selvhosting

Selvhosting is the practice of running software and services on private infrastructure rather than using external cloud services. Individuals, small teams, and organizations host applications on their own servers, which may be physical hardware at a home or office, a colocation facility, or rented virtual private servers. The goal is to retain control over data, configurations, and access, and often to improve privacy and customization.

Implementation usually involves obtaining a domain name, provisioning a server with an operating system, and installing software such as a web server, database, and application components. Many self-hosted stacks use containerization or automation tools (for example Docker, Kubernetes, Ansible) to simplify deployment and maintenance. Security practices include regular software updates, firewalls, encryption in transit (TLS), secure authentication, and routine backups.

Benefits include greater control over data and privacy, avoidance of vendor lock-in, and the ability to tailor software to specific needs. Potential drawbacks are higher administrative overhead, the need for hardware or hosting costs, responsibility for uptime and security, and the risk of misconfiguration.

Common use cases include self-hosted file storage and collaboration platforms (such as Nextcloud or ownCloud), email servers, content management and blogging platforms, project management tools, password managers, media servers, and home automation dashboards. The self-hosting movement has grown with accessible hardware, such as single-board computers, and with open-source software, giving individuals and organizations flexible options outside commercial cloud ecosystems.