The idea
Put spare hardware to useful work instead of adding another monthly subscription.
Why I built it
Create a small, dependable place to run experiments, internal tools, and automations without making public services depend on it.
How it works
The machine is a private place to run experiments, internal tools, and automations. The public workbench remains static and does not depend on it.
Things that broke
This section will collect the mistakes worth remembering once they have been written down properly.
What I learned
Self-hosting makes the trade-offs tangible: networking, observability, backups, updates, and knowing when a problem deserves a simpler solution.
Current setup
Ubuntu, Docker, Tailscale, Cloudflare, and n8n are the working pieces being explored here. Details will be added as the setup stabilizes.
What’s next
Keep the setup boring enough to maintain, then use it to remove repetitive work.