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Docker Compose basics for your VPS
Install Docker Engine and Compose v2 on Ubuntu 24.04, write a real two-service compose.yml, dodge the ufw port-publishing trap, and back up volumes.
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Step-by-step guides to running Linux servers and self-hosting on a VPS. Exact commands, expected output, and fixes for the errors that bite.
Each guide gives you the commands to run, and the errors you will hit along the way.
33 guides · 33 step-by-step tutorials · Updated
- Self-signed certificates on Ubuntu, done right Mint a self-signed TLS cert Chrome actually accepts on Ubuntu 24.04: one openssl command with SAN, nginx/Apache wiring, and trusting it without curl -k.
- Host a Minecraft server on a VPS Run a Paper Minecraft server on an Ubuntu 24.04 VPS: RAM sizing, Java 21, a systemd unit, both firewalls on 25565, safe world backups, and the exact errors.
- Manage multiple Linux servers: tools that work SSH config, tmux, Ansible, Uptime Kuma, Zabbix and Webmin, ranked by how many servers you have: what each replaces, setup cost in minutes, the one gotcha.
- Ansible tutorial: your first playbook on a VPS Install Ansible with pipx on Ubuntu 24.04, write an inventory and a first playbook that hardens a fresh VPS, plus fixes for Permission denied and sudo errors.
Guides / set it up, step by step
All 33Step-by-step guides to running a Linux server. Exact commands in the order you run them, including the errors you will hit on the way.
- Self-host a WireGuard VPN on your VPS Set up WireGuard on your own Linux VPS: key generation, wg0.conf, IP forwarding, NAT, AllowedIPs semantics, DNS, and the handshake failures that bite.
- Traefik + Docker Compose: 5 apps, auto TLS Run five apps behind one IP with Traefik v3 on Docker Compose: routing by Host rule, automatic Let's Encrypt TLS, and the acme.json trap that blocks startup.
- Certbot on Ubuntu 24.04: Let's Encrypt + nginx Install Certbot on Ubuntu 24.04 with apt or snap, get a Let's Encrypt cert for nginx, and fix the port 80 failures that break HTTP-01 renewal on a live box.
- Run Nextcloud on a VPS: Docker, TLS, backups Run Nextcloud on your own VPS with Docker Compose, Postgres, Redis and a TLS reverse proxy, plus the backup and upgrade steps that keep your data recoverable.
- Nested virtualization on a VPS: KVM & Proxmox Check whether your VPS exposes VT-x or AMD-V, enable nested KVM, and run Proxmox or Windows in a guest hypervisor. Includes the errors you will actually hit.
- Run Claude Code on a remote VPS with tmux Run Claude Code on an always-on Linux VPS inside tmux so agent sessions survive a dropped SSH connection. Install, harden, and the failure modes to expect.
More guides
- Certbot on Ubuntu 24.04: Apache + Let's Encrypt
- The world's least efficient datacenter: a guide
- Claude API tutorial: your first app on a VPS
- Claude Code token usage, explained
- Claude + n8n: build AI workflows on a VPS
- Claude plans in 2026: which one do you need?
- Cloudron vs CasaOS vs Coolify on a VPS
- Uptime Kuma: self-hosted status monitoring
- Jellyfin on a VPS: stream your own media
- Self-host Immich: your own Google Photos
- Vaultwarden on a VPS: self-host passwords
- What to self-host in 2026: 25 apps
- MCP servers on a VPS for AI coding agents
- Run Gemini CLI on a headless VPS
- Run Ollama on a VPS: self-host an LLM
- Zabbix monitoring on Ubuntu 24.04
- Webmin on Ubuntu 24.04: install and secure
- LAMP stack on Ubuntu 24.04 with PHP-FPM
- Fail2ban on Ubuntu 24.04: stop SSH attacks
- Self-host email with Mailcow on a VPS
- Self-host n8n on a VPS: Docker + HTTPS
- Self-host Rocket.Chat with Docker Compose