Homelab Beginner Starter Kit
Your first homelab in a weekend — no rabbit holes required.
Everything you need to go from a spare PC to five running self-hosted services in a weekend. This kit includes a full beginner guide, a hardware decision framework, five pinned-and-tested Docker Compose files (Nextcloud, Pi-hole, Jellyfin, Vaultwarden, Nginx Proxy Manager), a networking checklist, and a backup strategy template. Hardware picked, Docker running, services live, backups configured — in one weekend.
## key-features
- ✓Five production-ready Docker Compose files with pinned image tags — Nextcloud, Pi-hole, Jellyfin, Vaultwarden, Nginx Proxy Manager
- ✓Hardware decision framework helps you pick the right box before you spend a dime
- ✓Port conflicts pre-solved so you don't spend a Saturday debugging bind errors
- ✓Per-service troubleshooting sections covering the things that actually break
- ✓Networking checklist walks you through router, DNS, and reverse proxy setup
- ✓Backup strategy template you can adapt on day one
- ▸Homelab Beginner Guide (PDF + MD) — the main walkthrough
- ▸Hardware Decision Framework (PDF + MD) — pick the right box
- ▸Service Selection Map (PDF + MD) — decide what to run first
- ▸Networking Checklist (PDF + MD) — router, DNS, reverse proxy
- ▸Backup Strategy Template (PDF + MD) — a plan you can adapt
- ▸Five Docker Compose files: Nextcloud, Pi-hole, Jellyfin, Vaultwarden, Nginx Proxy Manager
- ▸Jellyfin free sample PDF
- ▸Complete bundle delivered as a single zip
## goes-well-with
From the same shelf
Homelab DR Kit v2 — Advanced Edition
Expand beyond the published v1 with automated backup validation scripts, tested restoration runbooks, and a DR drill scoring rubric for homelabs running Proxmox, TrueNAS, and containerized services.
Build 5 Real Infrastructure Projects from Zero
Escape tutorial hell for sysadmins — five hands-on homelab projects (monitoring, automation, DR, networking, security) with guided specs, code stubs, and a 30-day progress tracker.
Terraform + Kubernetes Homelab Career Kit
The homelab kit that gets you the job — working Terraform modules, a K8s cluster setup guide, and the interview narrative to prove you built it.
## not-ready-to-buy
Take the field notes instead
One practical write-up a week from the same workbench these kits come from — plus reader pricing when new kits ship.