Give Nextcloud AIO a shot. I installed bare metal the first time, but AIO has decreased my maintenance burden to next to nothing. Before that, it felt like every update would break my system. I’m a year or two into my transition from Linux nerd to self-hoster. I still fail at things on occasion, but I have learned a lot. I hope it goes as well or even better for you.

• Docker: You can practice on your main computer before complicating things with networking.
• How to set up a reverse proxy: DNS, certificates, etc. I recommend Caddy.
• Backups: If you use Docker Volumes, make sure you back those up too and test the backups.

To self-host, you do not need to know how to code.

Along with the things others have said (Backups, Linux, Docker, Networking) I’d also recommend getting comfortable with server and network security. A lot of this is wrapped up in the simple mantra “install your goddamn updates!” But, there is more to it than that. For example, if you go with Nextcloud, read through their hardening guide and seriously consider implementing all of the recommendation. Also think through how you intend to manage both the server and instance. If this is all local, then it is easier as you can keep SSH access to the server firewalled off from the internet. If you host part of your stuff “in the cloud”, you’ll want to start looking at limiting down access and using keys to login (which is good practice for all situations). Also, never use default credentials. You may also want to familiarize yourself with the logs provided by the applications and maybe setup some monitoring around them. I personally run Nextcloud and I feed all my logs into Splunk (you can run a free instance in a docker container). I have a number of dashboards I look at every morning to keep an eye on things. E.g. Failed/successful logins, traffic sources, URI requests, file access, etc. If your server is attached to the internet it will be under attack constantly. Fail2Ban on my wireguard container banned 112 IP addresses over the last 24 hours, for 3 failed attempts to login via SSH. Less commonly, attackers try to log in to my Nextcloud instance. And my WordPress site is under constant attack. If you choose to run Wordpress, be very careful about the plugins you choose to install, and then keep them up to date. Wordpress itself is reasonably secure, the plugins are a shit-show and worse when they aren’t kept up to date.

Patience, and knowing when to look for documentation. Keep notes of stuff as you go. Just like in real IT, documentation can go a long way. Forgetting simple things can cause everything to fall apart at some point.

Learning Linux is a great start.

Learning any coding language will help you understand a bit more about the programs will work, however there isn’t much need to actually learn a specific language unless you plan to add custom programs or scripts.

The general advice for email is don’t. It’s very risky to host and it’s a big target for spam. Plus there’s challenges getting the big companies to trust your domain.

However hosting things behind a VPN (or locally on your home network) can let you learn a lot about networking and firewalls without exposing yourself to much risk.

I have no direct experience with next cloud but I understand it can be hosted on Linux, you can buy a Synology NAS and run it in that, or use something like TrueNAS.

Personally my setup is on one physical server so I use Proxmox which lets me run 2 different Linux servers and trueNAS on one single computer through virtual machines. I like it because it lets me tinker with different stuff like home assistant and it won’t affect say my adblocker/VPN/reverse proxy. I also use Docker to run multiple services on one virtual machine without compatibility issues. If I started again, I’d probably have gotten bigger drives or invested in SSDs. My NAS is hard drives because of cost but it’s definitely hitting a limit when I need to pull a bunch of files. Super happy with wireguard-easy for VPN. I started with a proprietary version of openVPN on Oracle Linux and that was a mistake.

Enough focus to read documentation.

That’s really it. If your purpose is just self hosting learning bash could also be helpful. And yeah Linux would be a great choice.

But mostly, if you want to self host an instance of Nextcloud correctly and without having to deal with too many unexpected things, you have to read the documentation and do not rush. Most self hosted stuff isn’t “install and use”, because you’ll be your own server manager, and everything requires attention to be managed.

Docker or not docker you will have to deal with configuration, settings, requirements and updates.

So understanding how to read the docs/search and open github issues and taking time to read everything would be the most important skill for me.

Also writing down what you are doing would indeed be helpful too, in order not to lose track of what you’re doing on your server. (Check out Ansible).

Most apps out there simply need you to know about permissions, systemctl services and package managers.

Try to always find a specific package for your distro for everything you install (eg. .deb for Debian), and have strategies when this is not possible (aka using a Python venv when installing python programs).

I think if you have a mini PC or something you don’t mins installing server specific OS on, proxmox VE is pretty great. It can be a bit of a headache depending on what you want to do but it also makes expanding your self hosting super easy/fun.

Proxmox let’s you created virtual machines or containers and easily manage them.

Currently I run a mini PC.(Beelinks are great for this and pretty cheap with more power than a raspberry pi)

1. Proxmox VE as the operating system
2. Jellyfin as my media server

• looking to install home assistant and some others as well.

3. Tail scale to use as a VPN into my network privately from anywhere.

Simplest set up? No. But I also just started self hosting. You’re gonna hit some.headaches regardless but it’s also extremely rewarding and I’ve learned alot.

Edit: if you’re only wanting to run one thing (say jellyfin) . A raspberry pi with tail scale and jellyfin is how I started. Works just fine.

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The ability to read, and maybe watch a video. And then persistence for some of the trial and error you will run in to. All skills you need can be picked up with the above.

If you want to program something, the closest you’re gonna get to programming is Ansible and Bash scripts.

You might want to get self hosting hardware like Synology or the like if you’re not ready to dig.

Otherwise here’s some things you need to know:

• Docker
  • Easy, consistent deployment of services in their own environments. Think a VM but with almost no overhead.
• Docker Compose
  • Run docker containers with consistent configuration in files.
  • Connect various containers to each other on the same or different networks.
  • Get multiple containers to start together and talk to each other.
• Systemd
  • Manage any service on Linux. If anything needs to start on boot, restart when crashed, start on timer, you want Systemd.
  • You can manage your docker compose containers lifecycle via Systemd.
• NGINX/Apache/Caddy
  • A web server for reverse proxy. You’d probably need one at some point, especially if you want HTTPS. Your services get hidden behind it.
• ZFS
  • Reliable redundant storage. You’ll need storage. Use ZFS with 2-disk redundancy.
  • Supports automatic snapshots for recovering from oopsies. E.g. deleted something or some software shat on your data.
  • Can use recertified disks from serverpartsdeals.
  • Can use USB disks or USB box with multiple disks. If you end up going the USB route, ask me for tested hardware.
• Backup system
  • Something to do backup. There are many options.
• Ansible
  • If you want to write code that describes your services and make them happen, you want Ansible. You write code (well YAML) and Ansible installs things, writes config files, sets up Systemd services, restarts things. It can be convenient especially if you have a lot of stuff and you want to be able to see all of your infrastructure in code in one place and be able to version it.
• Prometheus
  • Monitoring your stuff. Is my backup service running? If not send me an email.

Oh and use Debian or Ubuntu LTS.

I don’t know how to code, but I did a lot of internet searching on the commands to use (since I was also new to Linux). When I started to self host I was lucky the projects I wanted were popular enough that they had good documentation. Eventually after spinning up a lot of services I got the hang of the general structure of docker compose files and that’s the extent of any kind of new language I learned, haha

Hey OP, I’m just starting my self-hosting journey as well. I can program a little bit in Python and C++ but I haven’t needed any of that so far. As others have said, some familiarity with Linux would be very helpful. The things I’ve done so far:

• Wireguard VPN server on my router(no programming or linux commands, just some config of my router which I was able to do in the router’s GUI.
• Wireguard VPN client on some of my devices. My phone setup was easy, still working on setting that up on my Windows/Ubuntu laptop.
• Home Assistant on a Raspberry Pi (WIP).

Eventually I plan to set up a NAS with Immich and some local IP cameras and Plex or something similar.

Why are you wanting to use python for self hosting? Python is a programming and scripting language.

There are two big things I would focus on. The first thing is networking, the OSI model and http basics. The other thing I would look into is Linux containers. If you can get both of these you are golden. Learn how to use and write docker compose files and then looking into building your own containers with Dockerfiles. You don’t really need to build your own containers but it is good for learning

Experimenting with VMs is the way forward.

Basic networking knowledge is vital. And being able to configure your own firewall(s) safely is an important skill. Check out something like Foomuuri, or Firewald. Shorewall is brilliant for documentation and description of issues (with diagrams!) but it does not use the newer Linux kernel nftables and is no longer actively developed.

Go for it with Nextcloud.

I would also recommend at least having a shot at setting up an email server, although I would recommend pushing through to a fully working system. It is possible, and is very satisfying to have in place. The process of setting one up touches so many different parts of internet function and culture that it is worth it even if you don’t end up with a production system. The Workaround.org ISPMail stuff is a good starting point, and includes some helpful background information at every stage, enough so you can begin to understand what’s going on in the background and why certain choices are being made - even if you disagree with the decisions.

Python is great for server admin, although most server config and startup shutdown snippets are written in BASH. You will no doubt have already begun picking that up as you interact with your VMs.

No special knowledge needed except the very basic ability to understand and run commands from documentation.