Post by @PennyRoyal@sh.itjust.works

@PennyRoyal@sh.itjust.works

2026-10-23 21:59 UTC

Basic Homeserver with old Mac Mini Hi all I’m going to set up a little server on a pretty old Mac Mini, with an external RAID 1 enclosure. It’s initially got two main purposes - to run an Immich server to backup my photos when I’m away travelling, and to give me something to learn about Linux and self-hosting on. I used Linux a bit back in the day, but I’ve been living the lazy Mac life for years. I’d really like to transition out of the Mac ecosystem eventually, so this is an initial toe in the water towards that aim. I’m planning on running Debian, for stability and compatibility, and backing up to a separate NAS that already exists, so that I’m not completely screwed if (definitely when) I mess something up. It’ll all be set up in my power/internet access point shed, so I’d prefer it to be fully remote access, no screen/DE. It seems like I’ll be running Immich in Docker, and that I’ll need Tailscale/Wireguard for my remote connection. Does this seem like a decent initial plan? Are there any decent resources for learning this that you’d recommend? I already own the hardware, and all my photos are safe on SD card, SSD, and local backup, so there’s no real consequence to me messing about with this. Any advice/thoughts would be welcome Ta

Replies (3)

@ArsonButCute@programming.dev 2026-10-23 22:58

Immich is made by futo, an org who just donated a couple mil to a fash dev to maintain some vibecoded post install scripts. Nextcloud does everything Immich does through some extensions available in their marketplace. Don’t support fash soft. Use eurojank instead! Y’all Idk what happened I straight up can’t find the source for this. I’m gonna actually check in with my mental health provider because I remember reading this clear as day but it doesn’t seem to exist. I could be confusing dreams for reality again, which would be disappointing because I thought I was more stable than that. I’ve been looking for sources, but I can’t find anywhere. I’m certain I read it on THIS SITE, but in my search I can’t find anything about futo from the last couple months. Genuinely, I apologize for spreading misinformation, I’m gonna call my psych tomorrow.

Open ##5374716
@nosuchanon@lemmy.world 2026-10-23 22:59

Try NetBird instead of Tail/headscale. All in one app.

Open ##5400493
@wltr@discuss.tchncs.de 2026-10-24 12:28

I did similar task recently, but used my old MacBook Pro 2011 (15 inch, with a faulty GPU). I chose DietPi, which I can recommend as a start distro for a newcomer. I chose it since I have some experience with it from my Raspberry Pi and I plan to give the laptop to a friend, who isn’t familiar with Linux. (For him to run Immich.) I have a similar MacBook Pro for myself, with Arch Linux installed (my old laptop with a few keys now broken). It’s on WiFi, not Ethernet, and where the signal isn’t very good. Yet, I’m mostly happy with the result. So far, being somewhat experienced with Linux, I think I’d choose DietPi for most server setups. I really love it, a good work done by maintainers. I can recommend going with it for your first self-hosted adventures.

Open ##5427402