Self-Hosting Guide — Run Your Own Services

Why Self-Host?

Self-hosting means running software on hardware you control — whether that's a Raspberry Pi under your desk, a NAS in the cupboard, or a dedicated server in a rack. Instead of relying on Google Drive, Dropbox, or iCloud, you run equivalent (often better) open-source alternatives on your own terms.

The barriers to entry have never been lower. A £35 Raspberry Pi can run a surprising number of services. A £300 NAS can replace most cloud subscriptions. And with Docker, deploying new software takes minutes, not days.

Getting Started: Your First Self-Hosted Service

The easiest first step is file synchronisation. Nextcloud and Syncthing both replace cloud storage with something you own.

Nextcloud — Your Private Cloud

Nextcloud is a full-featured cloud platform: file sync, calendar, contacts, notes, tasks, video calls, and more.

Minimum requirements:

• Any Linux machine with 2GB+ RAM
• 10GB+ storage (expandable)
• Docker or bare-metal install

Quick Docker setup:

docker run -d \
  --name nextcloud \
  -p 8080:80 \
  -v nextcloud_data:/var/www/html \
  nextcloud:latest

Visit http://your-server:8080 and follow the setup wizard. For production use, add a reverse proxy with TLS (covered in our Networking guide).

Syncthing — Peer-to-Peer File Sync

Syncthing is lighter than Nextcloud — it synchronises folders between devices without a central server. No accounts, no cloud, no single point of failure.

Best for: Keeping folders in sync across multiple machines without a web interface.

Essential Self-Hosted Services

Docker: The Self-Hoster's Best Friend

Almost every service listed above can be deployed with Docker. Docker packages an application and its dependencies into a container, so you don't need to worry about conflicting libraries or complex installations.

Docker Compose

For multi-service stacks, Docker Compose lets you define everything in a single YAML file:

version: "3"
services:
  nextcloud:
    image: nextcloud:latest
    ports:
      - "8080:80"
    volumes:
      - nc_data:/var/www/html
    restart: unless-stopped

  vaultwarden:
    image: vaultwarden/server:latest
    ports:
      - "8081:80"
    volumes:
      - vw_data:/data
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  nc_data:
  vw_data:

Run docker compose up -d and both services start. Run docker compose down to stop them. It's that straightforward.

Choosing Your Platform

Security Basics for Self-Hosters

Self-hosting comes with responsibility. You're the sysadmin now.

• Never expose services directly — Use a reverse proxy (Caddy, Traefik, or nginx)
• Always use HTTPS — Let's Encrypt certificates are free and automated
• SSH keys only — Disable password authentication for SSH
• Run fail2ban — Automatic IP banning after failed login attempts
• Keep containers updated — Use Watchtower or manual docker compose pull
• Firewall everything — Only open ports you actually need (see Networking guide)
• Backup, backup, backup — See our Backup Strategies guide

Beyond the Basics

Once you're comfortable with Docker and a few services, consider:

• Reverse proxy with automatic TLS — Caddy or Traefik for hassle-free HTTPS
• Single sign-on (SSO) — Authelia or Authentik for one login across all services
• Monitoring and alerting — Uptime Kuma, Grafana + Prometheus
• Automated backups — Restic or BorgBackup on a cron schedule
• Container orchestration — Docker Swarm or Kubernetes for multi-node setups

The beauty of self-hosting is that you can start small and grow. Every service you add teaches you something new about networking, Linux, and how the internet actually works.

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