The Sundarban
Printed Apr 17, 2026, 10:15 AM EDT
Patrick Campanale has been within the tech dwelling for nicely over a decade, specializing in PC/gaming files and opinions, as nicely as maker-centered merchandise to create minute agencies.
With a originate in technology back in 2010 surrounding the Palm/webOS ecosystem, Patrick spent his childhood increasing cell purposes as nicely as blogging for diverse publications, at closing main to starting up his beget online web recount in 2014. After operating a technology blog for about a years, he stepped out of that purpose and into the sector of excessive-discontinuance custom PC manufacturing and building, with a focal level on YouTube video manufacturing and overclocking. Then, six years within the past, Patrick joined the 9to5Toys crew as an editor/author/reviewer with over 14,000 articles being published there there, ranging from deals and roundups to in-depth opinions on the most up-to-date technology, video games, 3D printers, and more.
In his free time, Patrick loves to invent projects from picket the spend of diverse robots and systems, together with leveraging the technologies of CNCs and lasers. If Patrick is now no longer engaged on a computer or playing video games, he’s possible in his 2-automotive storage workshop creating something queer. In addition to to to all this, Patrick will possible be a childhood pastor at his local church the set aside he feels God has referred to as him to assist, and he loves every minute of it.
The weekend is right here, and which procedure it’s time for one more three homelab projects to try out! Today, I’ll be displaying you the advantages of operating local AI objects, how to lift possession of your productiveness, and even how to spend a self-hosted deepest financial administration platform.
Ditch your ChatGPT or Claude subscription with a within the community-hosted AI chatbot
Self-hosted AI delivers every privacy and ticket savings
Credit rating: Lucas Oliveira de Gouveia / How-To Geek
Are you bored to demise in paying for a ChatGPT or Claude subscription? Effectively, ought to you’ve got gotten a relatively highly effective homelab (or as a minimal a gaming PC), you would possibly perhaps presumably well presumably very nicely dash some solid within the community-hosted AI objects at dwelling.
All of it begins with picking the like a flash-witted backend for the mannequin. For tear, Ollama comes to mind. However, don’t fail to bear in mind tools savor LMStudio, Llama.cpp, or LocalAI as lots of platforms that you just would possibly perhaps presumably well presumably spend.
When it comes to picking a mannequin, that if truth be told relies for your hardware. Google’s most up-to-date Gemma 4 is in actuality gorgeous gargantuan at lots of things, and would possibly perhaps presumably well dash on even mid-differ hardware moderately nicely. At the same time as you happen to’ve gotten a Mac operating Apple Silicon on your homelab, that’s very supreme thanks to unified reminiscence, nonetheless fashionable graphics playing cards also address operating local AI objects nicely too.
Whichever route you plod, having within the community-hosted AI on your homelab brings lots of advantages to the desk, exterior of honest saving some cash. Locally-hosted AI is deepest—easiest you know what goes by procedure of the AI. It also has no token price, which procedure you would possibly perhaps presumably well presumably spend it as well-known as you wish to savor at an API stage for things savor Immich, OpenCode, or even Home Assistant.
One big procedure you would possibly perhaps presumably well presumably spend local AI on your homelab is with n8n—an automation platform. Personal Zapier, nonetheless self-hosted. With n8n, you would possibly perhaps presumably well presumably spend your within the community-hosted AI to address all kinds of projects, from diagnosing your homelab to responding to messages. The sky’s the restrict.
Personal shut possession of your job supervisor with Vikunja
Nobody else wants to know what’s for your to-pause record
A job supervisor is a extremely deepest tool for some, and something that you just don’t care if somebody sees for others. Wherever you land on that spectrum, there’s no denying that we’d all savor moderately more privacy when it comes to our lives. That’s the set aside Vikunja comes in.
Designed as a free and open provide job administration app, Vikunja is corpulent-featured whereas indifferent retaining your privacy in mind. At the same time as you would possibly perhaps presumably well settle on to spend the hosted model of Vikunja, you would possibly perhaps presumably well presumably furthermore decide to self-host it, placing you in corpulent dangle an eye on over the job administration platform.
The UI is nicely-organized and affords four views, ranging from the archaic record and Kanban, to Gnatt and desk. There’s project sharing ought to you dash a crew or settle on to part with relations, or it if truth be told works solo ought to you’re the most piquant one who wants win entry to to the record. Plus, because it’s open-provide below the AGPLv3 license, you would possibly perhaps presumably well presumably read every line of code to train its security if that’s something you’re into.
To win started, deploy the Vikunja Docker container for your server after which location it up from there. You’ll mainly interface with Vikunja by procedure of the online web recount on the server, making it a web-first platform with out native desktop apps. The cell apps are basically progressive web apps (PWAs), so that you just’re at an advantage honest installing your beget online web recount as a PWA your self, as that’ll present better performance for now.
However, ought to you’re ready to kick lots of job managers to the curb, then give Vikunja a try—it’s free and deepest, what more would possibly perhaps presumably well you question for?
Personal shut dangle an eye on of your funds with Firefly III
Fabricate now no longer flip your files over to money-hungry corporations
Credit rating: Adam Davidson/How-To Geek
Funds are one more dwelling of your existence that you just possible settle on to dangle prying eyes out of. The more of us who know the gorgeous particulars of your funds, the more of us can try to lift assist of your hassle—appropriate or putrid.
That’s exactly what Firefly III is designed to assist with. Firefly III is more than a frequent budgeting app, it’s a corpulent financial administration platform. It makes use of a double-entry bookkeeping system, the set aside you would possibly perhaps presumably well presumably enter and put together your transactions in plenty of currencies with ease.
There’s an files importer purpose that helps you win your files into Firefly III from lots of platforms,
