fullmetalbrackets
@fullmetalbrackets.com
Hobbyist coder, tech enthusiast. I blog about self-hosting, Linux, web dev, Docker, and whatever other tech thing has my attention.
I don't trust Wi-Fi networks at hotels and AirBNBs, but with a $15 Google TV stick I can use the Tailscale and Plex apps to securely connect to my home network and stream my own content on vacation!
fullmetalbrackets.com/blog/google-...
fullmetalbrackets.com/blog/google-...
Using a Google TV streaming device with Tailscale to remotely stream my Plex library while on vacation
I have a Plex Pass subscription, but unfortunately Plex's built-in remote access won't work behind CGNAT, so I use Tailscale to securely access my Plex library and entire home network when I'm not…
fullmetalbrackets.com
December 6, 2025 at 11:20 PM
I don't trust Wi-Fi networks at hotels and AirBNBs, but with a $15 Google TV stick I can use the Tailscale and Plex apps to securely connect to my home network and stream my own content on vacation!
fullmetalbrackets.com/blog/google-...
fullmetalbrackets.com/blog/google-...
I use Debian Bookworm as a daily driver PC and recently decided to upgrade it to Debian Trixie, the upcoming next version. Although it's not stable by Debian's standards, it is fairly stable by any other standards of the word. Everything works as intended... see more
How I upgraded my Linux desktop from Debian 12 Bookworm to Debian 13 Trixie
My old Dell Optiplex has been a great desktop PC for just minimal interneting and coding. I've been running Debian 12 Bookworm on it since it became available, and usually I stick to the latest…
fullmetalbrackets.com
July 26, 2025 at 10:44 PM
I use Debian Bookworm as a daily driver PC and recently decided to upgrade it to Debian Trixie, the upcoming next version. Although it's not stable by Debian's standards, it is fairly stable by any other standards of the word. Everything works as intended... see more
Plex Pass is now required to remotely access your Plex Media Server content, but we can bypass the requirement for a paid subscription using Tailscale to access Plex via encrypted WireGuard tunnel.
How to get around the Plex Pass requirement for Plex remote access by using Tailscale
Beginning April 29th, 2025 the pricing for Plex Pass increased at the same time that remote access got paywalled behind it. That means you can no longer stream your own content outside of your home…
fullmetalbrackets.com
May 20, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Plex Pass is now required to remotely access your Plex Media Server content, but we can bypass the requirement for a paid subscription using Tailscale to access Plex via encrypted WireGuard tunnel.
Turning an old PC into a home server is easy and useful, and opens up many cool possibilities for self-hosting. In this article I write about my home server, how I set it up and what it's running.
fullmetalbrackets.com/blog/how-i-s...
fullmetalbrackets.com/blog/how-i-s...
How I set up a home server for self-hosting and as a NAS with secure remote access via Tailscale
I turned my old Dell PC into an all-in-one home server and network attached storage to self-host all my data, my photos, and my media library, running Home Assistant, Plex and other services, all…
fullmetalbrackets.com
April 24, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Turning an old PC into a home server is easy and useful, and opens up many cool possibilities for self-hosting. In this article I write about my home server, how I set it up and what it's running.
fullmetalbrackets.com/blog/how-i-s...
fullmetalbrackets.com/blog/how-i-s...
Want to access your SMB shares from an Android device for transferring files to and from a phone or tablet? Solid Explorer has you covered, and its easy to setup!
How to use Solid Explorer app to access SMB network shares from an Android device
There are many File Managers/File Explorers on the Google Play Store, but I wanted to easily access the Samba share on my server while on my home network. Solid Explorer is the solution I went with…
fullmetalbrackets.com
March 18, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Want to access your SMB shares from an Android device for transferring files to and from a phone or tablet? Solid Explorer has you covered, and its easy to setup!
Want to build a NAS, but all your hard drives are mismatched brands and capacities? Rather have all your data accessible in one place, rather than having to figure out which hard drive holds what?
MergerFS lets you merge multiple HDDs into one mount point.
fullmetalbrackets.com/blog/two-dri...
MergerFS lets you merge multiple HDDs into one mount point.
fullmetalbrackets.com/blog/two-dri...
Using MergerFS to combine multiple hard drives into one unified media storage
My situation was simple -- my server's media storage was filling up and I wanted to add more drives, but without having to keep track of which drive specific files were for Plex. How to pool multiple ...
fullmetalbrackets.com
March 10, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Want to build a NAS, but all your hard drives are mismatched brands and capacities? Rather have all your data accessible in one place, rather than having to figure out which hard drive holds what?
MergerFS lets you merge multiple HDDs into one mount point.
fullmetalbrackets.com/blog/two-dri...
MergerFS lets you merge multiple HDDs into one mount point.
fullmetalbrackets.com/blog/two-dri...
Don't put up with "your connection is not private" when accessing your self-hosted apps and services. Buy a cheap domain, setup a reverse proxy and access everything at your own domain with HTTPS. Here's how I did that and kept it fully local, no open ports.
Setting up a reverse proxy for HTTPS with a custom domain using Nginx Proxy Manager, Pi-Hole and Cloudflare
I've used a reverse proxy to access my self-hosted apps and services for years, but I recently re-did everything from scratch and decided to write it down. When done, you'll be able to access your…
fullmetalbrackets.com
March 7, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Don't put up with "your connection is not private" when accessing your self-hosted apps and services. Buy a cheap domain, setup a reverse proxy and access everything at your own domain with HTTPS. Here's how I did that and kept it fully local, no open ports.
My solution for secure remote access to my homelab is Tailscale. It's basically WireGuard with superpowers. And they have a very generous free tier!
Comprehensive guide to setting up Tailscale to securely access your home network from anywhere
Accessing self-hosted services from outside the home can be a challenge, especially when dealing with CGNAT and having to forward ports from the router. It can be complex to manage and potentially…
fullmetalbrackets.com
March 5, 2025 at 7:45 PM
My solution for secure remote access to my homelab is Tailscale. It's basically WireGuard with superpowers. And they have a very generous free tier!
Accessing server SMB shares from your Android device and transferring files between them is a breeze with the Solid Explorer app.
How to use Solid Explorer app to access SMB network shares from an Android device
There are many File Managers/File Explorers on the Google Play Store, but I wanted to easily access the Samba share on my server while on my home network. Solid Explorer is the solution I went with…
fullmetalbrackets.com
March 4, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Accessing server SMB shares from your Android device and transferring files between them is a breeze with the Solid Explorer app.
Want to share your Plex library with other users, but you're stuck behind CGNAT? My solution was to use Tailscale and a free-tier Oracle instance, and it works flawlessly.
fullmetalbrackets.com/blog/expose-...
fullmetalbrackets.com/blog/expose-...
How to securely expose Plex from behind CGNAT using Tailscale and a free Oracle VM
I wrote before about securely exposing Plex for external access, but my previous solution relied on Cloudflare Tunnel and it was technically against their TOS. So I switched to using a Oracle VM on…
fullmetalbrackets.com
March 3, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Want to share your Plex library with other users, but you're stuck behind CGNAT? My solution was to use Tailscale and a free-tier Oracle instance, and it works flawlessly.
fullmetalbrackets.com/blog/expose-...
fullmetalbrackets.com/blog/expose-...
More than ever, network-wide ad blocking is essential to de-en-shittifying daily life.
fullmetalbrackets.com/blog/set-up-...
fullmetalbrackets.com/blog/set-up-...
Set up Pi-Hole for network-wide ad blocking and Unbound for recursive DNS (Updated for Pi-Hole v6)
Besides just using a browser extension for ad blocking, I've been using Pi-Hole for years to prevent all devices on my network from getting ads, and stopping smart home devices from phoning home for t...
fullmetalbrackets.com
March 3, 2025 at 3:12 AM
More than ever, network-wide ad blocking is essential to de-en-shittifying daily life.
fullmetalbrackets.com/blog/set-up-...
fullmetalbrackets.com/blog/set-up-...