One of my favorite things about self-hosting is that it isn't just limited to running a Plex server or hosting your own website.Self-hosting can actually take hobbies you already have and make them so much better.Here are five tech-focused hobbies that get better when you start self-hosting things for them.
Retro game collecting Self-hosting lets you organize ROMs, metadata, and even saves Close Retro gaming seems to be making a big comeback in 2026, and that's exactly what RomM is built for.You see, RomM is designed as a self-hosted retro game collecting platform.You can use it to store and organize your ROMs by platform, and even play certain ROMs directly in the browser.
It can also house your saves, acting as a central point for your retro gaming storage.Not only can it do that, but RomM also enriches your entire library with metadata and cover art, even supporting multiple users.It's really the retro game collector's dream come true.
The multiple users aspect is where RomM really shines, though.Since it can do in-browser emulation and store saves, each user can enjoy playing their favorite retro games with their own saved game progress available anywhere they are.Personal weather tracking Collect data from your personal weather station to generate graphs, reports, and more I'm a huge weather nerd—but I don't have a personal weather station (yet).
It's something I plan to get sometime in the next year or two, or maybe build my own.But for those of you weather nerds that have a weather station, WeeWX is the perfect self-hosted tool for you.It's designed to connect to compatible weather stations, record their observations, and then generate plots, webpages, and monthly or yearly summaries.
The best part is, WeeWX keeps everything local and publishes that information to a local web server so it never has to hit the internet.Weather data is something where privacy should definitely be considered.Your weather data can house your location, changing patterns, and so much more.
Sometimes it's good to share that information publicly, but other times you might just want to keep it stored on your own server.So, if you're into weather tracking at all, then spin up WeeWX in your homelab and take your weather tracking to the next level.Aircraft tracking A simple ADS-B receiver is all you need to get started Flying is probably one of the coolest inventions of the last 100+ years, so it's no surprise that tracking airplanes is a big hobby for many people.
Building an aircraft tracker is fairly simple using something like a Raspberry Pi with an RTL-SDR receiver and 1090MHz antenna.Airplanes have to transmit something called an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast data, or ADS-B, in order to maintain compliance.This data contains information like position, identity, altitude, and movement.
There are several programs that can decode this information, but readsb is a great choice for decoding radio messages and tar1090 is the perfect way to show the results on a locally hosted map.This type of tracking definitely requires a bit more setup, but it can also be a fun side quest to tackle if you love self-hosting and aircraft tracking.Podcasting You can host your own episodes, feeds, analytics, and more without paying a dime to someone else I'm a huge fan of podcasting.
I've run multiple podcasts over the years, and am actually considering starting up another.I've looked into Castopod before, and I'll definitely be checking it out again before I start my next podcast.Typically, with a podcast, you need a podcast host that aggregates your episodes to podcast players like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and others.
Your podcast host also generates your RSS feeds, handles analytics, chapters, and more.Castopod handles all of the same things that most podcast hosts do, but locally on your own server.It has just about all of the Podcasting 2.0 features that you want, but you retain control of all the media, audience information, and analytics instead of trusting someone else to it.
This type of project can be a bit more advanced than the others above though because you really need to have some form of external access to your server set up, including a domain, HTTPS certificates, storage, extra bandwidth, a reverse proxy, proper security, and more.Collecting music Don't just collect your own music—build your own music streaming platform I'm a big Apple Music fan, but I know a lot of people prefer collecting their own music in various forms.However, you can't deny the convenience of streaming music.
On a road trip, it's so much easier to build a playlist on a phone and stream it to the car than it is to build one and burn it to a CD, then try to find the right CD, for instance.So, if you're a big music collector, check out Navidrome.It's the perfect self-hosted solution for you.
Designed to take your locally-stored music collection and turn it into a personal music streaming service, Navidrome actually has both a web player and also compatible mobile, desktop, TV, CarPlay, and Android Auto clients.With Navidrome, you can buy your music physically, then rip it to your server and listen to it anywhere you are.The biggest caveat to Navidrome is that it requires properly tagged files, instead of relying on a folder structure.
So, you really need to make sure your music library has proper metadata for Navidrome to function correctly.Self-hosting puts you in the driver's seat of almost any hobby No matter what hobby you're into, self-hosting likely can take it to the next level.There are self-hosted tools for tabletop role-playing games, birdwatching, astronomy, and so much more.
So, if you have a hobby that you're into, just search for self-hosted tools for it.I'm sure you'll find something to enhance your experience.
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