10 self-hosted apps you can run on your SBC instead of a NAS

Key insights

  • Self-hosting saves money on subscription fees and prevents third parties from accessing private information.
  • SBCs allow you to run multiple self-hosted apps, such as photo managers, private idea boards, and personal finance tools.
  • You can even set up services like print servers, gaming servers, and dashboards without experiencing performance issues on your SBC.



Self-hosting not only gives you a sense of satisfaction but also serves many practical purposes. Not only will you save money on subscription fees, but running FOSS apps on your local devices will also prevent third-party companies from gaining access to your private data. Additionally, you don't need a powerful NAS or an enterprise-class server to host many of the popular services.

As long as you have a reasonably capable SBC, it is possible to run multiple self-hosted apps on your system. If you're a DIYer like me, here's a list of all the cool services you can host on your little DIY companion.


10 Photo manager

To keep these precious memories safe

I'm running it on an SBC


Whether you're looking for a way to sort your photo collection or want to quickly create backups of your important images, image management tools can help. I'm a fan of Immich for its responsiveness and Google Photos-like interface, but there are a few other alternatives you can set up on your SBC, including PhotoPrism, Ente, and Photonix.

9 Private idea boards

A private repository of your favorite articles and videos

Running Pinry in a home lab

Looking for a self-hosted alternative to Pinterest that doesn't invade your privacy? Pinry offers an easy way to create idea boards using images, videos, and links. It's also pretty fast, meaning you can host your multi-page board on an Arm-powered SBC without running into any performance issues.


8 Personal finance apps

Useful if you're as prone to overspending on hardware as I am

A self-hosted instance of Firefly III

Equipped with tons of handy financial templates, Excel is a great app for managing your budget. However, personal finance tools — especially those you can host on your own system — are ideal if you need advanced accounting features without the additional privacy loopholes of third-party services. Firefly III is certainly the crème de la crème of personal finance apps, even if the learning curve is a bit steep. However, combine it with Ghostfolio's portfolio tracking features and you have a solid financial management setup running on your SBC.

For both conventional and 3D printers

Running an Octoprint server in UmbrelOS


With the advent of affordable 3D printers, creating your own CAD models has become quite affordable these days. So if you are the proud owner of a 3D printer, you can deploy an Octoprint web server on your SBC and use it to control every aspect of your model building companion.

You can even install CUPS on your miniature board to monitor the operation of your traditional 2D printer.

Related

How to create a print server with a Raspberry Pi

Check out this easy way to run a wired printer wirelessly over your home network and print from almost any device

6 Game server

If you want to host privately Minecraft worlds

Minecraft runs on a PC, the server runs on a Raspberry Pi 5

Public multiplayer lobbies may have their advantages, but private game servers are better if you want full control over game settings. Maybe you just want to enjoy a distraction-free gaming experience with your friends. Or maybe you want the freedom to play around with mods without ruining other players' gaming experience.


It turns out that you don't need a top-of-the-line PC for this project, as most modern SBCs have enough power to run private servers Palworld, Minecraftand other casual titles.

5 Reverse proxy server

Caddy and Traefic are also worth considering

Nginx on Ubuntu

If you are active in the home lab community, you may have heard of Nginx. This handy tool lets you map domain names to your self-hosted services, saving you the hassle of figuring out the IP addresses and port numbers associated with each app.

Nginx also offers the ability to configure SSL/TLS certificates for your services, adding an additional layer of security if you want to access your home services over external networks. When you consider the caching and load balancing provisions available in Nginx, it becomes clear why many self-hosting enthusiasts use it as their preferred proxy manager.


4 Dashboards and analysis platforms

Heimdall and Grafana are a pair made in laboratory heaven

Micromanaging all of your services can go from a fun activity to a tedious task if your repertoire of apps grows out of proportion. Luckily, dashboard tools allow you to manage the other services running on your network. Personally I prefer Heimdall, but Dashy and Organizr work just as well. Additionally, you can even pair your dashboard app with an analytics platform like Grafana to monitor every aspect of your self-hosted SBC server.

3 Personal clouds

Goodbye, Google Drive


If you're more interested in the backup mechanisms of Immich and other photo managers, it's a good idea to look into personal clouds, as they work well if you want to store other file types besides images and videos. Nextcloud is easily the top contender for the throne, offering most of the encryption, collaboration, and security features you could want from a personal cloud. Additionally, it is compatible with various add-ons, giving you access to an even larger suite of apps to manage your important documents.

2 VPNs

WireGuard for the win!

Operation of a WireGuard tunnel via Proxmox


Accessing the devices connected to your home network over dubious and unsecured public Wi-Fi connections poses numerous security problems. However, you can host a VPN on your miniature SBC and enable port forwarding on your router to connect from external networks and use your NAS, home server, and other devices without exposing them to security vulnerabilities.

WireGuard is undoubtedly my favorite solution as it is quite fast and has a simple user interface. However, you can choose OpenVPN if you need tunneling and deep packet inspection over TCP (port 443).

1 Intruder alarm system

To protect your local networks

A Raspberry Pi 5 lies on a PC case and is wrapped with a LAN cable


When you think of a useful service that starts with the words Pi, Pi-hole is the first app that comes to mind. There's no denying that it's the perfect addition to your SBC server, but Pi.Alert is just as amazing if you want extra security for your home network. As an intrusion detection tool, Pi.Alert continuously keeps an eye on your Wi-Fi and LAN and notifies you as soon as new devices are detected trying to connect to your network. It's also great for monitoring your existing devices for IP changes or sudden connection drops.

Turn your SBC into a self-hosting beast

Those were ten great services you can run on your SBC, but this list is far from complete! Mealie is a lightweight tool to help you keep track of your eating habits, while Caliber is great for bibliophiles who need a private server for their e-book collection. There's also Paperless-ngx, which revolutionizes document management, and Navidrome, a music streaming utility.


Related

Simplify document management by hosting Paperless-ngx in your home lab

From a robust tagging system to solid OCR provisions, Paperless-ngx is the perfect tool for organizing documents

On the other hand, you will find numerous apps that are more suitable for powerful systems. For example, even the fastest Raspberry Pi stumbles when it comes to transcoding large videos on media servers. Likewise, you can technically run Home Assistant on modern SBCs and expect a responsive experience. But once the number of your smart gadgets increases, you may want to switch to a NAS/PC with a good x86 processor for better performance.

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