Setting Up Nginx Proxy Manager: The Complete Beginner's Guide

Running multiple self-hosted services on one server creates a problem: they all need different ports. Nextcloud on 8080, Jellyfin on 8096, Grafana on 3000 — and you’re expected to remember all of them. Worse, none of them have SSL unless you set it up manually. Nginx Proxy Manager (NPM) fixes this by giving you a clean web UI to manage reverse proxy hosts, automatically provision SSL certificates from Let’s Encrypt, and control access — all without touching a single Nginx config file. ...

March 14, 2026 · 9 min · Self Host Setup

SSL Certificates for Self-Hosted Services: Complete Guide to HTTPS

SSL Certificates for Self-Hosted Services: Complete Guide to HTTPS Running self-hosted services over plain HTTP is risky. Passwords, session cookies, and personal data travel in cleartext, vulnerable to interception. HTTPS encrypts everything. With free SSL certificates from Let’s Encrypt, there’s no excuse to skip it. This guide covers three ways to get SSL certificates for your home server: Nginx Proxy Manager - Easiest, GUI-based Caddy - Automatic HTTPS, zero config Certbot - Manual, maximum control Why SSL Certificates Matter Without HTTPS Passwords visible - Anyone on your network sees login credentials Session hijacking - Attackers steal cookies, impersonate you MITM attacks - Traffic can be intercepted and modified Browser warnings - “Not Secure” labels scare users Modern features broken - Service workers, webcam access, etc. require HTTPS With HTTPS End-to-end encryption - Data scrambled between browser and server Authentication - Certificate proves you’re talking to the right server Trust indicators - Green padlock in browser Full feature support - PWAs, geolocation, notifications work Compliance - Required for many services (OAuth, payment processing) Prerequisites 1. Domain Name You need a domain pointing to your server. Let’s Encrypt validates domain ownership. ...

February 1, 2025 · 11 min · Self Host Setup