this post was submitted on 28 Apr 2025
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I am trying to use my old laptops for self-hosting. One has a 6th gen Intel Core i3 (4GB ram), the other has an 11th gen Intel Core i5 (8GB ram). I have previously tried both ubuntu server and desktop but couldn't get it to work well. For the former I found it difficult to remote ssh and the latter I had difficulty installing Docker containers. (I'm not very good with the command line)

I would like to find an OS that is easier to setup with less of a neccesity for the command line (I would still like to learn how to use it though, I don't want to get rid of it entirely!). I've heard of CasaOS, is that a good option? It seems quite easy to use. What about other alternatives?

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[–] [email protected] 107 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (45 children)

If you’re afraid of the terminal, you won’t get far in self hosting. You should learn to use the terminal. It’s not as scary as people make it sound.

You mentioned having issues with SSH into your old server. You can install a desktop environment if it makes things easier for you, but you should still learn how to be proficient in the terminal. Proxmox might help. It lets you create and manage VMs through a web interface. It can be annoying if you’re not super familiar with networking though.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 days ago (15 children)

Could you recommend a source for learning how to use the command line? In the past I struggled with understanding the basic commands and the various flags. I've found it difficult to find good documentation, but I would like to learn

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

It’s been a long time since I learned, so I don’t remember exactly what I used, but at a cursory glance, this one looks good:

https://www.terminaltutor.com/

Also, learning to read man pages will help a lot. Here’s an article on that:

https://itsfoss.com/linux-man-page-guide/

I do remember using “terminal cheat sheets” like this:

https://phoenixnap.com/kb/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/linux-commands-cheat-sheet-pdf.pdf

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago

Thanks for the very practical resources!

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