Self-Hosting & Homelab
My adventures in running far too many things on computers in my own house. unRaid, Docker, Immich, Pi-hole, Ghost, backups, networking and the occasional thing I broke while trying to make it better.
Latest Self-Hosting & Homelab Posts
Everything I've written about Self-Hosting & Homelab in one place. Pick a post and disappear down another rabbit hole.
What if the internet disappeared tomorrow? Building an offline library on a Raspberry Pi
What happens when the internet disappears? Build your own offline library with a Raspberry Pi, packed with books, maps, Wikipedia and educational resources. A little knowledge centre that works without the internet.
What’s Running on My Unraid Server in 2026
At some point, my Unraid server stopped being a server and quietly became an entire IT department. What started as a place to store some files and run Jellyfin has gradually turned into the centre of a ridiculous amount of stuff around our house. Photos, home automation, security cameras, websites,
5 Steps to Build Your First Unraid Server
Learn how to build your first Unraid server in five practical steps. From choosing affordable hardware to installing applications and securing your data, this beginner-friendly guide will help you start your homelab without overcomplicating things.
I've Been Rebuilding This Website Since 1995
I've had some version of my own website since around 1995. Thirty years, countless redesigns, Blogger, Drupal, Ghost and apparently I'm still not finished.
How to Back Up unRaid: Appdata Backup, ZeroByte & Canadian Backblaze B2
Self-hosting on unRaid is great, but parity isn't a backup. Here is how I set up automated local appdata backups and encrypted, Canadian-hosted remote backups using ZeroByte and Backblaze B2.
How to set up Frigate on unRaid with Reolink PoE cameras
Learn how I use Frigate on unRaid with Reolink PoE cameras to build a local, self-hosted NVR with AI object detection, Home Assistant integration and no mandatory cloud storage.
Setup Immich on unRaid. Self-hosting a Google Photos alternative
How did you get here? If you have been following along to my blog posts and have an unRaid server sitting in your basement, office, or wherever you've managed to hide the growing collection of hard drives that started as "just one little server," you might
Pi-hole on a Raspberry Pi, and why you should have two
Pi-hole is one of those wonderfully boring pieces of technology that you install once and then mostly forget about, until you look at how much advertising, tracking and other nonsense it has quietly blocked. In this post, I explain how I run Pi-hole on a Raspberry Pi, why I keep it off unRaid.
Setting up unRaid from a pile of hardware to a Canadian cloud
Thinking about building an unRaid server to begin your Canadian cloud journey? This beginner-friendly guide walks through everything from choosing your hardware and creating the unRaid USB to configuring storage, Docker, Community Applications, and backups.
Taking back my digital life: Building my own Canadian home cloud
Background I've spent a ridiculous amount of my life handing my digital life over to somebody else as most people have done over the years. Google has my photos and devices. Someone else has my files. Someone else has my movies. Someone else knows what websites I'