The beginner roadmap

Your first self-hosted app, step by step

One complete walkthrough: from a fresh server to a working app with a tested restore. Each step links to a full guide — do them in order, because each one builds on the last.

Choose a server

Step 1 · About 30 minutes

Pick a provider and plan, choose an operating system, and log in for the first time. By the end you'll be standing at a terminal on your own Linux machine, with the system updated and the key facts (RAM, disk, uptime) in hand.

Read the guide

Secure access

Step 2 · About 20 minutes

Replace password logins with SSH keys, create a non-root daily user, and enable a firewall. This closes the two weaknesses that automated attacks target most — before any real data lives on the server.

Read the guide

Launch an app

Step 3 · About 30 minutes

Install Docker, learn the Compose pattern, and get a real app running — Uptime Kuma, a monitoring tool you'll keep using long after the exercise. You'll reach it securely through an SSH tunnel before anything faces the public internet.

Read the guide

Test a restore

Step 4 · About 45 minutes

Set up automated, encrypted, off-site backups — then prove they work by restoring into a separate test directory. An untested backup is a hope, not a plan; this step turns your setup into something you actually trust.

Read the guide

What you end up with: a secured server, one real app running in Docker, automated encrypted backups, and a restore you've performed with your own hands. Total time: roughly two hours, spread over a few sittings. From here, the app setup guides open the door to everything else worth self-hosting.