TechFuel HQTutorials
Step-by-step homelab and self-hosting tutorials — Proxmox, Docker, VPNs, backups, monitoring — from your first VM to a full self-hosted stack.
Tutorials
Step-by-step setup guides — Proxmox on a mini PC, self-hosted LLMs on a budget GPU, photo libraries that aren’t Google Photos. Each tutorial is end-to-end: hardware picks, install commands, configuration choices, and the gotchas I hit so you don’t have to.
These guides are kept honest by my own willingness to re-run them. When a step breaks against a new release, the article is revised in place and the update log records the date.
Proxmox
LXC vs VM in Proxmox: When to Use Each
A clear breakdown of LXC containers vs full VMs in Proxmox VE: real performance numbers, resource overhead, and a decision tree for every new workload.
TutorialProxmox Cluster Setup: 2-Node and 3-Node HA (2026)
Build a Proxmox cluster from scratch: 2-node vs 3-node, corosync quorum, NFS or Ceph storage, live migration, HA groups, and fencing, with config.
TutorialZFS on Proxmox: Pool Setup, ARC Tuning, and Scrubs (2026)
Practical ZFS guide for Proxmox VE 8: create RAIDZ1/mirror pools from the CLI, tune ARC for a shared host, set compression, and schedule scrubs and snapshots.
TutorialProxmox Backup Server: 3-2-1 Backup Setup Guide (2026)
Set up Proxmox Backup Server for 3-2-1 backups: install PBS, configure datastores, schedule VM and LXC jobs, verify restores, and add off-site replication.
TutorialGPU Passthrough to a Proxmox VM (2026 Setup Guide)
Pass an NVIDIA RTX or AMD GPU to a Proxmox VM with VFIO: IOMMU groups, driver blacklisting, VM config, and how to test the GPU runs in the guest.
TutorialHome Assistant on Proxmox: Install HAOS as a VM (2026)
Install Home Assistant OS on Proxmox VE as a VM the proper way: automatic updates, add-ons, Supervisor, snapshots, plus USB passthrough for Zigbee/Z-Wave.
TutorialHome Assistant Zigbee and Z-Wave Integration (2026)
Home Assistant Zigbee2MQTT and Z-Wave JS UI setup: USB coordinator choice, Proxmox VM passthrough, device pairing, and fully local automations, no cloud.
TutorialHome Assistant Automations: A Practical Guide (2026)
Write real Home Assistant automations in YAML. Triggers, conditions, and actions with working examples for lighting, presence, notifications, and schedules.
Self-Hosting
Nginx Proxy Manager for the Homelab (2026 Setup Guide)
Set up Nginx Proxy Manager as your homelab reverse proxy: route subdomains to services behind one IP, issue Let's Encrypt SSL, and add access lists.
TutorialSelf-Hosted Password Manager: Vaultwarden on Proxmox (2026)
Install Vaultwarden on a Proxmox LXC, set up an nginx reverse proxy with HTTPS, configure automatic backups, and connect all your devices in under an hour.
TutorialDocker Compose Starter Stack for the Homelab (2026)
The Docker Compose stack I run: Nginx Proxy Manager, Portainer, Uptime Kuma, Watchtower, and Gitea, with working compose files and a shared proxy network.
TutorialHomelab Monitoring with Grafana and Prometheus (2026)
Set up a full homelab monitoring stack in under an hour: Prometheus scrapes metrics, Grafana charts them, Alertmanager pages you. Docker Compose included.
Tutorialn8n Self-Hosted on Docker (2026 Setup Guide)
Set up n8n on Docker with persistent storage, HTTPS via Nginx Proxy Manager, queue mode for reliable runs, and automatic backups. Replace Zapier yourself.
TutorialNextcloud AIO Setup on Docker (2026 Guide)
Deploy Nextcloud All-in-One in Docker: Postgres, Redis, Nextcloud Office, Talk, and auto backup. Replace Dropbox, Google Drive, and Docs with a stack you own.
TutorialPaperless-ngx Docker Setup with OCR and Auto-Tagging (2026)
Full Paperless-ngx Docker Compose setup with PostgreSQL, Redis, Tika, and Gotenberg. OCR every document, auto-tag by rule, and search your whole paper history.
TutorialBookStack Self-Hosted on Docker: Wiki Setup (2026)
Complete BookStack Docker setup: install with MySQL, configure Nginx Proxy Manager HTTPS, build your first wiki, and migrate from Notion or Confluence free.
TutorialAudioBookshelf Docker Setup: Self-Hosted Audiobooks (2026)
Complete AudioBookshelf Docker setup: install, organize your library, set up mobile apps for progress sync, and add podcasts. Replace Audible in under 30 min.
TutorialAuthentik Self-Hosted SSO for the Homelab (2026)
Authentik Docker setup guide: deploy your own SSO identity provider with LDAP, SAML, OAuth2, and OIDC. Unified login for Nextcloud, Portainer, and more.
Networking & Remote Access
Tailscale Remote Access for the Homelab (2026 Setup Guide)
Set up Tailscale on your homelab fast: install on Proxmox, configure subnet routing, enable MagicDNS, and reach every LAN device without port forwarding.
TutorialAdGuard Home + Local DNS on Proxmox (2026 Setup Guide)
Set up AdGuard Home as your homelab DNS server on Proxmox: ad-blocking, local *.lan resolution, DHCP, and an optional Unbound recursive resolver.
TutorialWireGuard Self-Hosted VPN on Proxmox (2026 Setup Guide)
Run your own WireGuard VPN in a Proxmox LXC: server setup, phone and laptop client configs, split vs full tunnel, and an honest comparison to Tailscale.
TutorialOPNsense on a Mini PC: Firewall Router Setup Guide (2026)
Replace your ISP router with OPNsense on a cheap mini PC: install, set up WAN/LAN, DHCP and DNS, enable IDS/IPS with Suricata, and connect your homelab.
TutorialVLANs for the Homelab: Network Segmentation Guide (2026)
How to set up VLANs in your homelab: isolate IoT, separate a guest network, add a management VLAN. Covers OPNsense, MikroTik, and Proxmox VLAN-aware bridges.
Self-Hosting (Media & AI)
Jellyfin Setup on Docker (2026 Complete Guide)
Install Jellyfin in Docker with hardware transcoding (Quick Sync, NVIDIA CUDA, AMD VAAPI), Nginx Proxy Manager HTTPS, and Tailscale remote access.
TutorialsSelf-Hosted Photo Library 2026: Immich vs PhotoPrism vs Ente
Picking one self-hosted photo library to replace Google Photos in 2026. Real version numbers, hardware footprints, license costs, and a verdict per use case.
TutorialImmich Setup and Google Photos Migration Guide (2026)
Install Immich on a Proxmox LXC or VM, migrate from Google Photos via Takeout, enable CUDA/QSV hardware ML, set a backup strategy, and configure the mobile app.
TutorialsHow to Self-Host a Local LLM on a Single RTX 5060 in 2026
Run a private LLM on a $300 RTX 5060. VRAM tradeoffs, software stack picks, Windows + Linux setup, real tokens/sec numbers, and an honest verdict.
Backup & Storage
Sanoid + Syncoid: Automated ZFS Snapshots & Replication (2026)
Set up Sanoid for policy-driven ZFS snapshot automation and Syncoid for encrypted replication. Covers retention policies, naming, and snapshot health.
TutorialAutomated Off-Site Backups with restic (2026)
Set up restic to back up your homelab to Backblaze B2 automatically: initialize a repo, schedule backups, set retention, verify restores, and alert on failures.
More from this section
Home Assistant + llama.cpp: Fully Local LLM Voice, Measured (2026)
Home Assistant's llama.cpp integration for fully local LLM voice: measured STT/LLM/TTS latency per model, RTX 5080 vs CPU, and a 24-command accuracy test.
TutorialJellyfin Remote Access: Pick the Right Path for Your Situation (2026)
Jellyfin remote access routed by situation: Tailscale, reverse proxy, VPS relay, or Cloudflare Tunnel - which works on TVs, behind CGNAT, and for family.
TutorialUptime Kuma Docker Setup, and Where to Actually Run It (2026)
Uptime Kuma in Docker Compose, plus the part most guides skip: a monitor that lives inside the network it watches cannot tell you that network went down.
TutorialOllama in Docker with GPU: Stop Installing CUDA Inside WSL2 (2026)
Ollama with NVIDIA acceleration in Docker, on native Linux and WSL2, plus Open WebUI. Why the CUDA install everyone does inside WSL is unnecessary.
TutorialDockge Setup: The Compose Manager That Does Less On Purpose (2026)
Install Dockge with Docker Compose, and the one mistake its own README warns about: mismatched stacks paths that write your data somewhere else.
TutorialDocker Compose Environment Variables: .env Is Not env_file (2026)
The .env file next to compose.yaml puts nothing in your container. What each mechanism does, the exact precedence order, and why unset vars fail silently.
TutorialDocker Cleanup: Which Prune Command Eats Your Data (2026)
Reclaim Docker disk space without losing a database: what system prune removes, why --volumes is narrower than its reputation, and the one to fear.
TutorialAdding a User to the Docker Group Is Not a Convenience Setting (2026)
The command every tutorial gives you to stop typing sudo. What Docker's docs say it actually grants, why re-login is required, and when to use rootless.
TutorialProxmox VE 8 to 9 Upgrade: The Gotchas to Know First (2026)
The Proxmox VE 8 to 9 in-place upgrade is supported but has real gotchas: LVM autoactivation, NIC renames, the new kernel, cluster order. Pre-flight checklist.
TutorialMove a Proxmox VM to a New Host Without a Cluster (2026)
Three ways to move a Proxmox VM or LXC to a new host with no cluster: qm remote-migrate, vzdump + restore, and PBS — exact commands and the pitfalls.