Sounds like you are looking for Opentofu/Terraform. I use Opentofu to fastly create VMs on Proxmox with Cloud Init scripts. In scenario where one VM hosts one service I try to build IaC that way I can destroy VM and create a new one without loosing anything, data nor configuration.

It can be done using Forgejo Actions. I did something like that with Github Actions. I host static website on my Yunohost server using app named my_webapp and I wrote Github Action Workflow that deploys it into my_webapp directory

Yunohost has been recommended to me a couple of years ago and this is a software that brought me into #selfhosting.

Thanks to Yunohost’s application catalog, I got familiar with quite a few interesting applications, learnt about their capabilities, and I still use many of them today, such as Hedgedoc and Wallabag. In addition, Yunohost makes it easy to manage domains or reverse proxies. I currently work as SysOps/SysAdmin/DevOps and when I choose to deploy an application, I opt for something I have more control over, but without yunohost I would never have stepped into this career path. I continue to use yunohost on my main server, which is a bastion of stability for me, but I test new apps and host them on a separate server. In Yunohost, on the other hand, I install the Redirect application to conveniently have access to them outside my network.

Not exactly. Yunohost offers solution to host services openly to the internet thanks to simplified configuration of domains (and it even offers free domains) and reverse proxy. Also it has built in email server (not client, but the server). Apps are packaged in its own format and with unique configuration, it is not just some wrapper for Docker Conpose

I would guess that you need to learn more about Docker usage in general, rather than just looking for a Docker Compose file

Yeah, I don’t really like using Docker so I always go for easier option, but my friend uses Docker a lot and also had troubles with Overleaf.

Also, I’d like to point out that Overleaf’s hosting and pricing options are quite reasonable, especially if you’re working for a university or institution: https://www.overleaf.com/user/subscription/plans

I don’t work for university, but I am a student that needs Latex. Overleaf free plan got really bad, even my thesis cannot be compiled now and Overleaf pricing isn’t really great. Student pricing is only for annually subscription, so it is not ideal for me.

Gitlab isn’t really lightweight. It is cool, but not lightweight.

Plus they always try to hide how stuff works behind the scenes so that day that upgrade script has a bug and fails, it’s hard to revert to a working stage.

Yunohost is creating backups for apps that are being updated. If update fails, it automatically reverts. Yes, it works, I checked.

those projects get eventually abandoned,

Yunohost is here for years now, and it does not look like it will be abondoned any time soon.

I use a Yunohost for more about 1,5 year. I love for stability and simplicity but also openess for more pro users. I have my own backup solution that works great. Yunohost isn’t popular but has big catalogue. Some of the apps are not present in catalogue, so I use Docker on second device to get them.

Nextcloud is hard to install in manual way (even sometimes with Docker). As far I know, both Snap and Yunohost versions of Nextcloud are solid. I used Snap version on the cheapest Linode VPS, and it worked fine, especially when I doubled the SWAP to 1 GB. Now I use Yunohost version and I have only good time with it. It is super stable, fast and reliable. I used Nextcloud_ynh on HP 800 Mini G3 with i5-6500t and now on Asrock Mini PC with Ryzen 7 5700g. It is working just great.

If you don’t want to use Nextcloud, you ca install Vikunja for kanban and tasks. For notes Hedgedoc can be great.

I think you can go with Yunohost. It is easy to start selfhosting and exposing services to the web. I use it for more than a year, and it is super cool. Especially I love the fact, that it is easy for newcomers, but also it is opened for customisation for more pro users. Yunohost provides domain with ddns, Fail2Ban and tells which ports should be opened (80 and 443 is all you need, maybe another one for ssh). It also provides SSO for hiding services that do not use authentication.

Adguard Home works really bad on RPi Zero and not as fast as PiHole on Rpi3B+. That’s why Adguard is heavier for me.

I used both and Adguard looks more buggy for me. And also it is heavier.

Asrock X300 Mini with 2x HDD 2 TB 2,5" drives in Raid1, NVMe Samsung, 1 TB 2,5" HDD connected via USB and Zigbee gateway

It has place for two drives - one NVMe 2280 and one SATA 2,5". If you want something bigger, but still Mini, You can buy Asrock X300 DeskMini with AM4 socket. I have this with Ryzen 7 5700g. It offers two slots for 2280 NVMe drives and two slots for 2,5" SATA drives.

Yunohost or Snap. Snap catalogue of server apps is small but it offfers Home Assistant, Adguard home and Plex.

Maybe HP 800 Mini with i5-6500t? I had this, and now it is available in Poland for around 500 PLN (~112 EUR). Something like: https://allegro.pl/oferta/hp-800-g2-dm-i5-6500t-8gb-ssd-120gb-w10p-mini-13752172316?fromVariant=13752110554 I had the same model but G3 (different chassis) Power consumption was low. With a 1TB USB HDD connected, power consumption was 7-8 watts.

Yes. I have Orange Pi Zero 2 with 1 GB of RAM running Ubuntu. This is actually very powerful machine, more powerful than my Raspberry Pi 3B+. i bought it for about 180 polish zloty (around 40 euros). I use it for printing server with Ghostscript printer app installed via Snap. I also tried Wireguard and MongoDB - everything works fine. it works really well, but it sits around 50 C on CPU, so it can get hot.

It will not be that great like on Raspberry Pi, but Mini PC are also very low on energy. For example,. Wyse 5070 with J5005 idles around 3-5 W, which is really great. i had HP 800 Mini G3 that idled ~7-8W. Mini PCs are more powerful, expandable and can use normal SSD Drive. For selfhosting they are better, but in some places Raspberry Pi (or alternative like Orange Pi) will be better, especially when you need something small and really low power

For PiHole it will be OK, but for Nextcloud or Jellyfin is too slow. It is better to buy used MiniPC/Terminal - it will be more powerful

Wallabag! I am using it for more than a year and it is great