Self Hosting
My journey into self-hosting services and applications.
Sometime last year, my X feed was flooded with horror stories about unexpected six-figure Vercel bills.
Under every thread was a comment about using a VPS. 
Especially one’s under $5/mo.
I wanted to see how true this was, so I launched my own server to host some projects.
While experimenting with Docker was fun, I already missed the simplicity and convenience of cloud hosting.
Yet, according to the X mob, the choice was clear: use a VPS or face bankruptcy! 
Fortunately for my wallet, I soon discovered Coolify—an open-source, self-hosted alternative to Vercel.
Since then, I’ve been diving deeper into the world of self-hosted services, from personal cloud storage to home automation. In fact, both Prompt Cost and Apartment Monitor leveraged Coolify’s one-click deploys.
General Takeaways
The benefits of self hosting became clear to me: more control, reduced costs, & better understanding of the underlying technology. I plan to keep it up for future projects.