How to self host a website

Self-hosted website using Google Domains, Caddy Server, and Cloudflare in a Windows environment.

Steps

Run your web service

Startup your webservice like Jellyfin or Photoprism. This is your <target>.

Router configuration

1. Assign / reserve a static IP for your host machine.
2. Forward port 443 to this IP.

Purchase a domain from Google Domains

Choose any you'd like. As of 2023, some .com and .org domains can be purchased for as low as $12 per year.

Cloudflare setup

1. Create a new website. Name it the domain name.
2. DNS -> records -> add new A record.

   Name: <your domain name>              # example: myselfhost.dev
   IPv4 address: <your public IP>
   Proxy status: Proxied
   TTL: Auto
   

3. (Optional) Add a new CNAME record.

   Name: <subdomain>                     # example: media
   Target: @
   Proxy status: Proxied
   TTL: Auto
   

4. SSL -> Overview -> Change TLS encryption mode to Full (strict).
5. Top right -> My Profile -> API Tokens -> Create Token -> Create Custom Token

   Token name: Caddy API token
   Permissions: 
   - Zone.Zone.Read
   - Zone.DNS.Edit
   Zone Resources:
   - Include.Specific Zone.<your domain name>
   

   This is your <api_token>
6. Go to Cloudflare Nameserver section and take note of these two names. For example, it should look like something.ns.cloudflare.com

Custom nameserver in Google Domains

1. Click your domain -> DNS -> Custom Name servers tab
2. Make sure to click "Switch to Custom Name servers" link
3. Add the two name servers from the above

Caddy Server as your reverse proxy

1. Go to https://caddyserver.com/ and click Download
2. Click caddy-dns/cloudflare module (it'll highlight blue and the "Extra features" number will change to 1.
3. Download and rename to caddy.exe.
4. Copy this file into some directory for example: C:\website
5. Copy from this repo ./config/Caddyfile into the above directory.
6. Update this file with:
   • Your <api_token>.
   • Your <target>. This is the target web server on your machine.
   • Your <host_name>. This is the domain/subdomain you are listening on.

NSSM tool to make Caddy run as a Windows service

1. Go to https://nssm.cc/download and download the binary
2. Extract and run nssm.exe install.
3. A new window will open. Fill it out with these details:

   Application tab
   ---
   Program: C:\website\caddy.exe
   Start in: C:\website\
   Arguments: run --config Caddyfile
   Service name: Caddy
   
   Details tab
   ---
   Display Name: Caddy Server
   Startup type: Automatic
   

4. Click save. This will install the service.
5. nssm.exe run Caddy will start the service.

Powershell to update your dynamic IP in CLoudflare

1. If you haven't already, download and install Powershell 7.1+.
2. Copy .\scripts\*.ps1 files to C:\website\scripts.
3. Update schedule_task.ps1:
   • <script_path> this is the absolute path to the powershell scripts.
   • <email> this is the email you used for Cloudflare.
   • <api_token> this is the same token as before.
   • <dns_domain> this is the domain name you registered.
   • <dns_record> this is the record to update.
4. Run schedule_task.ps1. This schedules a task every 30 minutes to run refresh_ip.ps1, which will update Cloudflare of any changes in your public IP. s

Troubleshooting

I'm getting ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS in the browser

Make sure to change your SSL settings in CLoudflare to Full (strict).