I spun up a hub with self-hosted applications. But I didn't have the problem it was supposed to solve.
The Problem — Tools Without Tasks
I'd been curious about self-hosted apps for a while. It caught my interest because I love automation, control, and technical things. I immediately started watching tons of YouTube videos like "what you need for a home hub" or "my perfect setup." RSS feeds, Portainer, calendars, dashboards for the applications themselves — everything the hub "can't exist without."
I spent several weekends getting it all running. Two weeks later I realized — I hadn't logged into my applications even once.
It was like when I was learning new tech as a developer. I'd build some project to understand the technology. Once I understood it — I'd lose interest. I didn't actually want to solve a business problem. I just wanted to learn the tech.
I installed n8n for automation, even though I had nothing to automate. Built a Notion-like database even though I had nothing to store — I was using other systems. I started with the solution, not the problem.
The feeling was familiar — same rake, different form. It showed how hard it can be to understand your real goals.
Why You Need 5 Use Cases Before Starting
The idea is that you can stretch one or two use cases "by the ears" — start with the solution again, not the problem. But if you're building more — you start seeing a pattern. Whether you actually need this.
Five isn't a rule, it's my observation. For someone it might be ten, for someone three. The point isn't the number, but that when you have enough use cases — the ROI of the hub becomes positive.
There's effort you need to invest upfront. Spin up the hub, configure Docker, figure out the applications. It takes time. And if you have one automation — these investments won't pay off. But if you have five to ten — then it makes sense.
You need to understand how necessary this automation is for you or your business. Calculate: how much time you'll spend on setup versus how much you'll save on these processes.
But first — ask yourself: is this a real use case? If it's about storing information — maybe just Notion is enough? Maybe a note is enough?
If it's some process — describe it first, then automate. Because it might turn out there's actually no process at all. You just invented a task for cool technology.
What Is a Use Case
It's something that solves a specific problem. For example, "I want NextCloud" — that's not a use case. But I need a place to store my files and not depend on corporations — that makes sense. Though you need to weigh all pros and cons.
Take the invoice example too. Every month I get payment emails. The automation reacts to a specific sender, extracts the attachment, saves it, and sends a notification to Telegram. The idea is I need to not miss the payment. I rarely check email, but I'm constantly in Telegram.
Data visualization is also a use case, but only if you already have data. For example, a weight change dashboard — you can see dynamics, trends, different periods. Or capital monitoring — see your investment status in real time. But without data, a dashboard is just a pretty toy.
How to Start
First you need hosting. Then something like Docker. It helps organize applications on the server. You buy one big server and split it into many small ones. Each small server runs its own application. It's convenient — one hosting, many applications.
Install 1-2 applications you'll actually use. If you already have a described process, the likelihood it's a real use case becomes higher. Implement it and see how often you use it.
Privacy, Control, and Consequences
The main reason for a hub is understanding where your data is and having full control over it. You can use any services you need, without provider limitations.
In the developer world there's a term vendor lock-in — when you depend on a company providing your service. Any change they make affects you: policies, prices, terms of service. And it can change at any moment.
But control is responsibility. Backups in multiple places, regular updates, and basic security. Nothing super complex, but you need to remember it's on you now.
What I Understood
A hub without use cases is a toy, not a system. First 5 specific processes, then infrastructure.
A use case is a specific task you're solving. Describe the process, test if it's actually needed. Install one application, see how often you use it. Start with hosting and Docker. That's enough for most tasks.
Before spinning up a bunch of stuff — it's worth planning first. See if it's actually worth it.
