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Update: I turned my old Motorola E5 Play into an actual WordPress server
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tradicije lemmy.zip tradicije@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2026-09-09
(edited) Quote

We did it boys! Battery is no more: https://lemmy.zip/post/72181546

This post is a follow-up to my original post: https://lemmy.zip/post/71885626

Surprisingly, it wasn’t that tough to set up.

My original plan was to install postmarketOS and turn the phone into a proper tiny Linux server. Unfortunately, my Moto E5 Play is the pettyl variant, while the available postmarketOS port is for james. I decided that turning the phone into a brick probably wasn’t an essential part of the project.

So I went with Termux instead.

It’s now running nginx, PHP, MariaDB, WordPress, SSH and cloudflared directly on the phone. Everything starts automatically on boot, and I even made a tiny WordPress plugin for anonymous Today / Total / Online visitor stats.

And yes, the website is being served by the exact phone in the photo.

1 GB of RAM. Somehow this thing is now a production server.

I named it Pettyl, after the device codename.

You can actually visit it at https://moto.dimitrium.org/.

The website is barebones, I plan to push it to the limits. Also, this project will soon be available on my GitHub page https://github.com/tradicije

Next problem: figuring out how long an old Motorola can tolerate my bullshit.

341   Original
James R Kirk startrek.website Kirk@startrek.website
Joined: 2025-03-01
#2 · Quote Reply

This is awesome I appreciate you sharing all the details with us

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Daniel Quinn lemmy.ca danielquinn@lemmy.ca
Joined: 2023-06-07
#3 · Quote Reply

Back in the days when WordPress started out, 1GB of RAM was a lot! You'd be surprised what you can do when you're just running a server.

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tradicije lemmy.zip tradicije@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2026-09-09
#4 · Quote Reply

This is awesome I appreciate you sharing all the details with us

Yeah, it’s a fun experience, I’ll update you again soon!

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Valmond lemmy.dbzer0.com Valmond@lemmy.dbzer0.com
Joined: 2025-11-13
#5 · Quote Reply

Well done!

How did you connect it to the internet?

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tradicije lemmy.zip tradicije@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2026-09-09
#6 · (edited) Quote Reply

Well done! How did you connect it to the internet?

Cloudflare Tunnel. cloudflared is running directly on the phone, so I didn’t need to open any ports on my router.

Also, if you meant how I connected the phone to the internet, not the website — just Wi-Fi. :)

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Telorand reddthat.com Telorand@reddthat.com
Joined: 2023-07-09
#7 · Quote Reply

Cloudflare Tunnel. cloudflared is running directly on the phone, so I didn’t need to open any ports on my router. Also, if you meant how I connected the phone to the internet, not the website — just Wi-Fi. :)

Boo Cloudflare, but I still love the idea. Given that I'm not planning to turn in this current phone for a few dollars of "credit" when I need to replace it, this seems like a cool weekend project!

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autriyo feddit.org autriyo@feddit.org
Joined: 2024-06-26
#8 · Quote Reply

That's super cool :)

I'd love a visitors book on the website, where one could leave a little message.

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bufalo1973 piefed.social bufalo1973@piefed.social
Joined: 2025-09-01
#9 · Quote Reply

Back in the days when WordPress started out, 1GB of RAM was a lot! You'd be surprised what you can do when you're just running a server.

Back in the days, 1GB was the hard drive of a newspaper.

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non_burglar lemmy.world non_burglar@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-16
#10 · Quote Reply

I'll say again, I love this.

I think you should keep posting these, I'd like to see more guerrilla servers.

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ferret sh.itjust.works aBundleOfFerrets@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2023-07-18
#11 · Quote Reply

Boo Cloudflare, but I still love the idea. Given that I'm not planning to turn in this current phone for a few dollars of "credit" when I need to replace it, this seems like a cool weekend project!

Can always use your own tunnel, like wireguard or even just SSH. You are then responsible for where the tunnel terminates, of course.

4
tradicije lemmy.zip tradicije@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2026-09-09
#12 · Quote Reply

That's super cool :) I'd love a visitors book on the website, where one could leave a little message.

That’s a great shout, I’ll make this as soon as I have some free time, I would love for all of us to leave something on that poor little server ;)

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tradicije lemmy.zip tradicije@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2026-09-09
#13 · Quote Reply

I'll say again, I love this. I think you should keep posting these, I'd like to see more guerrilla servers.

Thanks very much! Expect more updates very soon!

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Magnum, P.I. infosec.pub Magnum@infosec.pub
Joined: 2025-12-31
#14 · Quote Reply

How do you keep it powered?

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tradicije lemmy.zip tradicije@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2026-09-09
#15 · Quote Reply

How do you keep it powered?

For now, it's just sitting on a charger, until I find a solution on how to bypass the battery. The great thing about the Motorola E5 Play is that it has removable battery, so I just need to figure out how to turn it on without the battery inside.

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Magnum, P.I. infosec.pub Magnum@infosec.pub
Joined: 2025-12-31
#16 · Quote Reply

For now, it's just sitting on a charger, until I find a solution on how to bypass the battery. The great thing about the Motorola E5 Play is that it has removable battery, so I just need to figure out how to turn it on without the battery inside.

That's a fire hazard, its not meant to be plugged in 24/7

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tradicije lemmy.zip tradicije@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2026-09-09
#17 · Quote Reply

That's a fire hazard, its not meant to be plugged in 24/7

I know, as I said I'm working on it, but thank you for your concern.

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tradicije lemmy.zip tradicije@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2026-09-09
#18 · (edited) Quote Reply

update: Now you can leave your thoughts on the website, as @autriyo@feddit.org suggested, and I loved the idea so much I had to implement it immediately.

Note: No personal information is required. Visitor statistics use an anonymous browser identifier, and the guestbook only stores what you choose to submit.

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NarrativeBear lemmy.world NarrativeBear@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-06-20
#19 · Quote Reply

What brand of keyboard is that in the background, looks comfortable. Also interesting project.

4
a_non_monotonic_function lemmy.world a_non_monotonic_function@lemmy.world
Joined: 2025-10-22
#20 · Quote Reply

Back in the days when WordPress started out, 1GB of RAM was a lot! You'd be surprised what you can do when you're just running a server.

I had to look it up. I didn't realize they have been around for that long.

4
tradicije lemmy.zip tradicije@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2026-09-09
#21 · Quote Reply

What brand of keyboard is that in the background, looks comfortable. Also interesting project.

Thanks for the feedback, and here you go good sir/ma’am https://www.keychron.com/products/keychron-k5-max-qmk-via-wireless-custom-mechanical-keyboard?srsltid=AU7gw4XsUXbieW4cd0-lIERBSAdRfM_pJW1shhPZcZvnqphCN8O7JPSf

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foggy lemmy.world foggy@lemmy.world
Joined: 2023-07-02
#22 · Quote Reply

Thanks for the feedback, and here you go good sir/ma’am https://www.keychron.com/products/keychron-k5-max-qmk-via-wireless-custom-mechanical-keyboard?srsltid=AU7gw4XsUXbieW4cd0-lIERBSAdRfM_pJW1shhPZcZvnqphCN8O7JPSf

I was gonna say it looks like a keychron. I have like 5 in my house. Their mice are great too. Big fan. Waiting for the other shoe to drop.

2
jaybone lemmy.zip jaybone@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2025-02-08
#23 · Quote Reply

Can always use your own tunnel, like wireguard or even just SSH. You are then responsible for where the tunnel terminates, of course.

Does Tailscale offer public IPs on your “tailnet” or whatever it’s called?

2
heartSagan5 lemmy.zip heartSagan5@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2026-05-27
#24 · Quote Reply

Dude, that NAND is going to get chewed up by the database? Platter still do good with a long time of writes.

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ferret sh.itjust.works aBundleOfFerrets@sh.itjust.works
Joined: 2023-07-18
#25 · Quote Reply

Does Tailscale offer public IPs on your “tailnet” or whatever it’s called?

I haven’t used tailscale in a while, but afaik no, it’s strictly p2p besides their NAT punching hardware and (heavily throttled) backup relay servers.

2
frongt lemmy.zip frongt@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2025-07-31
#26 · Quote Reply

You should put a webcam showing the server log scrolling on the phone screen. Sanitized of any sensitive info, of course.

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hexagonwin lemmy.today hexagonwin@lemmy.today
Joined: 2026-02-07
#27 · Quote Reply

install ACCA to restrict battery charging current and capacity for safety

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arisunz lemmy.blahaj.zone arisunz@lemmy.blahaj.zone
Joined: 2023-06-13
#28 · Quote Reply

put ddclient on that baby, have it update your dns records and you'll have a portable server. absolutely cursed. you're welcome.

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arisunz lemmy.blahaj.zone arisunz@lemmy.blahaj.zone
Joined: 2023-06-13
#29 · Quote Reply

put ddclient on that baby, have it update your dns records and you'll have a portable server. absolutely cursed. you're welcome.

semi-offtopic, i wrote a custom client since ddclient doesn't work for non-eu ovhcloud accounts, hmu if you need it and i'll polish it a bit and publish it. homelab has been working great with it so far.

3
autriyo feddit.org autriyo@feddit.org
Joined: 2024-06-26
#30 · Quote Reply

update: Now you can leave your thoughts on the website, as @autriyo@feddit.org suggested, and I loved the idea so much I had to implement it immediately. Note: No personal information is required. Visitor statistics use an anonymous browser identifier, and the guestbook only stores what you choose to submit.

Yay! This is a cool thing to wake up to :)

4
Valmond lemmy.dbzer0.com Valmond@lemmy.dbzer0.com
Joined: 2025-11-13
#31 · Quote Reply

Cloudflare Tunnel. cloudflared is running directly on the phone, so I didn’t need to open any ports on my router. Also, if you meant how I connected the phone to the internet, not the website — just Wi-Fi. :)

Thanks! So do you get a public IP or similar?

Ha ha no I'm only curious about how you went "public" 😁

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luciferofastora feddit.org luciferofastora@feddit.org
Joined: 2025-02-07
#32 · Quote Reply

I have one accessibility quibble:

WCAG 2.2.2 recommends that any moving content, such as your carousel of reviews, have some mechanism to pause it. More information can be found in the accompanying Understanding WCAG document.

I didn't do any full accessibility test on your page. I don't know if you care about WCAG compliance anyway, and frankly, I wouldn't expect it for a hobby project. It's just one of the details a professor of mine drilled me on so thoroughly that I still remember it eight years later.

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tradicije lemmy.zip tradicije@lemmy.zip
Joined: 2026-09-09
#33 · Quote Reply

I have one accessibility quibble: WCAG 2.2.2 recommends that any moving content, such as your carousel of reviews, have some mechanism to pause it. More information can be found in the accompanying Understanding WCAG document. I didn't do any full accessibility test on your page. I don't know if you care about WCAG compliance anyway, and frankly, I wouldn't expect it for a hobby project. It's j...

As a UI/UX hobby designer I absolutely understand what you are talking about and yes, I should add the ability of the carousel to move with fingers/mouse, just haven’t gotten into it yet

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luciferofastora feddit.org luciferofastora@feddit.org
Joined: 2025-02-07
#34 · Quote Reply

As a UI/UX hobby designer I absolutely understand what you are talking about and yes, I should add the ability of the carousel to move with fingers/mouse, just haven’t gotten into it yet

Then you're probably more knowledgeable on the topic than me. I did a great job of only learning the basic minimum of frontend development in my WebDev classes, never mind UI design or UX testing. If it weren't for a webapp QA gig I did for a while, I would've had no experience with usability at all.

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