Welcome to Self Hosted Home!
Here’s your free Home Lab Starter Checklist. Bookmark this page so you can come back to it anytime.
Hardware to Get Started
You don’t need to buy everything at once. Pick one and start there.
- Any computer with at least 8GB of RAM — an old desktop, mini PC, or repurposed laptop all work
- A router with a spare ethernet port for a wired connection
- A USB drive (8GB minimum) to install your operating system
- Hard drives if you plan to store files — NAS-rated drives like Seagate IronWolf last longer
First 5 Apps to Install
Start with one. Get it working. Then add the next.
- Pi-hole — blocks ads on every device in your home automatically
- Jellyfin — turns your movie collection into a personal streaming service
- Vaultwarden — a self-hosted password manager you control completely
- Nextcloud — your own private Google Drive replacement
- Portainer — a visual dashboard for managing all your apps
Basic Security Checklist
Don’t skip these. They take 10 minutes and matter a lot.
- Change all default passwords immediately
- Keep your software updated at least once a month
- Never expose services directly to the internet without a VPN or reverse proxy
- Set up automatic backups from day one — losing data is painful
Beginner Projects in Order
Follow this sequence and you’ll build real skills along the way.
- Pi-hole — takes about 30 minutes, instant payoff
- Jellyfin — about 1 hour, very satisfying result
- Vaultwarden — about 1 hour, immediately useful
- Nextcloud — about 2 hours, replaces Google Drive
- Proxmox — half a day, unlocks everything else
Helpful Guides to Read Next
- What Is a Home Lab? A Beginner’s Guide
- What Is Docker and Why You Need It
- How to Set Up Pi-hole
- How to Set Up Jellyfin
- Best Mini PCs for a Home Lab
Welcome to the community. You’re going to build something great.