I'm looking to self-host several services on my home network but I'm not very familiar with Docker. My goal is to manage a few different applications: I want to run Stremio addons for media streaming, set up a Minecraft server, host Foundry for tabletop RPGs, manage Home Assistant for smart home integration, and use Obsidian sync to access my vault online. I know Docker allows for containerization, so I assume I can run each application in its own container. Is it relatively easy to set this up? What kind of hardware would I need for this? I have a spare PC I could utilize. I'd appreciate any guidance!
5 Answers
Running Home Assistant in a container does have some limitations, but I’m using a Chromebox with custom firmware and extra memory. Most add-ons are available in standalone containers, which helps a lot! Just check which ones you may miss out on. It's totally doable within Docker!
Docker is actually a solid choice for what you're planning! Just be mindful about security, especially with Home Assistant. Avoid using simple passwords for exposed services. If you're a total novice, you might want to run Home Assistant in a VM instead of in Docker to avoid some complications initially.
I've got 14 containers running on a Raspberry Pi 4 with 8GB RAM and a 1TB SSD, and one of them is Home Assistant. From my experience, starting with a cheap PC or a Raspberry Pi is a great way to experiment and learn!
I'm using Docker Desktop on Windows, and honestly, it can be quite frustrating. Switched to Ubuntu and it's a much smoother experience! If you can, I'd recommend trying it on Linux for better performance.
Setting up Docker is pretty straightforward! If you get stuck, using resources like ChatGPT can really help you figure things out. You've got this!
I started with Home Assistant in a container too, and I haven't run into any major issues. Zigbee2MQTT is an example of an add-on that works well with containers.