This would be my choice as well, as I went with Dockge exactly because it works with your existing docker-compose files, and there are no issues if you manage with either Dockge or with the terminal.

If you add Ntfy or Gotify then you should be set.

But I think I’m understanding a bit! I need to literally create a file named “/etc/radicale/config”.

Yes, you will need to create that config file, on one of those paths so you then continue with any of the configuration steps on the documentation, you can do that Addresses step first.

A second file for the users is needed as well, that I would guess the best location would be /etc/radicale/users

For the Authentication part, you will need to install the apache2-utils package with sudo apt-get install apache2-utils to use the htpasswd command to add users

So the command to add users would be htpasswd -5 -c /etc/radicale/users user1 and instead of user1, your username.

And what you need to add to the config file for it to read your user file would be:

[auth]
type = htpasswd
htpasswd_filename = /etc/radicale/users
htpasswd_encryption = autodetect

Replacing the path with the one where you created your users file.

I’m trying to follow the tutorial on the radicale website but am getting stuck in the “addresses” part.

From reading from the link you provided, you have to create a config file on one of two locations if they don’t exist:

“Radicale tries to load configuration files from /etc/radicale/config and ~/.config/radicale/config”

after that, add what the Addresses sections says to the file:

[server]
hosts = 0.0.0.0:5232, [::]:5232

And then start/restart Radicale.

You should be able to access from another device with the IP of the Pi and the port after that

Yeah, I started the same, hosting LAN parties with Minecraft and Counter Strike 1.6 servers on my own Windows machine at the time.

But what happens when you want to install some app/service that doesn’t have a native binary installer for your OS, you will not only have to learn how to configure/manage said app/service, you will also need to learn one or multiple additional layers.

I could have said “simple bare metal OS and a binary installer” and for some people it would sound as Alien, and others would be nitpicky about it as they are with me saying docker (not seeing that this terminology I used was not for a newbie but for them), If the apps you want to self-host are offered with things like Yunohost or CasaOS, that’s great, and there are apps/services that can be installed directly on your OS without much trouble, that’s also great. But there are cases where you will need to learn something extra (and for me that extra was Docker).

XKCD 2501 applies in this thread.

I agree, there are so many layers of complexity in self-hosting, that most of us tend to forget, when the most basic thing would be a simple bare metal OS and Docker

you’ll probably want to upgrade the ram soon

His hardware has a max ram limit of 4, so the only probable upgrade he could do is a SATA SSD, even so I’m running around 15 docker containers on similar specs so as a starting point is totally fine.

I get your point, and know it has its merits, I would actually recommend Proxmox for a later stage when you are familiar with handling the basics of a server, and also if you have hardware that can properly handle virtualization, for OP that has a machine that is fairly old and low specs, and also is a newbie, I think fewer layers of complexity would be a better starting point to not be overwhelmed and just quit, and then in the future they can build on top of that.

I have a Dell Inspiron 1545, that has similar specs to yours running Debian with Docker and around 15 services in containers, so my recommendation would be to run Debian server (with no DE), install docker, and start from there.

I would not recommend proxmox or virtual machines to a newbie, and would instead recommend running stuff on a bare metal installation of Debian.

There are a bunch of alternatives to manage and ease the management of apps you could choose from like, yunohost, casaOS, Yacht, Cosmos Cloud, Infinite OS, cockpit, etc. that you can check out and use on top of Debian if you prefer, but I would still recommend spending time on learning how to do stuff yourself directly with Docker (using docker compose files), and you can use something like Portainer or Dockge to help you manage your containers.

My last recommendation would be that when you are testing and trying stuff, don’t put your only copy of important data on the server, in case something break you will lose it. Invest time on learning how to properly backup/sync/restore your data so you have a safety net in case that something happens, you have a way to recover.

There is an update on the RSS situation of selfh.st; TL, DR: seems to be related to ways to monetize, so now it’s available to paid subscription, but for free have to visit site to read.

https://selfh.st/post/2025-08-08-introducing-member-perks/