This is not a "how to set up a proxy" tutorial.

I run a small self-hosted stack: a Linux client, a proxy client, a VPS, a Dockerized control panel, Xray-style routing, and Ansible automation. This is a log of real problems I hit along the way — not polished after the fact, just written down as I went.

The value isn't in any specific tool or final config. It's in the failures:

an app ignored system proxy settings;

a video service felt broken because of transport behavior;