When I first wrote about the emotional rollercoaster of self-hosting, I focused on the why, the motivations, frustrations, and addictive wins that come with running your own infrastructure. But one of the most common questions from friends I got was: “Okay, but what do you actually self-host?”

This post is my answer. It’s a complete breakdown of the apps I run, how they connect, what runs in Docker, what runs natively, and how I try to keep everything just stable enough to trust with my digital life.

Hardware Overview

Before diving into apps, here's the gear powering it all.

Server: Dell OptiPlex 3050 Micro
i3-7100T, 128GB NVMe boot + 1TB SSD for /data

External Storage: 4TB Seagate Expansion Drive
Mounted as /mnt/dumptruck, used for media, downloads, and backups

Network: Tailscale for remote access, Samba for local file sharing

Everything runs on Fedora Server, headless.

Core Stack

These are the foundational apps, things I rely on daily.

Nextcloud

Purpose: File sync, calendar, contacts, notes
Setup: Runs in Docker, /data/nextcloud mounted for storage
Extras: Integrates with Photo backup from iOS via iCloudpd, accessible over Tailscale

Paperless

Purpose: Document archiving (PDFs, bills, IDs, etc.)
Consume Folder: Default, with OCR and auto-tagging enabled
Setup: /data/paperless as persistent volume, runs in Docker
Note: Planning to add rules and a Discord notification bot

Immich

Purpose: Private Google Photos replacement
Data Location: /data/immich
Setup: Docker Compose; iOS and Android apps used for uploads

Backup + Redundancy

Backups are the difference between peace of mind and total panic. Here's how I manage mine.

Cloud Backups

Google Drive and Mega are mounted via containers.
Backups are copied regularly to /mnt/dumptruck/Backups/ using rsync.
Encrypted .tar.gz files are stored offsite.

Snapshot Scripts

I use ZFS-like manual snapshots of important folders like Nextcloud and Paperless.
I plan to automate snapshot creation and verification soon.

Smart Home and Monitoring

This is a pretty new space for me, but it's where things get fun and occasionally chaotic.

Home Assistant

Purpose: Control smart lights, routines, sensors
Setup: Native install under /data/homeassistant
Devices: Two smart bulbs, ambient lighting via Arduino and Prismatik
Access: Exposed on local IP

Homebridge

Purpose: Bridge non-HomeKit devices to the Apple ecosystem
Setup: Native install (not Docker)
Status: In active use with iPhone and iPad

Tailscale

Purpose: Private remote access across phone, laptop, and tablet
Bonus: Simplifies SSH, Nextcloud access, and photo syncing

Media and Downloads

Jellyfin

Purpose: Local movie and TV streaming
Storage: Reads from /mnt/dumptruck/Media
Setup: Docker

Torrent Stack (qBittorrent, Prowlarr, Bazarr)

Purpose: Automated media management
Tools:

qBittorrent for downloads
Prowlarr as indexer manager
Bazarr for subtitles
Storage: Downloads to /mnt/dumptruck/Downloads

Monitoring and Alerts

Discord Bot

Purpose: Notifies on backup success, failure, and other alerts
Setup: Shell scripts call a webhook with status info

Grafana (experimental)

Purpose: Dashboard for uptime, disk usage, etc.
Status: Used occasionally, but not core to daily operations

How It All Connects

Everything is centered around /data for persistent volumes.
Media and bulk data are offloaded to the 4TB HDD.
Tailscale acts as the glue between all mobile and remote devices.

Lessons from This Stack

Keep volumes organized under /data because it makes backups easier.
Use Tailscale early since it saves days of port-forwarding frustration.
Don’t over-optimize upfront. Get it working first, then make it pretty.
Backups are real work. Automate as much as possible and test recovery.

What's Next

Setting up snapshot validation
Integrating Paperless with tagging and alert rules
Maybe running a local LLM for notes or search indexing

Final Thoughts

This stack isn’t perfect. It’s full of small decisions, trial-and-error, and weekend experiments. But it works. And most importantly, it gives me back control, ownership, and a sense of craft.

My Self-Hosting Stack: Everything I Run, and How It All Connects