More and more people prefer to self-manage their own services: private cloud, backups, photos, home automation, media center, even infrastructure for generative AI. A homelab is no longer just “a server at home,” but a small personal data center, way more powerful than it looks.
Based on one of the most comprehensive community collaborative lists (“Awesome Homelab”), let’s see which open source components make the most sense to start or professionalize your homelab, grouped by actual use cases.
1. Base Layer: Containers, VMs, and Dashboards
What defines the modern homelab is that almost everything runs in containers or virtual machines.
To manage containers:
- Portainer
Web panel to manage Docker and Kubernetes without fighting with CLI. Ideal for quick deployment and maintenance of stacks. - Rancher
A step above: designed for Kubernetes clusters and more complex environments. If you’re working with K3s or multiple nodes, you’ll notice the difference. - Dockge / DockSTARTer / CapRover
Different ways to simplify app deployment: from one-click templates to a DIY PaaS (“Heroku on steroids”).
For VMs and “serious” storage:
- Proxmox VE Helper Scripts
It’s not the hypervisor itself, but it compiles scripts and automation that make Proxmox VE even more friendly for homelabs: backups, templates, deployments, etc. - TrueNAS / openmediavault
Classics for setting up a serious NAS: ZFS, snapshots, Samba/NFS shares, replication… The perfect base to host Docker volumes, backups, and multimedia libraries. - CasaOS / Runtipi / Cosmos
More “user-friendly” options for turning a mini-PC or server into a kind of “self-hosted app store”: pick applications, click install, done.
2. AI and LLMs at Home: Your Own Local ChatGPT
The AI section of the list is one of the juiciest. If you want to leverage your GPU (or just CPU) to run local chatbots and generation, these names interest you:
- Ollama
Makes it easy to download and run models like Llama, Gemma, or DeepSeek locally, with a simple command and an OpenAI-style API. - Open WebUI / Lobe Chat / Anse
Various modern web interfaces to talk with your models (local or remote). Support multiple backends (Ollama, third-party APIs…) and often include extras like history, workspaces, RAG, etc. - LocalAI
An open-source alternative acting as a drop-in replacement for the OpenAI API, but running text, audio, image, or video models on your own hardware. - Flowise / Dify / Cheshire-Cat
Focused on agents and workflows: design node graphs, AI pipelines, memory-enabled agents, external tools, etc. Perfect if you want to go beyond simple chat and build small intelligent services inside your homelab.
3. Data & Analytics: Dashboards and Metrics at Home
If you set up a minimally serious homelab, you’ll eventually want metrics, graphs, and logs.
Monitoring and observability:
- Prometheus + Grafana
The classic combo: Prometheus gathers metrics; Grafana visualizes them in spectacular dashboards. In a homelab, you can monitor everything from VM load to home sensor data. - Uptime Kuma / Netdata / Glances
- Uptime Kuma: great for checking service uptime and receiving alerts.
- Netdata: full-stack monitoring that’s almost plug & play.
- Glances: quick resource overview via terminal or web.
Web and product analytics, without relying on Google Analytics:
- Plausible / Umami / Matomo / Openpanel
Different approaches to traffic analytics, all privacy-friendly and self-hosted. Suitable for blogs, personal projects, or even client sites. - Metabase / Redash / PostHog
When you want to go beyond site visits and perform business or product analytics on your own databases and events.
4. Personal Cloud, Files, and Photos: Goodbye Google Drive
For many, the homelab starts here: stop depending on third parties for storing documents, photos, and files.
Sync & “cloud drive”:
- Nextcloud
The de facto standard for self-hosted personal cloud: files, calendars, contacts, notes, integration with Collabora / ONLYOFFICE, and a sea of apps. - Seafile / Filestash / ownCloud / Pydio Cells
Other options to build a “Google Drive” tailored to your needs, some more performance-oriented or multi-user focused.
Photo and video management:
- Immich / PhotoPrism / LibrePhotos
Three key projects to set up a Google Photos alternative on your own server: face recognition, content search, shared albums… - Jellyfin + Navidrome + Audiobookshelf
For videos, music, and audiobooks:- Jellyfin as a Plex/Emby-like media center but 100% free.
- Navidrome for streaming music.
- Audiobookshelf for audiobooks and podcasts.
5. Home Automation, IoT, and Automation
If you have sensors, smart bulbs, or plugs, your homelab is the perfect place to integrate everything.
- Home Assistant
Probably the most important piece for local home automation. It integrates hundreds of devices and services, with complex automations and custom dashboards. - Node-RED / n8n / Activepieces / Huginn
- Node-RED and n8n: visual workflows to connect APIs, events, webhooks…
- Activepieces and Huginn: more “geeky” agents and automations to make your homelab react only to external events (RSS, email, webhooks, etc.).
- Tailscale / ZeroTier / Netmaker
To securely access everything remotely, setting up your own VPN mesh between laptops, phones, and servers.
6. Security, Passwords, and Backups
Self-hosting services is great, but if you don’t take care of them, they’re a risk.
Password and secret management:
- Bitwarden / Vaultwarden / KeeWeb / Passbolt
Various ways to set up your own password manager—from a server compatible with Bitwarden (Vaultwarden) to team-oriented alternatives.
Backups:
- Restic / BorgBackup / Kopia / Duplicati / Rclone
Tools for encrypted, deduplicated, and efficient backups, whether to another local disk, your NAS, or cloud (S3, Backblaze, etc.).
They’re the perfect complement to your Proxmox / TrueNAS / Nextcloud setup: no backup, no homelab.
Security and incident response:
- Wazuh / OpenCTI / TheHive / Cortex
More advanced options designed to set up a small in-home or lab SOC: intrusion detection, indicator analysis, incident management…
7. How to Choose Where to Start
With so many projects, it’s easy to fall into the “new toy syndrome” and want to install everything. Better to go step by step:
- Define what problem you want to solve first
- Backups and photos? Start with TrueNAS + Nextcloud + Immich.
- AI and experimentation? Try with Ollama + Open WebUI.
- Home automation? Set up Home Assistant + Tailscale.
- Build a solid foundation
- A hypervisor or container system you control (Proxmox, Docker/Portainer, TrueNAS SCALE…).
- A minimal backup and monitoring scheme (Borg/Restic + Uptime Kuma/Grafana).
- Prioritize security from day one
- No exposing services directly to the internet “bare.”
- Use VPNs, reverse proxies (Traefik, Nginx Proxy Manager), and well-configured TLS certificates.
- Document everything you do
- A wiki-style BookStack, Wiki.js, or Docmost inside your homelab can save you many headaches when revisiting setups months later.
If any particular category interests you (for example, building an AI-centered homelab, a full “Netflix” setup, or a 100% private personal cloud), tell me your focus, and I’ll prepare a concrete architecture with 4–6 projects from the list and how to connect them.