The cloud is convenient until it isn't. You upload your photos, sync your contacts, click through the cookie banners. Then prices go up again or you read about a family that lost their entire Google account over a medical photo sent to a doctor. At some point, the question shifts from "why would I run this myself?" to "why aren't I?"
 

 
My guest this week is Alex Kretzschmar, head of DevRel at Tailscale, longtime host of the Self-Hosted podcast, and co-founder of Linuxserver.io. We cover what self-hosting really means in 2026, the apps worth running yourself like Immich and Home Assistant, why Docker Compose ties it all together, and how Tailscale lets you reach any of it from anywhere, without opening a single port. If you've been thinking about pulling your digital life back behind your own walls, this is your roadmap. 
 
Episode sponsors 
 
<a href='https://talkpython.fm/temporal-replay'>Temporal</a>
<a href='https://talkpython.fm/training'>Talk Python Courses</a> 
 
<h2 class="links-heading mb-4">Links from the show</h2>
<div>Guest 
Alex Kretzschmar: <a href="https://alex.ktz.me/?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >alex.ktz.me</a> 
 
Bitflip podcast: <a href="https://bitflip.show?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >bitflip.show</a> 
Self-Hosted podcast (Alex's previous show): <a href="https://selfhosted.show?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >selfhosted.show</a> 
Perfect Media Server: <a href="https://perfectmediaserver.com?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >perfectmediaserver.com</a> 
KTZ Systems on YouTube: <a href="https://youtube.com/@ktzsystems" target="_blank" >youtube.com/@ktzsystems</a> 
Linuxserver.io (co-founded by Alex): <a href="https://linuxserver.io?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >linuxserver.io</a> 
"How Tailscale Works" blog post: <a href="https://tailscale.com/blog/how-tailscale-works?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >tailscale.com/blog/how-tailscale-works</a> 
https://tailscale.com/: <a href="https://tailscale.com/?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >tailscale.com</a> 
 
Self-hosted apps discussed 
Awesome Self-Hosted (GitHub list): <a href="https://github.com/awesome-selfhosted/awesome-selfhosted?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >github.com</a> 
Immich (Google Photos alternative): <a href="https://immich.app?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >immich.app</a> 
Home Assistant: <a href="https://home-assistant.io?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >home-assistant.io</a> 
Open Home Foundation: <a href="https://openhomefoundation.org?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >openhomefoundation.org</a> 
Plausible Analytics: <a href="https://plausible.io?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >plausible.io</a> 
Umami Analytics: <a href="https://umami.is?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >umami.is</a> 
Python integration for umami: <a href="https://pypi.org/project/umami-analytics/?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >pypi.org</a> 
Pi-hole: <a href="https://pi-hole.net?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >pi-hole.net</a> 
AdGuard Home: <a href="https://adguard.com/adguard-home?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >adguard.com</a> 
NextDNS: <a href="https://nextdns.io?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >nextdns.io</a> 
Coolify: <a href="https://coolify.io?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >coolify.io</a> 
Docker + ufw: <a href="https://docs.docker.com/engine/network/packet-filtering-firewalls/#docker-and-ufw" target="_blank" >docs.docker.com</a> 
 
Storage, backup & filesystem 
OpenZFS: <a href="https://openzfs.org?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >openzfs.org</a> 
ZFS.rent (offsite ZFS replication): <a href="https://zfs.rent?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >zfs.rent</a> 
Backblaze: <a href="https://backblaze.com?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >backblaze.com</a> 
Hetzner Storage Box: <a href="https://hetzner.com/storage/storage-box?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >hetzner.com</a> 
DigitalOcean: <a href="https://digitalocean.com?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >digitalocean.com</a> 
 
Secrets management mentioned 
OpenBao (open-source Vault fork): <a href="https://openbao.org?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >openbao.org</a> 
HashiCorp Vault: <a href="https://hashicorp.com/products/vault?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >hashicorp.com</a> 
Bitwarden: <a href="https://bitwarden.com?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >bitwarden.com</a> 
1Password: <a href="https://1password.com?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >1password.com</a> 
 
Hardware mentioned 
Proxmox VE: <a href="https://proxmox.com?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >proxmox.com</a> 
Minisforum MS01: <a href="https://minisforum.com?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >minisforum.com</a> 
Zima Board / Zima OS: <a href="https://zimaspace.com?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >zimaspace.com</a> 
 
Other references 
Cory Doctorow on "enshittification" (Cory's blog where he coined the term): <a href="https://pluralistic.net?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >pluralistic.net</a> 
Linus Tech Tips' WAN Show (Linus mentioned NAS-building going mainstream): <a href="https://linustechtips.com?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >linustechtips.com</a> 
 
Watch this episode on YouTube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iAQRY7hiVA" target="_blank" >youtube.com</a> 
Episode #546 deep-dive: <a href="https://talkpython.fm/episodes/show/546/self-hosting-apps-for-python-people#takeaways-anchor" target="_blank" >talkpython.fm/546</a> 
Episode transcripts: <a href="https://talkpython.fm/episodes/transcript/546/self-hosting-apps-for-python-people" target="_blank" >talkpython.fm</a> 
 
Theme Song: Developer Rap 
🥁 Served in a Flask 🎸: <a href="https://talkpython.fm/flasksong" target="_blank" >talkpython.fm/flasksong</a> 
 
---== Don't be a stranger ==--- 
YouTube: <a href="https://talkpython.fm/youtube" target="_blank" > youtube.com/@talkpython</a> 
 
Bluesky: <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/talkpython.fm" target="_blank" >@talkpython.fm</a> 
Mastodon: <a href="https://fosstodon.org/web/@talkpython" target="_blank" > @talkpython@fosstodon.org</a> 
X.com: <a href="https://x.com/talkpython" target="_blank" > @talkpython</a> 
 
Michael on Bluesky: <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/mkennedy.codes?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" >@mkennedy.codes</a> 
Michael on Mastodon: <a href="https://fosstodon.org/web/@mkennedy" target="_blank" > @mkennedy@fosstodon.org</a> 
Michael on X.com: <a href="https://x.com/mkennedy?featured_on=talkpython" target="_blank" > @mkennedy</a> </div>

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