Setting up a web server on a Linux homelab

I’m writing this article as I’m about to move my homelab to another Linux distro and will need to come back here for help when I inevitably break prod.

Overview

These are the steps required to setup a homelab on Linux:

1. Backup, backup, backup.
2. Install and configure a web server. I use Caddy running inside a docker container.
3. Start your web services. I use a single docker-compose.yml file to provision my services (web apps, Nextcloud and some observability tools).
4. Set up port forwarding and set your homelab to a static IP address in your IP router’s control panel.
5. Open up the required ports on your firewall using ufw.
6. Set up a local DNS server for local access. dnsmasq is a good shout, remember to disable systemd-resolved.
7. Configure and enable dynamic DNS for your domain name. I use ddclient to connect to Namecheap’s excellent dynamic DNS API.