Self-Hosted
Self-Hosted is a chat show between Chris and Alex, two long-time self-hosters who share their lessons and take you along for the journey as they learn new ones. The podcast discovers new software and hardware to get the best out of your network, control smart devices, and secure your data on cloud services. It is a Jupiter Broadcasting podcast showcasing free and open source technologies you can host yourself.
Episodes
150: The Last One
Before hitting the road, we test the limits of local-first file sharing, debate what self-hosting really is, and share our all-time favorite apps.Special Guests: Brent Gervais, Drew DeVore, and Wes Payne.
149: Notify Thyself
A slick new CoreOS-based distro that might be your next home-lab base, easy self-hosted notifications, and Plex stumbles into controversy. Plus: ECC RAM guilt.Special Guests: Brent Gervais and Dusty Mabe .
148: Homelab Disaster Prep
A week-long power blackout knocks out our guests homelab. We dig into Unraid 7.1, and push Home Assistant to keep things running—even when the power doesn’t.Special Guest: Stephen Schattin.
147: The Problem with Game Streaming
Alex finally cracks a years-old mystery, Chris reveals his latest experiments, and we share updates on our freshest gear. Plus, a important show update.
146: When AI Attacks
We're joined by Xe Iaso, who discusses a creative solution to relentless AI bots and the unexpected delights of running an outrageously overpowered homelab.Special Guest: Xe Iaso.
145: The Great Plexodus
When your go-to tools flip the script, our thoughts on Plex's new changes, sensors, and the creeping cost of easy.
144: Silence of the RAMs
Alex’s server meets a tragic end—but its replacement is shaping up to be a beast. Meanwhile, Chris experiments with budget CO₂ detectors, sirens, and smart integrations. Plus some surprises!
143: Your Data, Your Problem
The joys and headaches of self-hosting, a new Zigbee routing trick, and the ongoing BcacheFS vs. Debian showdown. Plus, why we're liking Open WebUI.
142: Cloud Your Judgment
Chris geeks out over his new gadget, Alex gets Pangolin purring, and we break down the latest OPNsense release—plus more surprises!Special Guest: Brent Gervais.
141: Eats, Shoots & Leaves
Bambu Labs teaches us how to lose friends and alienate people. Then, Alex Tran from Immich joins us for a project update, and we shared some dreams for a community RSS project.Special Guest: Alex Tran.
140: When Upgrades Go Wrong
Alex dives into the perils of upgrading and migrating critical infrastructure—uncovering embarrassing pitfalls and hard-won lessons along the way. Meanwhile, Chris takes his audiobook obsession to the next level, showcasing a couple self-hosted projects that are very ambitious.
139: Okay Nabu!
The Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition is out, and Paulus Schoutsen, the founder of Home Assistant, joins us to get into the details.
Then, Alex and a special guest get into docker-compose vs. nix to manage your home lab.Special Guest: Paulus Schoutsen.
138: ODROID and Chill
Brent joins to share part two of his NAS build adventure, and things take a tiny turn. Plus, picking the right encrypted chat app and Chris stacks a few Jellyfin wins.Special Guest: Brent Gervais.
137: Mechanically Compatible
We geek out over Brian Moses's 2025 DIY NAS build guide, contemplate future builds with the new Raspberry Pi Compute 5 module, and fully embrace our digital hoarding nature with a new app.Special Guest: Brian Moses.
136: Google is Done
Breaking free from Google's grip: Our surprising journey and the tools that made it possible. Plus, Brent's NAS feature stirring up debate, s clever tool for distributed video encoding, and more.Special Guest: Brent Gervais.
135: Rebuilding For the Last Time
From Nextcloud Breakup to Blissful Reunion: Chris's journey back to a smarter setup. Plus, Jellyfin's game-changing features and a beloved self-hosted app get the upgrade we've all been waiting for.
134: YouTube Unplugged
"The" self-hosted app to archive your favorite YouTube channels and easily integrate into Jellyfin/Plex. Plus, our favorite WordPress alternatives and an update on No Google October.
133: No Google October
Ditching Google Search for an entire month! We reveal the tool that's helping us break free. Plus, a special guest shares his home lab to data center journey. And, Chris raves about the ultimate Jellyfin client (and confesses to an accidental network camera purchase).
132: Uploading at the Speed of Light
Alex has been playing around at the speed of light while solving Proxmox problems, and Chris has solved a Jellyfin issue. Plus, our thoughts on the new Plex features.
131: The Value of Community
We celebrate five years of the show, chat about self-hosted Lightning, and why Alex loves his NanoKVM. Plus, it is a self-hosted replacement for Amazon Wishlists and more.
130: Make it or Break it
Prusa's Mk4S 3D printer seems to have hit the mark. Alex gets a tour of an awesome new maker space, we take a look at AdventureLog, and much more.Special Guest: Jscar_Hawk.
129: Forged Alliance
The battle for code forges is heating up. We chat about HexOS' big promises and get excited about Meshtastic.
128: To Update, or Not to Update?
ESPHome dev dishes on device updates, Immich license drama heats up, Alex's DIY server fix, and Chris reports on mobile tech trip test.Special Guest: Keith Burzinski.
127: Can't Fix What You Don't Track
Chris gets serious about tracking maintenance and alerts, why Alex is impressed by the RISC-V-powered NanoKVM, how we might end up using Docmost, and a follow-up review of LubeLogger.
126: Smart But Not Cloudy
Chris reviews the Aqara G4 Video Doorbell, Brent frees his Garmin from the cloud, and we discuss getting iMessages on Android.Special Guest: Brent Gervais.
125: Tiny Mini Micro Systems FTW
Alex's mini-PC surprise, why we're trying Tube Archivist, Alex's Nextcloud update, and how Chris stacks automations with Bitfocus Companion.
124: The End of Ownership
The "you'll own nothing" trend got worse this week, our thoughts about the Raspberry Pi IPO, poor Nextcloud performance, and Alex's new high-fiber obsession.
123: How much CPU do You REALLY Need
Alex benchmarks Intel CPUs (and an Arc GPU) to find the ideal balance of age, power, and speed for your home media server. Plus, our thoughts on Immich going full-time.
122: Back to the Future
How Chris created live TV streaming from his local media collection, Alex breaks down the new Open Home Foundation and what it means for self-hosters. Brent's been trying out an open-source AirDrop replacement for all systems, and much more!Special Guest: Brent Gervais.
121: Forbidden Fruit
Special guest Casey Liss from the Accidental Tech Podcast joins the show to discuss his homelab, how he uses HomeBridge, and his delightfully complex garage door sensor system.
Then Alex and Casey do their "best" to convince Chris the Apple Vision Pro is an excellent remote admin tool.Special Guest: Casey Liss.
120: Can a VPS Replace a Homelab?
Alex goes head-to-head with budget VPS providers, which gets us into a classic debate.
Plus we sit down with Adam Morales from Unraid to get the inside scoop on recent changes and exciting upcoming features.
119: Why So Many Llamas?
Alex rolls back a major server upgrade, and we have fun playing with local large language models.Special Guest: Wes Payne.
118: How Hard Could it Be?
Alex's new Epyc server build, and Jon Seager from Canonical joins us to chat about Nix in the homelab, packaging Scrutiny, and how Nix fits with existing infrastructure management tools.Special Guest: Jon Seager .
117: Unraid as a Service
We chat about VMware's rug pull with Bret, aka Raid Owl, and then get into Unraid's big changes and more.Special Guest: Raid Owl.
116: Making it all Connect
Alex has been deep-diving into container networking, and Chris is trying to steelman Plex's new rental service.
Plus, why are we building our containers with Tailscale networking now, and the latest from the Home Assistant project?
115: A NAS in Every Home
Brian Moses joins us and shares his most recent NAS build and love for 3D printers. Then Alex gets into the hardware he's deploying around the house, and why we don't see eye-to-eye on ZigBee.Special Guest: Brian Moses.
114: Unintended Consequences
We kick off the new year with new apps in our home lab you’ll want to try and a new way to do networking.
113: State of the Homelabs 2023
We look back at what has changed, what's failed us, and what's sticking around in our homelabs.Special Guest: Brent Gervais.
112: Red Light, Green Light
Alex shares a new build integrating WLED, and Chirs reviews hardware that can get you started with WLED in 45 seconds.
Then, one last big update on the Year of Voice and our thoughts on self-hosting push notifications.
111: pfSense Makes no Sense
We break down the state of the pfSense changes and the red flags we see. Plus, we're joined by Wolfgang from Wolfgang's channel to dig into his homelab and much more.Special Guest: Wolfgang.
110: Google Photos Replacement
That man behind the Google Photos killer joins us to chat about the latest release of Immich. Plus, Alex's first impressions of 45Homelab's HL15.Special Guests: Alex Tran and Brent Gervais.
109: Alex’s Backups Disaster
How we almost lost valuable data this week, and a Chat with Doug and Mitch about their new home lab server.
108: Year of Voice: A Bigger Deal Than You Think
Home Assistant's founder, Paulus Schoutsen, shares details about the Year of Voice, recent legal actions from Mazda, and the results of a recent third-party audit.
Plus, our recommended Nextcloud setup, converting dumb devices into smart ones with ESPHome, and more.Special Guests: Brent Gervais, Listener Jeff, and Paulus Schoutsen.
107: Laptop Dumpster Diving
With a dose of pragmatism and optimism, we chat about making the best out of old hardware and where we draw the line and buy new.
Plus, getting practical about your home media setup, bringing Spook into Home Assistant, and more.Special Guest: Brent Gervais.
106: The Plex Situation Just got Worse
Our thoughts on two recent Plex crackdowns, why the Apple TV just got a lot better, how home Assistant could improve 10 years in, and much more.
105: Sleeper Storage Technology
Alex sits down with the lead developer of mergerfs to get an update on the project, Chris has a button-pushing breakthrough and more.Special Guest: Antonio Musumeci.
104: Name-Not-So-Cheap
Alex does a significant overhaul of his website and unpacks a new GitHub action workflow. Chris finally achieves complete local voice control of his network, we complain about the state of domain name sellers, and more.
103: Archiving the Internet
A few tools to build your own Way Back Machine, we check in with the "Year of Voice" and more.
102: NixOS is a bit Flakey
Alex shares a suite of self-hosted apps that replace Reddit. Chris is struggling with Jellyfin, and we discuss where NixOS is killing it and where we think it falls down.
101: Joining the Federation
The advantages of Federating a local and remote Nextcloud, Chris replaces Google Home Hub's photo powers and the new docker-compose feature that will change Alex's entire setup.Special Guest: Brent Gervais.
100: Our Essential Apps
We cover our must-have self-hosted apps, reflect on the state of Self-Hosting now, and discuss what's new in Proxmox 8.
99: Lemmy at em!
We dive into Lemmy, a self-hosted Reddit alternative. Plus, a couple of easy-to-deploy tools that make life better.
98: The One with 45Drives
We chat with 45Drives about their ambitions to build a home-lab server that bridges the gap between enterprise-level servers and consumer-grade NAS products. And more.
97: Tempted by the Fruit of Another
Alex tempts Chris with his Obsidian ways, our thoughts on Drobo going bankrupt, and Photoprism adding paid tiers. Plus, the slick suite of tools you'll want to run on your LAN.
96: Outdoor Home Assistant
Why Chris needs ANOTHER Home Assistant instance and a major breakthrough for self-hosters.Special Guest: Brent Gervais.
95: Docker U-Turn
We debate if users learned their lesson from the Docker Hub drama, and the silent self-hosting winner going from strength to strength. Proxmox gets some big updates.
Plus, our thoughts on the state of self-hostable AI tools.
94: Full Power
Chris integrates full home power monitoring into Home Assistant, while Alex tames the AI and rushes to replace Dark Sky.Special Guest: Brent Gervais.
93: The Podman Perspective
Alex goes all in on Rootless Podman, Chris is saving his Nextcloud install from disaster, and a special guest joins us.Special Guest: Alex Ellis.
92: Rip it all Out
Find out why Alex ripped out everything installed last episode and is starting fresh with new gear, wires, and a new goal.Special Guest: Brent Gervais.
91: Total Network Rebuild
Alex has been swapping hardware and standing-up services. It's a network rebuild episode and more!
90: Proxmox ClusterF
Alex has major Proxmox problems. What happened, and the fix for now. Plus, the real downside to Wifi cameras and the batch of network gear on the way.
89: Jellyfans
Join us for the surprising conclusion to our month-long challenge.Special Guests: Brent Gervais and Catherine Kretzschmar.
88: Great Scott!
Alex dives deep to find out if Kubernetes is overkill for the home and finds solutions to simplify things. And Chris has a new firmware that turns his favorite network cameras up to 11.
Plus an update on Jellyfin January.
87: Jellyfin January
We kick off our Jellyfin January challenge and invite you to join us. Plus, Chris has some new hardware and our thoughts on the trouble at the Matrix foundation.Special Guest: Brent Gervais.
86: Disqus-ting Tracking
What disgusted Alex about Disqus, and how he replaced it with a Self-Hosted solution, a hot HDHomeRun tip, and an update on Chris' hunt for the perfect notes app.
85: Wendell's Hot Pi
Wendell from Level One Techs joins us to catch up on low-power hardware, his home automation setup, and thoughts on so much more.Special Guest: Wendell Wilson.
84: Hidden NAS
We're chatting about workstation builds for a home NAS with Joe Ressington this week. Chris chews on the news of the Evernote buyout and his challenges with Zigbee.Special Guest: Joe Resington.
83: Unintended Upgrades
Sometimes your best upgrades are unplanned; Chris just got his Home Assistant Yellow fully deployed.
82: Roon Ready Ruh-Roh
Alex gives Roon Labs whole home audio a try but discovers a critical design flaw while Chris checks out his new ODROID-H3+ and plans his next epic build.
81: The Badger Stack
Chris' Raspberry Pi server is dead, and Alex has a few ideas for his next build.Special Guest: Brent Gervais.
80: Solving Whole Home Audio
Alex is replacing his Chromecast and Google Nest Mini with an open-source solution, and why we’re all getting a little hyped about Matter.Special Guest: Brent Gervais.
79: Google is a Hostile Actor
We've made some changes since the last episode, and share why we have doubled down on Self-Hosting as much as possible.
Plus, Chris tries out Immich, a high-performance Google Photos alternative.
78: We Should Know Better
We learned some really hard lessons this week, and reflect. Then Chris finds the perfect temperature sensor, and Alex finds a beautiful media discovery app.
77: Automations Gone Wrong
What is it like to live with another man's automations? Brent spills all.
Plus, Chris tries out a few more Shelly devices and reports back.Special Guest: Brent Gervais.
76: Solid as a Rock
Alex runs us through his new and improved off-site backup setup, and Chris is trying out some Shelly devices.
75: In-Flight Changes
Our thoughts on the new Works with Home Assistant program, some changes to Alex's off-site backup server, and a million bits of great feedback.
74: A Pi For Every Problem
Our guest this week has more Raspberry Pis than anyone we've ever met. We get insights into all the projects he used them for, what's worked great, and what's not worked at all.Special Guest: Jscar_Hawk.
73: 100 Days of HomeLab
A special episode today as TechnoTim joins Alex to discuss everything Kubernetes and HomeLab. The #100DaysOfHomeLab initiative from Tim is just getting started, find out what it’s all about in today's episode.Special Guest: Techno Tim.
72: First Account is Free
A quick-fire round of projects this week, your feedback, and a discussion about the future of Self-Hosting.
71: Recipe for Success
Alex has found the perfect tool to bring your recipe management into the future. Plus, a convenient trick for scripts with passwords, dying hard drives, and the killer new Proxmox feature.
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