Homelab

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A Kindle 4 running KOReader displaying a CBZ comic panel of a pirate captain firing a musket above the caption This band o pirates has been terrorizin the seas for years.
7 homelab projects to take your hobbies to the next level

Own your data while saving money on subscriptions.

The Plex homepage open showing Marvel movies in 4K and other movies on a laptop screen.
Your dusty old laptop is actually the ideal Plex server, and here's why

7 devices you can turn into a Plex media server without paying a dime

Bambu Lab P2S 3D printer printhead.
5 self-hosted 3D printing tools you should download today

Your homelab can turbo-charge your 3D printing experience.

The Tdarr interface in the Chrome web browser showing over 7TB of space savings.
Stop buying hard drives for Plex: How I reclaimed 7TB for free

Your Plex library is bloated—this automated tool saved me 7TB.

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Angled top view of the ACEMAGIC M5 mini PC showing the front edge.
I treated my home server like a spare PC, and it cost me my entire homelab

I ran my first home server all wrong until I stopped using it like a desktop

Front ports on the ACEMAGIC M5 mini PC with USB-C USB audio and power button.
Stop wasting homelab resources—these 3 self-hosted apps simplify your life (July 10 - 12)

Make your homelab useful for more than dashboards and media streaming

TerraMaster F4-425 Pro NAS drive tray with HGST 3.5-inch hard drive outside bay.
4 free (and private) Dropbox alternatives you can host yourself

Your NAS can do more than sit there holding backups

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A phone running Google Keep next to a laptop NAS.
Google Keep is the only app I can’t replace with self-hosting

Sometimes, simple is best.

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Ugreen DXP2800 GT beside Ugreen DXP4800 GT front size comparison.
This is the only operating system I'll ever use on my Ugreen NAS

I stopped tinkering with my NAS, and it's the best decision I've made

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AdGuard Home dashboard being displayed on a computer monitor.
I ditched my router's DNS for a NAS, and suddenly websites loaded way faster

Your router is the bottleneck killing your web browsing speed—here's the fix

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Person's hand plugging an Ethernet cable into a Synology DS425+ NAS.
5 networking devices that are officially too old for anything in 2026

Some network upgrades are about safety, not just speed

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The back Ethernet and SFP+ ports of the Unifi Dream Router 7.
Stop forwarding ports on your router—here are 2 safer alternatives

Safer remote access starts with opening fewer doors to the internet

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Close-up of a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B board showing the GPIO header and USB ports.
This self-hosted Raspberry Pi audio book server syncs progress across every device I own

Private playback, synced progress, and full control over my library

The top of the Unifi Dream Router 7.
Stop wasting money on mesh routers—this enterprise Wi-Fi gear is actually cheaper

I ditched my mesh network for UniFi—the setup was brutal, but my Wi-Fi improved dramatically

Tuya Local running in Home Assistant being displayed on a monitor.
I blocked my smart bulbs from the internet, and you can too

No internet access for you!

image of Cuddy TR3000 router
I turned a cheap travel router into the ultimate portable VPN
VPN

Remote access to your home network doesn't require expensive gear—here's what I did with a travel router

Cafelat Robot manual lever arm coffee machine.
5 hobbies you're spending way too much money on

You've got the GAS.

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The umbrelOS experience.
I tried umbrelOS, and it's the easiest way to grow your homelab

You don't need to be a terminal wizard to build and maintain a homelab anymore.

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The rear I/O of a NZXT motherboard, showing nine USB-A ports and just one USB-C port.
Your old PC already supports 10 Gigabit Ethernet (you just need one cheap upgrade)

A 10GbE upgrade does not always require a new motherboard or PCIe card

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Home Assistant logo.
Home Assistant gets a big update that fixes three everyday smart home headaches

You can set up automations in plain english, track activity logs clearly, and bulk update multiple devices.

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