<![CDATA[Ok, #selfhosting #diy nerds, it's question time.]]>Ok, nerds, it's question time. I'm planning to host a personal site off of an old laptop I have laying around, on my residential internet connection.

I already have a domain name, but since I'm on residential internet, my IP changes ~1/week, so I'll need dynamic DNS. I've never done this before.

I'm thinking https://www.duckdns.org/ + https://ddclient.net/ to map my domain name -> host.

Planning on running this as close to bare-metal as I can (without docker or VM, just straight on the host).

Anyone who's done this and knows more than me have advice or alternatives? Anything else I should be aware of?

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/5617d93b-c216-404a-8525-03c35bc2f7b3/ok-selfhosting-diy-nerds-it-s-question-time.RSS for NodeMon, 25 May 2026 14:48:10 GMTSat, 16 May 2026 19:51:22 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Ok, #selfhosting #diy nerds, it's question time. on Sun, 17 May 2026 09:45:58 GMT]]>@bluewinds i would use my dns provider api and some simple python script that would be put in cron for every 5 minutes:
"check my ip, if it changed then call dns provider api and update it"

btw you have to remember to set as low TTL as possible for that

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/wikiyu/statuses/116589275298204628https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/wikiyu/statuses/116589275298204628Sun, 17 May 2026 09:45:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Ok, #selfhosting #diy nerds, it's question time. on Sun, 17 May 2026 09:04:14 GMT]]>@bluewinds I’m curious, what’s the reasoning behind going full bare-metal? If you’re open to alternatives, I’ve found that using virtualization (like Proxmox) is a lifesaver for backups. If something breaks during an update, you can just roll back to a snapshot from five minutes prior, which saves a ton of stress.

One other thing to consider: instead of Dynamic DNS, you could look into using a cheap VPS as a gateway, it's how my self hosted site is set up. It keeps your home IP hidden and solves the changing IP issue entirely.]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://unkn.uk/objects/799ad834-73d0-49ee-8eb7-41f93f493e0ehttps://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://unkn.uk/objects/799ad834-73d0-49ee-8eb7-41f93f493e0eSun, 17 May 2026 09:04:14 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Ok, #selfhosting #diy nerds, it's question time. on Sun, 17 May 2026 04:45:29 GMT]]>@artlog Oh interesting, I had not heard of yunohost; that might be perfect, I'll look at it a bit more. Thanks!

That tutorial definitely suggests I'm thinking about it right, it's laying out exactly the same steps I had in mind (even mentions duckDNS and ddclient). 😁

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://tech.lgbt/users/bluewinds/statuses/116588093706328889https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://tech.lgbt/users/bluewinds/statuses/116588093706328889Sun, 17 May 2026 04:45:29 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Ok, #selfhosting #diy nerds, it's question time. on Sun, 17 May 2026 02:37:32 GMT]]>@bluewinds

https://doc.yunohost.org/en/admin/tutorials/domains/dns_dynamicip/

Can give interesting hints.]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://agora.l0g.eu/objects/026568af-77d6-4bef-8473-5c7e381f77f5https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://agora.l0g.eu/objects/026568af-77d6-4bef-8473-5c7e381f77f5Sun, 17 May 2026 02:37:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Ok, #selfhosting #diy nerds, it's question time. on Sun, 17 May 2026 02:31:36 GMT]]>@bluewinds

You could have a look to #yunohost project.
It offers one domain name and takes care of ip changes, this is part of many simple features like deploying many kind of web applucations in a breath.
A good way to start before digging in dedicated dynamic dns or vpn alternatives at cost.]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://agora.l0g.eu/objects/d2092958-b550-4ad6-ab0c-068d7cb4aa25https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://agora.l0g.eu/objects/d2092958-b550-4ad6-ab0c-068d7cb4aa25Sun, 17 May 2026 02:31:36 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Ok, #selfhosting #diy nerds, it's question time. on Sat, 16 May 2026 22:58:11 GMT]]>@jon It looks like I'm ok in that regard; my router's admin panel ("Public IP" and "IP address") both match, and agree with what a public lookup ("what's my IP" web search) shows. That means no CGNAT, right?

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://tech.lgbt/users/bluewinds/statuses/116586728073005845https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://tech.lgbt/users/bluewinds/statuses/116586728073005845Sat, 16 May 2026 22:58:11 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Ok, #selfhosting #diy nerds, it's question time. on Sat, 16 May 2026 22:43:32 GMT]]>@bluewinds Depending on your plans, I'd suggest . Seamless sharing for personal devices and controlled sharing for friends, family or the public.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/Fishd/statuses/116586670489990133https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/Fishd/statuses/116586670489990133Sat, 16 May 2026 22:43:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Ok, #selfhosting #diy nerds, it's question time. on Sat, 16 May 2026 22:40:52 GMT]]>@bluewinds CGNAT can be worked around but you’ll probably need another machine somewhere that can forward traffic back to you. That could be a £2/month VM, it literally just needs an IP and the ability for you to connect to it from home.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://activitypub.blankpad.net/@jon@blankpad.net/posts/578607814041014888/https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://activitypub.blankpad.net/@jon@blankpad.net/posts/578607814041014888/Sat, 16 May 2026 22:40:52 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Ok, #selfhosting #diy nerds, it's question time. on Sat, 16 May 2026 22:39:47 GMT]]>@bluewinds check whether you have a real IP address or you’re behind CGNAT where your ISP shares one IP between multiple customers. If you are this won’t work, otherwise sounds reasonable to me.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://activitypub.blankpad.net/@jon@blankpad.net/posts/578607537762070928/https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://activitypub.blankpad.net/@jon@blankpad.net/posts/578607537762070928/Sat, 16 May 2026 22:39:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Ok, #selfhosting #diy nerds, it's question time. on Sat, 16 May 2026 22:37:08 GMT]]>@bluewinds you can also reverse proxy it thru a cheap VPS (or cloudflare, or maybe the likes of tailscale / zerotier et al) if it turns out that any number of potential issues with hosting a site for direct inbound connections on a residential connection turn out to be true.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.pirateparty.be/users/surfhosting/statuses/116586645307232630https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.pirateparty.be/users/surfhosting/statuses/116586645307232630Sat, 16 May 2026 22:37:08 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Ok, #selfhosting #diy nerds, it's question time. on Sat, 16 May 2026 21:23:52 GMT]]>@bluewinds Nice, then you're likely good to go

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/ap/users/115928686119525647/statuses/116586357250251380https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/ap/users/115928686119525647/statuses/116586357250251380Sat, 16 May 2026 21:23:52 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Ok, #selfhosting #diy nerds, it's question time. on Sat, 16 May 2026 20:50:46 GMT]]>@dgerdesmann Hm; I'm on xfinity in Seattle.
Thanks for the thought, did not occur to me and well worth checking!

It looks like I might be fine; my router's admin panel ("Public IP" and "IP address") both match, and agree with what a public lookup ("what's my IP" web search) shows. I think that's the correct test here?

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://tech.lgbt/users/bluewinds/statuses/116586227045582397https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://tech.lgbt/users/bluewinds/statuses/116586227045582397Sat, 16 May 2026 20:50:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Ok, #selfhosting #diy nerds, it's question time. on Sat, 16 May 2026 20:44:14 GMT]]>@GandalfDG My current registrar is name.com. I'll move eventually. Someday. Probably.

My brief search suggests that ddclient doesn't support them directly (open issue from 2024, no comments/movement), so I'll need to register a 3rd party (eg duckdns) as the DNS.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://tech.lgbt/users/bluewinds/statuses/116586201373054364https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://tech.lgbt/users/bluewinds/statuses/116586201373054364Sat, 16 May 2026 20:44:14 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Ok, #selfhosting #diy nerds, it's question time. on Sat, 16 May 2026 20:42:47 GMT]]>@bluewinds solid combo, should work. If you haven't already, make sure your ISP does not put you behind a CGNAT, otherwise any self-hosting won't work (even with dynamic DNS). I have this problem and wondered for hours why my setup did not work. In this case, you would need to rent a small VPS and use something like Pangolin to wire your traffic through. Good luck, and tell us how it went!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/ap/users/115928686119525647/statuses/116586195662809063https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/ap/users/115928686119525647/statuses/116586195662809063Sat, 16 May 2026 20:42:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Ok, #selfhosting #diy nerds, it's question time. on Sat, 16 May 2026 20:18:03 GMT]]>@bluewinds I use ddclient without issues, mine is hooked up to namecheap (domain registrar)

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://indieweb.social/users/GandalfDG/statuses/116586098417468790https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://indieweb.social/users/GandalfDG/statuses/116586098417468790Sat, 16 May 2026 20:18:03 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Ok, #selfhosting #diy nerds, it's question time. on Sat, 16 May 2026 20:07:54 GMT]]>@bluewinds or you could call your ISP, they might have a (likely paid) option to keep you on the same IP address all the time

Sometimes that isn’t even required, as they’ll only switch you if you’re offline for a bit

Or your DNS provider may have software for the dynamic part

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/GuillaumeRossolini/statuses/116586058488331022https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/GuillaumeRossolini/statuses/116586058488331022Sat, 16 May 2026 20:07:54 GMT