I'm Ariel, a tech enthusiast and hobbyist coder. Welcome to my blog. I mostly write for my own reference about self-hosting, Linux, web development, and really just anything tech that I've learned over many years of tinkering. Each time I learn how to install or run a new thing, I type it up and publish it here. I hope my writings will be helpful to you. Thanks for visiting!
Featured Articles
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Setting up a reverse proxy for HTTPS with a custom domain using Nginx Proxy Manager, AdGuard Home and Cloudflare
I've used a reverse proxy to access my self-hosted apps and services for years, and used Pi-Hole as my home network DNS for even longer, but recently switched to AdGuard Home. That meant redoing all my DNS records within AdGuard so I could get my reverse proxy back up and running, and I decided to write down the steps I took. When done, we'll be able to access our apps and services through a custom domain, with unique sub-domains for each app or service, with full HTTPS and accessible only locally.
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How to securely expose Plex from behind CGNAT using Tailscale and a free Oracle VM
I wrote before about securely exposing Plex for external access, but my previous solution relied on Cloudflare Tunnel and it was technically against their TOS. So I switched to using a Oracle VM on their free-tier, connecting it to my home network with Tailscale, and exposing Plex via reverse proxy. It works like a charm!
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Comprehensive guide to setting up Tailscale to securely access your home network from anywhere
Accessing self-hosted services from outside the home can be a challenge, especially when dealing with CGNAT and having to forward ports from the router. It can be complex to manage and potentially dangerous to your home network's privacy and security if not done right, but Tailscale makes it easy to set up encrypted peer-to-peer connections between devices across different networks. In this guide I will explain how I use Tailscale as a VPN for secure remote access to my home network.
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Setup X-plore File Manager on Android to transfer files to an SMB share
I've wrote before about file managers for Android before, recently I found X-plore which makes it very easy to transfer files back and forth between Android and SMB network shares, once you understand how the UI works. Here's to connect X-plore to an SMB network share so you can transfer files between devices.
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Using MergerFS to combine multiple hard drives into one unified media storage
My situation was simple -- my server's media storage was filling up and I wanted to add more drives, but without having to keep track of which drive specific files were for Plex. How to pool multiple hard drives together when they're all different brands, models and capacities? Enter mergerfs, an open source union filesystem that essentially merges multiple drives into one mount point.
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Recent Posts
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How I upgraded my Linux desktop from Debian 12 Bookworm to Debian 13 Trixie
My old Dell Optiplex has been a great desktop PC for just minimal interneting and coding. I've been running Debian 12 Bookworm on it since it became available, and usually I stick to the latest Stable release of Debian. However, I decided to live on the edge just a little and upgrade to Debian 13 Trixie, which is still in testing.
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How to get around the Plex Pass requirement for Plex remote access by using Tailscale
Beginning April 29th, 2025 the pricing for Plex Pass increased at the same time that remote access got paywalled behind it. That means you can no longer stream your own content outside of your home network, like say on your phone or tablet while at work or on vacation, without paying for Plex Pass. You can get around this by using Tailscale to remotely access your Plex server from other devices while still appearing as local traffic, which does not require Plex Pass.
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Setup Apt-Cacher NG as a caching proxy server in your homelab and configure your other Linux hosts to use it
If your homelab has more than a few servers or VMs running Debian-based distributions, it makes sense to set up a package caching proxy on one of your servers. This guide will show how to set that up, configure your other Linux hosts, and optionally how to use Ansible to automate configuring those other hosts.
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How to remove CasaOS from a ZimaBoard and upgrade to Debian 12 Bookworm
ZimaBoard is an x86 single board server that comes running Debian 11 Bullseye and CasaOS. It's a cool little machine, but after a few months I realizes I don't like CasaOS. Nothing against it, I'm just set in my way of doing things, and their GUI was limiting some of my options. In this post I'll explain how to remove CasaOS and then upgrade to the latest version of Debian.
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How I set up a home server for self-hosting and as a NAS with secure remote access via Tailscale
I turned my old Dell PC into an all-in-one home server and network attached storage to self-host all my data, my photos, and my media library, running Home Assistant, Plex and other services, all securely accessible from outside my home with Tailscale.
Recent Links
- Jellyfin Type: self-hosted A personal media server for your videos, like Plex though with less slick UI, but it's fully open-source with no paid features.
- Plex Type: self-hosted A personal media server that provides a slick Netflix-like frontend for all your videos, automatically grabbing metadata, generating posters, etc. However, Plex is closed-source and they some lock features behind Plex Pass.
- Tautulli Type: self-hosted A web app that you can run alongside your Plex Media Server to monitor activity and track various statistics.
- IT-Tools Type: tool A suite of online tools for developers and IT professionals. Use the website or self-host it as a Docker container.
- Paperless Type: tool A document management system that transforms your physical documents into a searchable online archive so you can keep less paper.