the band-aid and build my own "Airlock" gateway. The idea was to stop relying on a proprietary tunnel and just route everything through a cheap external endpoint that I actually control.
I ended up grabbing a small KVM slice over at lumadock.com mostly because I needed a provider that explicitly offered unmetered bandwidth (for the 4K streams) and allowed custom ISO mounts so I could run a hardened Alpine image instead of a bloated stock OS.
The architecture is basically a WireGuard tunnel connecting my home server to the VPS. Nginx Proxy Manager runs on the VPS and points back to my home lab via the internal WireGuard IP.
I won't lie, the transition wasn't exactly seamless. Configuring the MTU size correctly to prevent packet fragmentation inside the tunnel was a nightmare that cost me a few hours of debugging weird connection drops. But now that it's stable, the latency is actually better than the Cloudflare routing I had before.
Is the maintenance overhead of patching an external VPS worth the peace of mind?
I feel like I've traded "set and forget" for "total control", and I'm hoping I won't regret the extra work in six months.
https://redd.it/1r05t4y
@r_SelfHosted
How I spent my Sunday to save $100 and avoid having to walk across the room
It all started with my printer dropping off the network. My Brother laser printer, which only cost $75 in 2008 but has worked like a champ and survived four houses, three time zones, two kids, a university degree, and my entire career to date.
Lately however, its struggling. It won't hold a network connection for much longer than 15 minutes, and once it loses it, only a power cycle will bring it back online.
I've tried everything. Wifi, ethernet, dedicated VLAN, static IP, DHCP changes, RTSP on, RTSP off, scripts to ping the printer every 5 minutes.
A normal person would have bought a new printer. A sane person would just decide to turn the printer on when they need it.
I am apparently too stubborn to be a normal person
Why would I spend money on a new printer when I have time I can waste on the problem instead? And why would I resign myself to walking across the room when I can build something to do it for me instead?
So I built a "Legacy Hardware Integration Bridge":
- A CUPS print server running in a docker on my Unraid machine is now the "printer" for all my computers. The server stays always on, so the computers never see a "Printer Offline" error
- When a print job hits the CUPS queue, it triggers a state change to a sensor entity on my Home Assistant server using the Internet Printer Protocol integration
- The state change on that sensor acts as a trigger to an automation, which causes a smart plug to switch on
- That smart plug is now controlling the power to the printer, so when it switches on, the printer boots up, and gets a fresh connection to the network
- Once the printer has been idle for 5 minutes, it triggers the smart plug to turn off, and everything is ready for the next print job.
My wife thinks I could have just turned the printer on whenever I needed it and spent my Sunday doing something more productive.
I'm not a caveman though. I have technology.
https://redd.it/1qzwsjg
@r_SelfHosted
Teaching my nephew about self-hosting, need advice
Basically, I self host Jellyfin and a handful of apps, routed through Caddy, and tunneled through Cloudflare with ZeroTrust and OAuth behind it. I also have a domain through Namecheap I point everything to.
Now, my nephew is 16 and is fairly good with Linux, has done a lot of stuff with robotics and Raspberry Pis, fixes his family's PCs, and sometimes even knows more technical stuff than me about Windows and Linux. He's very familiar with this stuff. So, I asked him if he'd be interested in self-hosting. Obviously not a media server, but I showed him the huge list of docker apps he can set up, and he now even wants to expose 443 with Caddy and have his own domain. He also wants me to help him flash an old router with DD-WRT.
The problem is, my brother-in-law isn't very tech-savvy, is very "the future is wireless", and sees exposing a PC to the internet as a huge security flaw. The most my nephew would expose is 443 and possibly a Minecraft server on a non-standard port. I know there's even TCP reverse-proxies. We've had a hard time convincing his dad to let him, and I wanted to see if anyone else has had any experience explaining to non-tech savvy people why the risks aren't as big as they think they are.
Obviously, there is always some risk, and I told my nephew that since he's still living with his parents, his ultimately up to his dad since it does mildly increase the risk. What's the best way to explain it to a layperson, or am I totally in the wrong for suggesting my nephew get into self-hosting at this age, considering the risks?
https://redd.it/1qzu4jq
@r_SelfHosted
Best practices for keeping documentation? What's your sweet-spot?
I've been keeping documentation for many years on stuff that I work on, but it usually goes like this:
* I document every single step, and move at a snails pace
* I'm in the zone and working fast, and don't document (or document too little)
* My notes are spread between Joplin, my portfolio website, a physical notebook, my phone, etc.
Just wondering if anyone has a simple approach that works really well for them.
*(Personally for me, documenting my Wordpress logins and setups has been a lifesaver over the years... otherwise I rarely use my notes, just because I forget they're there, and I end up re-searching the research that I've done before and documented).*
https://redd.it/1qzok5k
@r_SelfHosted
