2 min read homelab

State of the homelab, spring 2026

We've been living in temporary housing, so there are some things that just can't happen when it comes to self-hosting. But I've never regretted my server setup being a mini PC with a couple external drive bays, and that's definitely not changed now because I can use it even in the rental. Home Assistant? Not gonna happen. Jellyfin? We lack the bandwidth. But some essential services are still operational, and it helps me feel a little bit more in control of life at a not-so-controlled time.

Despite the rise in vibe-coded, unmaintainable and probably insanely insecure garbage out there in the self-hosted app space, there is plenty to love in the classics, and that's mostly what I stick with.

  • Navidrome. Still doing the thing. Any music I buy on Bandcamp goes in there, but CD ripping is justifiably on hold. Since I can't listen to records, it's a valuable service for sure. As a bonus, the new iOS app for fledgling developers seems to be "Subsonic API client," so there's no shortage of apps.
  • Docmost. This wiki tool keeps everything straight, from school to what's on the homelab (how meta).
  • Paperless-NGX. There's a lot of paperwork associated with an "event" like ours. I don't know how I lived before this software. It is the greatest thing, and IMO only something that could be possible when self-hosted (and only accessible in the house).
  • Audiobookshelf. Here's another one like Navidrome that is particularly helpful in our situation, not least because it hosts ebooks as well as audio, despite the name. Pro tip: Buy your audiobooks from a no-DRM store like Downpour. Why anyone wants to be locked in to Amazon is beyond me. And Audiobookshelf is an old-school FOSS app.
  • Karakeep. I used to use Raindrop, and I still think it's just about the best SaaS system out there for doing what it does, but bookmarks are another thing I like to keep in-house.
  • FreshRSS. This guy works with the venerable NetNewsWire and quite a few other RSS clients. Sometimes it seems like RSS is having a resurgence; whether or not that's true, you can pry it from my cold dead hands.
  • Mealie. We put everything in here. It's the equivalent of a Steam account where you buy everything when it goes on sale and never have time to play it. But at least it's finally in one spot.
  • Immich. Photos are another thing I no longer want to entrust to a company like Google. It's way too important and personal.