Beginner

Beginner

Get one machine running a sensible OS, running Docker, hosting a couple of real services, and backed up.

This tier is about getting one working machine, not a "correct" one. By the end you'll have: a single physical or virtual machine running a supported Linux distribution, Docker installed and understood, a handful of real self-hosted services running in containers, basic network hygiene (static IP, DHCP reservation, a firewall), and a backup of the configuration and data that would actually let you rebuild if the disk died tomorrow.

No VMs, no clustering, no orchestration yet - that's Intermediate and Advanced. Read the pages below roughly in order; each one assumes you've done the ones before it.

  1. Planning Your Homelab

    Figure out what you're actually trying to accomplish before buying anything - goals, budget, and the noise/power/space constraints that decide more than people expect.

  2. Choosing Hardware

    Used enterprise gear vs a mini PC vs a Raspberry Pi vs the laptop already in your closet - what actually fits a first homelab.

  3. Power, Noise, and Thermals

    The always-on cost of a homelab that spec sheets don't show - watts add up daily, noise annoys the people you live with, and heat throttles performance quietly.

  4. Choosing an Operating System

    Comparing general-purpose Linux distros against purpose-built homelab OSes, and which to pick for what you're actually doing at this tier.

  5. Initial Server Setup

    SSH access, a non-root user, updates, a static IP, and a basic firewall - the handful of steps to run before anything else touches this machine.

  6. Docker Essentials

    What Docker actually is, how images/containers/volumes relate, and why it fits a homelab better than installing everything directly on the OS.

  7. Docker Compose Basics

    Your first compose file, running multiple services together, and why compose (not individual docker run commands) is how you should actually manage a homelab.

  8. First Services

    Pi-hole or AdGuard, a media server, and a dashboard - three real, satisfying wins to run before chasing anything more elaborate.

  9. Vaultwarden Password Manager

    A self-hosted, Bitwarden-compatible password manager - one of the fastest ways to feel a homelab pay for itself in daily life, not just as a tech demo.

  10. Photo Backup with Immich

    A self-hosted, Google-Photos-style photo and video backup with mobile auto-upload - closing the loop on the "photo backup" goal from Planning Your Homelab.

  11. File Sync with Nextcloud

    A self-hosted Dropbox/Google Drive replacement - desktop and mobile sync, shared folders, and calendar/contacts, closing out the third common reason people start a homelab.

  12. Networking Basics

    How your router, DHCP, and local DNS fit together, and why port forwarding is the first real risk this guide asks you to think carefully about.

  13. Backups 101

    The 3-2-1 basics applied to a homelab - backing up compose volumes and configs, not just "hoping the disk doesn't die."

  14. Cost and Power Tracking

    A short, honest look at tracking what your homelab actually costs to run - a genuinely common rabbit hole, worth doing lightly rather than obsessively.