If you've ever moved a Docker project from a Mac to a Linux server, you've probably hit this error:
Connection refused: host.docker.internal:3000
On macOS and Windows, host.docker.internal is a magic DNS name that resolves to your host machine's IP address. It's incredibly useful for connecting containers to local databases or APIs running outside of Docker.
But on Linux? It doesn't exist by default.
Umami is great. Lightweight, privacy-friendly, no cookies, no tracking drama. We use it ourselves on Hostim.dev, and we ship a one-click Umami template for anyone who wants simple, privacy-focused analytics.
But once you start relying on analytics to make actual decisions, you hit the limits pretty quickly.
When running Kubernetes on Hetzner Dedicated, there is no cloud load balancer. But you can provide public LoadBalancer IPs by attaching a routed IP range to a vSwitch and letting MetalLB announce addresses over L2.
Our setup:
n8n is a popular open-source automation tool – like Zapier, but self-hosted. Here's how to run it on your own VPS using Docker Compose, and expose it securely over HTTPS using Caddy as the ingress proxy.
If you want a broader primer, check out How to Self-Host a Docker Compose App. But you don't need to read it first – this guide is self-contained.
Reverse proxies are the unsung heroes of modern infrastructure. They terminate TLS, route traffic, balance loads, and keep your apps reachable. But which one should you choose? There are four popular options worth comparing head-to-head: Nginx, HAProxy, Caddy, and Traefik. Each comes with its own strengths, trade-offs, and ideal use cases.
📌 Last week, I wrote about Cloud Rent in Action – how layers of middlemen drive up the cost of running a simple SaaS stack. Netlify's new pricing update feels like the same story, playing out live.
When you pay for cloud hosting, you're not just paying for compute. You're paying rent. And it adds up fast.
Building a PaaS as a solo founder means making choices. Some deliberate, some accidental, all of them tradeoffs.
Every tool comes with pros and cons, and the deciding factor is usually the most expensive resource of all: time.
If I can get the job done with something I already know, I'll take that path. I'll learn new tools when the project pays for it. Until then, it's all about moving forward with what works.
Here's how Hostim.dev is put together today – the stack that runs every app, database, and service behind the scenes.
Most side projects start the same way.
You grab a VPS from Hetzner or DigitalOcean, install Docker, run docker compose up, and boom – you're live.
It feels cheap. It feels simple. Until it isn't.
When you talk to enough developers about how they deploy projects, a few patterns start to emerge. Some are obvious in hindsight, others caught me completely off guard.
Here are my biggest takeaways so far.