I’ve been a part of the self-hosting ecosystem for a long time, and let me tell you, it’s filled to the brim with all sorts of fun and interesting projects. On the practical side of things, you’ve got the e-book management platform Calibre Web, budgeting powerhouse Firefly III, PKM system TriliumNext Notes, and a host of other utilities. For security experts, there’s the network traffic probe ntopng and self-hosted firewall OPNsense.

But if you’re looking for some fun apps to spice up your home lab, I’ve got you covered! Here’s a list of the most quirky (but still fairly useful) services you can host on your workstation.

5 AdventureLog

For trekkers, tourists, and travelers

Want to create a private collection of your camping, lodging, and touring adventures? AdventureLog is one of the best apps for the job, offering a fun game-like way to keep track of the places you’ve visited and the great times you’ve had along the way.

For example, the World Map tab serves as a compendium where you can mark the countries you’ve traveled and the major regions you’ve explored. If you want more detailed logs, the app lets you break down your trips into adventure tiles, where you can pin your thoughts, ratings, and images.

4 Monica

Your personal relationship manager

Capable of storing potential leads, marketing insights, and detailed records of clients, Customer Relationship Management tools are the quintessential part of any business. Given the efficiency of CRM utilities, one might wonder if it's possible to use them to manage personal relationships.

Well, that's pretty much the idea behind Monica, a powerful personal relationship manager designed to help you manage your social circle. Creating a contact is fairly easy, and you’re free to store everything from their birthdays, contact information, and familial relations to gift ideas and recorded conversations. Plus, if you’re as forgetful about contacting old friends as I am, Monica can help you out by sending timed reminders to stay in touch with your loved ones.

3 n.eko

A private, self-hosted browser

With advertisers hellbent on collecting your personal information, it’s no wonder that private web browsers are popping up. But if you want an extra layer of security when you surf the web, you can self-host n.eko, a virtual browser, inside your Docker workstation.

While n.eko isn't the best browser for performance, its isolated nature makes it perfect for privacy-conscious enthusiasts, and it’s especially useful if you need to share your web browser with other users. Since it runs as a container, you can further bolster its security by hardening the network rules of the n.eko instance within Docker.

2 Webtrees

An easy way to track your genealogy data

Genealogy trees provide a fantastic way to preserve your family history. Although there are plenty of tools that let you chart your ancestry, hosting Webtree on local hardware is perfect when you want maximum privacy for your family data.

Besides being highly scalable, Webtrees provides multiple fields to help you maintain detailed records of your household – and I don’t mean just two or three generations either. This neat tool can hold years' worth of family data, and you can visualize your genealogy information with numerous chart formats and reports.

1 Habitica

Improve your habits, one level at a time

There’s no shortage of applications designed to boost your productivity and facilitate your self-improvement journey, but Habitica is a rare service that offers an RPG experience to help you stick to a disciplined routine. And I mean that literally, as the app allocates experience points and equipment when you successfully complete a productivity task.

Similar to a to-do list builder, Habitica lets you assign tasks and quests for your character, which you can freely customize with classes, mounts, and equipment. If you’re an RPG fanatic looking for a fun app to stay motivated on your tasks, you’ll have a blast with Habitica.

Deck out your home server with wacky services

Of course, there are plenty of other unique, bizarre, and underrated self-hosted applications worth highlighting. If the notion of storing the entirety of Wikipedia, Stack Exchange, and other huge databases of information on your local hardware sounds up your alley, you’ve got to check out Kiwix. Alternatively, wger is perfect for fitness lovers who want a private tool to track their training regimen. There’s also Tandoor Recipes, a customizable recipe book and meal planner you can host on your local hardware.