Home server starter guide: Pi-hole, Tailscale and Jellyfin on one box

Copy-paste steps for a spare PC running Ubuntu Server 24.04. Read each command before you run it.

Pi-hole: block ads for every device

curl -sSL https://install.pi-hole.net | sudo bash sudo pihole setpassword 

Set your router DHCP DNS server to the server IP so every device uses it. Test: nslookup doubleclick.net SERVER_IP should return 0.0.0.0.

Tailscale: reach home from anywhere

curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh sudo tailscale up 

To reach your whole LAN, enable forwarding and advertise the subnet:

echo 'net.ipv4.ip_forward=1' | sudo tee /etc/sysctl.d/99-tailscale.conf sudo sysctl -p /etc/sysctl.d/99-tailscale.conf sudo tailscale up --advertise-routes=192.168.1.0/24 

Approve the route in the Tailscale admin console and disable key expiry for the server.

Jellyfin

curl -s https://repo.jellyfin.org/install-debuntu.sh | sudo bash 

Open http://SERVER_IP:8096. Prefer direct play (H.264/HEVC in MP4/MKV); enable VAAPI/QSV if your CPU transcodes slowly.

The full runbook

The Home Server Starter Runbook PDF adds the Ubuntu install and hardening (SSH keys, ufw, automatic updates), fixed IP setup, restic backups, weekly health checks, checklists and an 8-row troubleshooting table: https://spectre5.gumroad.com/l/sovcom ($7).

More guides: https://patreon.com/123black