10 useful home projects you should build with Proxmox

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Key findings

  • Host game servers and manage mods with Pterodactyl.
  • Use Proxmox for email servers, surveillance systems and a personal cloud.
  • Make your Smart Home much
    smarter
    using the Home Assistant.



As one of the best virtualization platforms in the computing landscape, Proxmox comes with a wealth of nifty features. From the ability to create highly available clusters to support for LXC containers and the KVM hypervisor, there are no limits to what you can do with home lab projects using Proxmox. Although I usually cover crazy ideas like building a Hackintosh with Proxmox or gaming on VMs, there are several productive things you can do with it. So here are ten home projects you must try at least once on your DIY journey.

10 LAN game hosting server

With the help of Pterodactyl. The software, not the dinosaur

Play Minecraft on a self-hosted Pterodactyl server


Self-hosted game servers are perfect if you want to test out crazy mods or create a private lobby for your friends and family. Pterodactyl's open-source management panel is compatible with most popular multiplayer titles and provides an easy way to host custom lobbies for your favorite titles. Although the installation process can be a bit of a hassle, you shouldn't have any compatibility issues when using Pterodactyl on a Debian VM in Proxmox.

9 Email server

No more spam messages!

Running Mailcow in a VM

In an age where spam emails and virus-infested messages are commonplace, self-hosted email servers can provide much-needed security and privacy for your emails. While managing a dedicated email server sounds quite tedious, MailCow offers all the essential features you expect from a mail server, wrapped in a simple user interface. Setting up MailCow isn't that difficult as all you need to do is configure a few network settings after deploying a MailCow Docker container in a Proxmox VM.


8 Monitoring system

This can send alarms if it detects something unusual

A person holding an Aicoco onAir camera

Looking for ways to create a robust surveillance system? A ZoneMinder container is a great way to start your adventure in the world of NVR technology. Not only does ZoneMinder support a wide range of IP webcams and security cameras, but it can also provide real-time alerts and object detection capabilities via third-party integrations. And if you're a Proxmox master, you can link your ZoneMinder container to a virtualized NAS setup to back up all the surveillance footage.

7 Dashboard for home lab

An easy way to control all your devices and services

Dashy UI runs on an LXC container


For those running multiple services and a ton of bells and whistles in their computer setup, it can be difficult to access certain settings without digging through a battalion of menus. Dashboard applications simplify the management of your home lab by presenting important statistics in simple, bite-sized widgets and charts. Although you can choose from a variety of apps, running Dashy as an LXC container is my preferred method for creating a dashboard for my home server.

6 Password Manager

This will not forget your Lovecraftian song-like passwords


Remembering passwords is no easy task, especially if you're as paranoid as I am and set completely different passwords when signing up for a service. Password managers like Vaultwarden can solve your security problems by allowing you to store your complex passwords in secure environments. Although after creating an LXC container for Vaultwarden, you'll need to create a TLS certificate to access your passwords, the extra effort is worth it if you want maximum security for all your user accounts.

Perfect for film lovers

Whether you're looking for an intuitive interface to stream your MP4 files over the network or just want to catalog your ripped movies, media servers are a great addition to any home lab setup. If you choose to go the LXC container route, you can use dedicated Proxmox VE Helper scripts to deploy Plex and Jellyfin servers. Alternatively, you can skip the age-old Plex vs. Jellyfin debate by installing Kodi on a Linux virtual machine.


4 Personal Cloud

A self-hosted alternative to cloud services

If you're tired of calibrating complex NAS operating systems in your Proxmox rig, a container running a private cloud can provide an easier way to back up data and share files across all your home lab devices. CasaOS is an amazing platform that satisfies the desire for a personal cloud with its beautiful UI and a robust set of tools. Plus, it's pretty easy to configure, as all you need to do is run a Proxmox VE Helper script in the Proxmox shell and wait for the virtualization platform to deploy a CasaOS-powered LXC container.


3 Paperless-ngx

Simplify document management, file by file

paperless-2

Although document scanning apps have been around for years, organizing your scanned files can be a real challenge. However, if you have a Proxmox machine in your computing arsenal, you can make document management a lot easier by deploying a Paperless-ngx container. From a decent OCR engine to a robust tagging system, Paperless-ngx can be a game changer if your workflow involves searching through a lot of physical documents.

2 Ad blocker + self-hosted VPN

Very useful for Internet users

The command to install Wirehole on a Proxmox VM


As if annoying ads weren't enough, maintaining your online privacy can be quite a hassle. Although you can deploy Ad-Blocker LXC containers for AdGuard/Pi-Hole on your Proxmox machine and run them along with a self-hosted VPN container, Wirehole offers a much better solution. In case you haven't already guessed from the name, this neat repository combines Pi-Hole's ad-blocking features with the Wireguard VPN. It's also pretty easy to set up, as all you need is a Linux virtual machine that can run Docker containers.

1 Home automation center

The ultimate home project


It would be a disgrace to compile a list of the best home projects without giving the top spot to Home Assistant. Although you need to create a separate Proxmox VM just for Home Assistant, it is undoubtedly the best software for managing your smart devices. Aside from its beginner-friendly interface, HA offers top-notch scripting features to bring the power of automation to your smart home setup.

Make your living space more comfortable with Proxmox

If you want even more, there are many useful projects you can build with your Proxmox home server. Although it's a bit complex for newbies, a network-attached storage operating system offers many more features than Nextcloud, CasaOS, and other personal cloud platforms – and you can easily install TrueNAS Scale or another NAS operating system in a Proxmox virtual machine.


Similarly, programming enthusiasts can use their Proxmox rigs to host powerful web servers, while hacking and pentesting enthusiasts can use an isolated Kali Linux VM to test the security of their home network.

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