For this new year, I’d like to learn the skills necessary to self host. Specifically, I would like to eventually be able to self host Nextcloud, Jellyfin and possibly my email server too.

I’ve have a basic level understanding of Python and Kotlin. Now I’m in the process of learning Linux through a virtual machine because I know Linux is better suited for self hosting.

Should I stick with Python? Or is JavaScript (or maybe Ruby) better suited for that purpose? I’m more than happy to learn a new language, but I’m unsure on which is better suited.

And if you could start again in your self hosting journey, what would you do differently? :)

EDIT: I wasn’t expecting all these wonderful replies. You’re all very kind people to share so much with me :)

The consensus seems to be that hosting your own email server might be a lot, so I might leave that as future project. But for Nextcloud and Jellyfin I saw a lot of great tips! I forgot to mention that ideally I would like to have Nextcloud available for multiple users (ie. family memebers) so indeed learning some basic networking/firewalling seems the bare minimum.

I also promise that I will carefully read the manuals!

  • MXX53@programming.dev
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    29 minutes ago

    The ability to read, and maybe watch a video. And then persistence for some of the trial and error you will run in to. All skills you need can be picked up with the above.

  • dutchkimble@lemy.lol
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 hour ago

    Dude it sounds you’re over skilled for the job. You just need to read some guides and you probably know already how networking works, very basic linux commands, linux folder structures, and then the concept of docker - primarily how it maps networking & folders from your “host machine” to the “docker container”, and how it loads services using a docker compose file. Especially for nextcloud, domain dns management and dynamic dns etc would be very helpful knowledge.

    Also, just a suggestion, chatgpt etc are super useful. You tell them what you want and it spits out custom instructions for your setup, and you’re able to counter question at any point. If it does make mistakes, which it will, it’s a learning opportunity for you to troubleshoot and figure out how everything works. All the best and if you have a question feel free to message me.

  • rumba@lemmy.zip
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    13 hours ago

    Honestly, you just need to pick a video on follow along these days. There’s a load of YouTube videos out there that take you step by step.

    Lewis rosman recently put out a 14-hour mega video of doing everything, well he might have made some controversial choices, The outcome is quite comprehensive.

  • Human Crayon@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    14 hours ago

    Determination, patience, a willingness to learn anything you need to.

    If you have those, in time, you will be able to get your lab up and running. I started mine with a minimal knowledge of Linux (I could install it from a USB and poke around). Now it’s the center of my families digital life.

    You’ll get there in time.

  • yak@lmy.brx.io
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    16 hours ago

    Experimenting with VMs is the way forward.

    Basic networking knowledge is vital. And being able to configure your own firewall(s) safely is an important skill. Check out something like Foomuuri, or Firewald. Shorewall is brilliant for documentation and description of issues (with diagrams!) but it does not use the newer Linux kernel nftables and is no longer actively developed.

    Go for it with Nextcloud.

    I would also recommend at least having a shot at setting up an email server, although I would recommend pushing through to a fully working system. It is possible, and is very satisfying to have in place. The process of setting one up touches so many different parts of internet function and culture that it is worth it even if you don’t end up with a production system. The Workaround.org ISPMail stuff is a good starting point, and includes some helpful background information at every stage, enough so you can begin to understand what’s going on in the background and why certain choices are being made - even if you disagree with the decisions.

    Python is great for server admin, although most server config and startup shutdown snippets are written in BASH. You will no doubt have already begun picking that up as you interact with your VMs.

  • Synapse@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    17 hours ago

    Take the time to properly understand Linux file ownership and permission. Permission will be the cause of many issues you will encounter in you self-hosting journey on Linux. Make sure you know the basics of chmod (change permission) and chown (change ownership), Linux users and groups. This will save you some head-scratching, but don’t worry, you will learn by doing !

    Remember that, if you setup everything right, especially with docker, running as root / with sudo is not required for any of the services you may want to run.

  • njordomir@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    23 hours ago

    Give Nextcloud AIO a shot. I installed bare metal the first time, but AIO has decreased my maintenance burden to next to nothing. Before that, it felt like every update would break my system. I’m a year or two into my transition from Linux nerd to self-hoster. I still fail at things on occasion, but I have learned a lot. I hope it goes as well or even better for you.

    • ikidd@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      11 hours ago

      I’ve hosted NC for a decade, and the AIO was the first method that doesn’t make me dread updates. And I’ve used pretty much every method of installing it over the years, everything sucked.

      I snapshotted every time before and update because I knew it was a crapshoot whether the update was going to crater the system, and I’d roll back and wait for a working update to come out. Before snapshotting, I had to fix borked updates about every second time.

  • tehnomad@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 day ago

    One thing I would do differently is setup LDAP and OIDC so you can use the same authentication credentials for different apps (at least the ones that support them). I use LLDAP and Authelia for this purpose.

  • sunstoned@lemmus.org
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    1 day ago

    if you could start again in your self hosting journey, what would you do differently? :)

    That’s an excellent question.

    If I were to start over, the first thing that I would do is start by learning the basics of networking and set up a freakin’ VPN! IMO exposing services to the public internet should be considered more of an advanced level task. When you don’t know what you don’t know, it’s risky and frankly unnecessary.

    The lowest barrier to entry for a personal VPN, by far, is Tailscale. Automatic internal DNS and clients for nearly any device makes finding services on a dedicated machine really, really, easy. Look into putting tailscale right into the compose file so you automatically get an internal DNS records for a service rather than a whole machine.

    From there, play around with more ownership (work) over what can touch your network. Switch from Tailscale’s “trusted” login to hosting your own Headscale instance. Add a PiHole or AdGuard exit node and set up your own internal DNS records.

    Maybe even scrap the magic (someone else’s logic that may or may not be doing things you need) and go for a plain-Jane Wireguard setup.

    • jg1i@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      23 hours ago

      For sure use Tailscale for VPN. They have apps for iPhone, Android, macOS, and Linux, so setting up your own personal network will be easy. Hosting on the real internet is definitely advanced and not always necessary.

  • k4j8@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 day ago
    • Docker: You can practice on your main computer before complicating things with networking.
    • How to set up a reverse proxy: DNS, certificates, etc. I recommend Caddy.
    • Backups: If you use Docker Volumes, make sure you back those up too and test the backups.

    To self-host, you do not need to know how to code.

    • schizo@forum.uncomfortable.business
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      1 day ago

      To self-host, you do not need to know how to code.

      I agree but also say that learning enough to be able to write simple bash scripts is maybe required.

      There’s always going to be stuff you want to automate and knowing enough bash to bang out a script that does what you want that you can drop into cron or systemd timers is probably a useful time investment.

  • JackAttack@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    1 day ago

    I think if you have a mini PC or something you don’t mins installing server specific OS on, proxmox VE is pretty great. It can be a bit of a headache depending on what you want to do but it also makes expanding your self hosting super easy/fun.

    Proxmox let’s you created virtual machines or containers and easily manage them.

    Currently I run a mini PC.(Beelinks are great for this and pretty cheap with more power than a raspberry pi)

    1. Proxmox VE as the operating system
    2. Jellyfin as my media server
    • looking to install home assistant and some others as well.
    1. Tail scale to use as a VPN into my network privately from anywhere.

    Simplest set up? No. But I also just started self hosting. You’re gonna hit some.headaches regardless but it’s also extremely rewarding and I’ve learned alot.

    Edit: if you’re only wanting to run one thing (say jellyfin) . A raspberry pi with tail scale and jellyfin is how I started. Works just fine.

  • electric_nan@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    1 day ago

    I don’t know a bit about programming. Yunohost is a great place to start for self hosting a variety of services. For Jellyfin/downloading, I use Swizzin Community Edition. I like both of these projects because neither uses Docker lol. I tried some Docker based setups but could never get my head around it. YMMV.