selfhostblocks/README.md

# Self Host Blocks

*Building blocks for self-hosting with battery included.*

[![Tests](https://github.com/ibizaman/selfhostblocks/actions/workflows/test.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/ibizaman/selfhostblocks/actions/workflows/test.yml)
[![Demo](https://github.com/ibizaman/selfhostblocks/actions/workflows/demo.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/ibizaman/selfhostblocks/actions/workflows/demo.yml)
[![Documentation](https://github.com/ibizaman/selfhostblocks/actions/workflows/docs.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/ibizaman/selfhostblocks/actions/workflows/docs.yml)

SHB's (Self Host Blocks) is yet another server management tool whose goal is to provide a lower
entry-bar for self-hosting. SHB provides opinionated [building blocks](#available-blocks) fitting
together to self-host any service you'd want. Some [common services](#provided-services) are
provided out of the box.

To achieve this, SHB is using the full power of NixOS modules. Indeed, each building block and each
service is a NixOS module and uses the modules defined in
[Nixpkgs](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/).

## TOC

<!--toc:start-->
- [Usage](#usage)
- [Manual](#manual)
- [Roadmap](#roadmap)
- [Available Blocks](#available-blocks)
- [Provided Services](#provided-services)
- [Demos](#demos)
- [Community](#community)
- [License](#license)
<!--toc:end-->

## Usage

> **Caution:** You should know that although I am using everything in this repo for my personal
> production server, this is really just a one person effort for now and there are most certainly
> bugs that I didn't discover yet.

Self Host Blocks is available as a flake. To use it in your project, add the following flake input:

```nix
inputs.selfhostblocks.url = "github:ibizaman/selfhostblocks";
```

See [the manual](https://shb.skarabox.com/usage.html) for more information about installing Self
Host Blocks.

- You are new to self hosting and want pre-configured services to deploy easily. Look at the
  [services section](https://shb.skarabox.com/services.html).
- You are a seasoned self-hoster but want to enhance some services you deploy already. Go to the
  [blocks section](https://shb.skarabox.com/blocks.html).
- You are a user of Self Host Blocks but would like to use your own implementation for a block. Head
  over to the [matrix channel](https://matrix.to/#/#selfhostblocks:matrix.org) to talk about it
  (this is WIP).

## Why yet another self hosting tool?

By using Self Host Blocks, you get all the benefits of NixOS which are, for self hosted applications
specifically:

- declarative configuration;
- atomic configuration rollbacks;
- real programming language to define configurations;
- user-defined abstractions (create your own functions or NixOS modules on top of SHB!);
- integration with the rest of nixpkgs.

In no particular order, here are some aspects of SHB which I find interesting and differentiates it
from other server management projects:

- SHB intends to be a library, not a framework. You can either go all in and use SHB provided
  services directly or use just one block in your existing infrastructure.
- SHB introduces contracts to allow you to swap implementation for each self-hosting need.
  For example, you should be able to use the reverse proxy you want without modifying any services
  depending on it.
- SHB contracts also allows you to use your own custom implementation instead of the provided one,
  as long as it follows the contract and passes the tests.
- SHB provides at least one implementation for each self-hosting need like backups, SSL
  certificates, reverse proxy, VPN, etc. Those are called blocks here. They are documented in [the
  manual](https://shb.skarabox.com/blocks.html).
- SHB follows nixpkgs unstable branch closely. There is a GitHub action running daily that updates
  the `nixpkgs` input in the root `flakes.nix`, runs the tests and merges a PR with the new input if
  the tests pass.

## Manual

The manual can be found at [shb.skarabox.com](https://shb.skarabox.com/).

Currently, only some services and blocks are documented. For the rest, unfortunately the source code
is the best place to read about them. [Here](./modules/services) for services and
[here](./modules/blocks) for blocks.

## Roadmap

Currently, the Nextcloud service and SSL block are the most advanced and most documented.

Documenting all services and blocks will be done as I make all blocks and services use the
contracts.

Upstreaming changes is also on the roadmap.

Check [the issues](https://github.com/ibizaman/selfhostblocks/issues) to see planned works.

That being said, I am personally using all the blocks and services in this project, so they do work.

## Available Blocks

- [`authelia.nix`](./modules/blocks/authelia.nix) for Single Sign On.
- [`backup.nix`](./modules/blocks/backup.nix).
- [`ldap.nix`](./modules/blocks/ldap.nix) for user management.
- [`monitoring.nix`](./modules/blocks/monitoring.nix) for dashboards, logs and alerts.
- [`nginx.nix`](./modules/blocks/nginx.nix) for reverse proxy with SSL termination.
- [`postgresql.nix`](./modules/blocks/postgresql.nix) for database setup.
- [`ssl.nix`](./modules/blocks/ssl.nix) for maintaining self-signed SSL certificates or certificates provided by Let's Encrypt.
- [`tinyproxy.nix`](./modules/blocks/tinyproxy.nix) to forward traffic to a VPN tunnel.
- [`vpn.nix`](./modules/blocks/vpn.nix) to setup a VPN tunnel.

## Provided Services

- [`arr.nix`](./modules/services/arr.nix) for finding media https://wiki.servarr.com/.
- [`deluge.nix`](./modules/services/deluge.nix) for downloading linux isos https://deluge-torrent.org/.
- [`hledger.nix`](./modules/services/hledger.nix) for managing finances https://hledger.org/.
- [`home-assistant.nix`](./modules/services/home-assistant.nix) for private IoT https://www.home-assistant.io/.
- [`jellyfin.nix`](./modules/services/jellyfin.nix) for watching media https://jellyfin.org/.
- [Nextcloud Server](https://shb.skarabox.com/services-nextcloud.html) for private documents, contacts, calendar, etc https://nextcloud.com.
- [`vaultwarden.nix`](./modules/services/vaultwarden.nix) for passwords https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden.
- [`audiobookshelf.nix`](./modules/services/audiobookshelf.nix) for hosting podcasts and audio books https://www.audiobookshelf.org/.

## Demos

Demos that start and deploy a service on a Virtual Machine on your computer are located under the
[demo](./demo/) folder. These show the onboarding experience you would get if you deployed one of
the services on your own server.

## Community

All issues and PRs are welcome. For PRs, if they are substantial changes, please open an issue to
discuss the details first. More details in [here](https://shb.skarabox.com/contributing.html).

Come hang out in the [Matrix channel](https://matrix.to/#/%23selfhostblocks%3Amatrix.org). :)

One aspect that's close to my heart is I intent to make SHB the lightest layer on top of nixpkgs as
possible. I want to upstream as much as possible. I will still take some time to experiment here but
when I'm satisfied with how things look, I'll upstream changes.

## License

I'm following the [Nextcloud](https://github.com/nextcloud/server) license which is AGPLv3. See
[this article](https://www.fsf.org/bulletin/2021/fall/the-fundamentals-of-the-agplv3) from the FSF that explains what this license adds to the GPL
one.