What I run on my $10 USD OpenStick, Linux, Homelab

In a surprising twist, an individual purchased an OpenStick for just $10 USD, including shipping. Although this tiny device may seem less powerful than a smartphone, it is perfect for self-hosting and offers a great way to start with it. Installing the device involves some effort, but once set up, it runs Debian, providing access to classic tools like systemd and Podman. For the price of the OpenStick, users receive a home server that consumes minimal power and generates no noise.

Among the useful software that runs on this device is a service that connects to Google Cast-enabled devices, skipping sponsored content and ads. It has a minimal resource usage, often unnoticed and enhances the YouTube experience. Another essential tool is AdGuard Home, which blocks unwanted domains at the DNS level, protecting users from spyware, malware, and other threats.

By using this service, users can block a significant portion of unwanted requests. The author has even created a custom version of AdGuard Home to handle larger blocklists.

The OpenStick also runs Zeroclaw, an AI agent harness that supports various communication channels and integrates with major LLM providers. Compared to Zeroclaw, OpenClaw proved frustrating due to high memory usage, frequent updates, and breaking changes. Zeroclaw's low resource consumption and sensible security defaults make it a much better choice. It can be utilized for monitoring the OpenStick and offers a user-friendly Telegram interface for remote server checks.

Cloudflared enables secure exposure of services to the internet without additional ports, which is especially useful for homelabs. Beszel provides a clean interface for monitoring memory and CPU usage, alerting users when issues arise. Gatus monitors services, notifying users of any crashes, while Dozzle offers a user-friendly Podman container management interface.

Finally, Shiori, a lightweight bookmark manager, automatically archives websites, providing a hassle-free solution to manage bookmarks and avoid the hassle of paying for services like Feedly.