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[return to "CLI agents make self-hosting on a home server easier and fun"]
1. simonw+g6[view] [source] 2026-01-11 22:01:25
>>websku+(OP)
This posts lists inexpensive home servers, Tailscale and Claude Code as the big unlocks.

I actually think Tailscale may be an even bigger deal here than sysadmin help from Claude Code at al.

The biggest reason I had not to run a home server was security: I'm worried that I might fall behind on updates and end up compromised.

Tailscale dramatically reduces this risk, because I can so easily configure it so my own devices can talk to my home server from anywhere in the world without the risk of exposing any ports on it directly to the internet.

Being able to hit my home server directly from my iPhone via a tailnet no matter where in the world my iPhone might be is really cool.

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2. philip+f7[view] [source] 2026-01-11 22:07:51
>>simonw+g6
I agree! Before Tailscale I was completely skeptical of self hosting.

Now I have tailscale on an old Kindle downloading epubs from a server running Copyparty. Its great!

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3. ryandr+79[view] [source] 2026-01-11 22:16:01
>>philip+f7
Maybe I'm dumb, but I still don't quite understand the value-add of Tailscale over what Wireguard or some other VPN already provides. HN has tried to explain it to me but it just seems like sugar on top of a plain old VPN. Kind of like how "pi-hole" is just sugar on top of dnsmasq, and Plex is just sugar on top of file sharing.
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4. simonw+Pd[view] [source] 2026-01-11 22:40:53
>>ryandr+79
If you're confident that you know how to securely configure and use Wireguard across multiple devices then great, you probably don't need Tailscale for a home lab.

Tailscale gives me an app I can install on my iPhone and my Mac and a service I can install on pretty much any Linux device imaginable. I sign into each of those apps once and I'm done.

The first time I set it up that took less than five minutes from idea to now-my-devices-are-securely-networked.

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