> TAKE IT BACK STEP 06 / 06
root@takeitback:~/guide/06-services$ cat readme.md
STEP 06

Replace everything else

Files, photos, calendar, passwords, media, notes. Once the box is trusted, most remaining corporate services have a mature self-hosted replacement — and containers let you add each one cleanly.

DIFFICULTYIntermediate
TIMEOngoing
COST$0
REPLACESCloud drive · photos · passwords · streaming

Why containers

Rather than installing each app directly — where dependencies collide and updates get messy — run each in a container. Every service gets its own sealed environment described by a short text file. Adding, updating, or removing one never disturbs the others. First, get the container engine for your box's OS:

root@box:~$ curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
root@box:~$ sudo usermod -aG docker you # log out/in after
you@mac:~$ brew install --cask docker
# then launch Docker Desktop once to finish setup

Install Docker Desktop, which runs containers on the WSL2 engine you set up in step 01:

PS> winget install Docker.DockerDesktop

From there, every service starts the same way, on every OS:

$ docker compose up -d
# update everything cleanly, later:
$ docker compose pull && docker compose up -d

The replacements

Files, photos & calendar → Nextcloud

The big one. Nextcloud covers file sync across devices, phone photo backup, shared calendars, and contacts — the bulk of what a corporate account does. Its phone app auto-uploads photos the moment you take them.

Passwords → Vaultwarden

Vaultwarden is a lightweight server compatible with the Bitwarden apps and extensions. Your vault lives on your box; the polished clients you already know keep working, pointed at your server.

Media library → Jellyfin

Jellyfin streams your own films, shows, and music to any device, with apps for TVs and phones. Fully free, no accounts, no upsells.

Notes, bookmarks, and more

There's a self-hosted equivalent for almost everything: read-it-later, RSS, home dashboards, git hosting, document editing. Browse the awesome-selfhosted catalog and add what you'll actually use.

Two things that now matter

// you are the admin nowWhen you owned nothing, someone else handled backups. Now that's you. Set up an automated, off-box backup of your data before relying on any of these — a drive that lives elsewhere, encrypted, updated nightly.
// reach it from anywherePut these behind the same tunnel from step 03, or a Tailscale private network, so your phone reaches them off home Wi-Fi without exposing anything publicly.

You did it

Hardware you hold, a network that blocks the watchers, your own sites, your own mail, and your own cloud. That's the whole ladder. The web was ours — and piece by piece, you took it back.