Take control of your digital life. We cover everything from setting up your first homelab to advanced self-hosting strategies — with honest reviews, step-by-step guides, and recommendations you can trust.
Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned sysadmin, SelfHostWise helps you host smarter.
Self-hosting means running services on hardware you own instead of relying on someone else’s servers. Your photos on your machine instead of Google’s. Your notes in your house instead of Notion’s cloud. Your email, your media, your files — all under your control. If that sounds appealing (it should), this guide covers everything you need to get started from absolute zero. Why Self-Host? Let’s get the “why” out of the way, because it matters. Self-hosting isn’t just a nerdy hobby — it solves real problems. ...
You don’t need a rack server to self-host. In fact, a mini PC is the sweet spot for most homelabbers — low power consumption, silent operation, tiny footprint, and enough performance to run Proxmox with a dozen VMs and containers without breaking a sweat. I’ve tested a lot of these machines. Here are the ones actually worth buying in 2026, organized by budget. Why a Mini PC? Before the recommendations, here’s why mini PCs beat traditional server hardware for most home setups: ...
The hypervisor debate used to be simple: ESXi for enterprise, Proxmox for hobbyists. That’s no longer remotely accurate. After Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware turned the entire VMware ecosystem into a pricing nightmare, the landscape has fundamentally shifted. Let me break down where things stand in 2026. The short version: Proxmox wins for homelabs, small businesses, and an increasing number of enterprises. ESXi still has a place in large enterprise environments with specific compliance needs. But for anyone reading a self-hosting blog? Proxmox. No question. ...
Immich is the best self-hosted Google Photos alternative available right now. If you’ve read our comparison of self-hosted photo tools and decided Immich is the one (smart choice), this guide walks you through the entire setup — from zero to a fully working photo server with mobile app sync. I’ve set this up on dozens of machines at this point. Here’s exactly what works. What You’ll Need Hardware Requirements CPU: Any modern x86_64 processor. Intel 10th gen or newer is ideal because of Quick Sync (hardware video transcoding). ARM64 works too — Immich runs fine on Raspberry Pi 4/5. RAM: 4GB absolute minimum. 8GB recommended. The machine learning container alone wants 2-3GB when processing. Storage: SSD for the database and application (even 50GB is plenty). Separate HDD/NAS storage for your actual photo library. GPU (optional): NVIDIA GPU dramatically speeds up face recognition and object detection. Not required, but nice to have. Software Requirements Linux server (Ubuntu 22.04/24.04, Debian 12, or any distro with Docker support) Docker and Docker Compose v2 A domain name (optional, but recommended for remote access) Quick Docker Install If you don’t have Docker yet: ...
Google Photos keeps getting worse. The free unlimited storage is long gone, the AI features now require a Google One subscription, and every year they find new ways to nudge you toward paying more. If you’ve been thinking about taking your photo library back into your own hands, 2026 is the year to do it. I’ve tested every major self-hosted photo management tool over the past two years — running them on everything from a Raspberry Pi 4 to a dedicated Proxmox server. Here’s the honest breakdown of what works, what doesn’t, and what you should actually install. ...