# How I self-host in 2024

I'm a sucker for side projects. There's nothing quite like building something to learn about it.

Over the last 5+ years I've accumulated a little over 15 small web apps and websites. Almost all of them are hosted on a small Hetzner server and deployed using [a mix of ssh, docker-compose, and Caddy](https://duarteocarmo.com/blog/down-from-the-cloud-self-hosting.html).

Some months ago my small server started giving me some problems. The 4 vCPUs and 16 GB RAM weren't enough, and hiccups became more frequent. I also want to run more and more small LLMs on it, which turned out to be *[challenging](https://github.com/duarteocarmo/lusiaidas/blob/master/app.py#L1)*. The whole ["ssh with root using github actions"](https://github.com/duarteocarmo/governosombra/blob/master/.github/workflows/workflow.yml) started to look like more of a limitation than a feature.

It was time for an upgrade.

![Coolify apps](https://duarteocarmo.com/images/66/coolify-apps.png)

First, I needed to upgrade my hardware. Not sure if [Hetzner](https://www.hetzner.com/) is the cheapest out there, but after using them for 5+ years I can definitely say they're reliable. I went with their [server auction](https://www.hetzner.com/sb), which is a great (and sustainable) way of getting a nice refurbished server for a fair price. For about 30 EUR/month, I upgraded to a nice Intel i7 with 64GB RAM(!). Should be more than enough.

With better hardware, I needed to decide whether I would keep my [old setup](https://duarteocarmo.com/blog/down-from-the-cloud-self-hosting.html), or upgrade to something a bit more *streamlined* (god I *hate* that word). Turns out, there are quite some open source PaaS alternatives. From [Dokku](https://dokku.com/), [CapRover](https://caprover.com/), to DHH's [Kamal](https://kamal-deploy.org/). The one who caught my eye the most was [Coolify](https://coolify.io/). Without much due diligence, it seemed fit most of what I needed: [Open source](https://github.com/coollabsio/coolify), [easy to install](https://coolify.io/docs/installation), [active project](https://github.com/coollabsio/coolify/commits/main/), [with a polished interface](https://coolify.io/docs/screenshots), [integrates](https://coolify.io/docs/knowledge-base/git/github/integration) with GitHub, and supports docker-based deployments. That's not an easy list to check-off.

The migration was pretty smooth, except for [a](https://aicoverlettercreator.com/) [couple](https://infrequent.app/) of more complicated Django applications with databases on docker volumes. Since everything was already running on containers, it was pretty much plug-and-play. In a couple of days everything was migrated.

![Kuma screenshot](https://duarteocarmo.com/images/66/kuma-screenshot.png)

There are a lot of things I love about Coolify. It scans my GitHub repos and redeploys when needed via webhooks. It also sends me Telegram notifications when something gets updated to a new version. Finally, it also provides a wide range of other applications you can deploy (Databases, S3-compatible storages, and a [wide range](https://coolify.io/docs/resources/services/index) of other services).

Don't get me wrong - I love the Cloud. But essentially, the Cloud is just someone else’s computer. So why shouldn’t it be my computer? Self-hosting everything means I can pay a fixed price for my hardware, and *not* for the number of applications that run on it. And even though I did like my little *hacked-together* setup, I love being able to use, AND [contribute](https://github.com/coollabsio/coolify/pull/2028) to a promising open source project!

There's something incredible about what a [1-man team](https://github.com/andrasbacsai) can accomplish with the support of the open source community.