I use Authentik - works well - but I’m prepping to switch to Authelia for the config-based setup.
I updated Authentik across 2 versions (they did 2 month-long supported tags, missed one; now they do 3 month-long supported tags) and it destroyed itself. Had to recover the DB from a backup (and then step through the version I tried to skip), and while I was doing that I was like “wait why does this have only a DB? Should just be a config file cause that’s all the depth I do with it” and lo that’s what Authelia is.
Authentik is audited and Authelia has not been. Initially while I chose Authentik. But config-file robustness in the face of Authentik’s GUI-setup DB imploding swayed me not to care, it’d take so long and be so tedious to redo all my proxies and auths through the GUI. Plus I always forget what to click in the GUI when I come back to add some new program in 4 months.
Choose Debian. Real secret reason? Debian means you have to upgrade to new versions less. Ubuntu LTS lasts as long as Debian (5 years) but they crank out a new LTS every 2 years. If you have 3rd party sources, I’ve run into they only support the two latest LTSes - well you have one year left on your 5 year support… but do you really? And now you can put on your sad face because you get to do two LTS upgrades. All while Debian was over there on one version and everyone will target that one version and its previous version no problem.
Debian just makes better sense for a server.
(And Ubuntu is stupid with its “ooh extra patches just register your machine with our central authority” ok bud my Debian machine just says I have mail for some reason every time I boot it up, it doesn’t make it weird and gimmicky and based on a “free” deal that could change whenever they want to jerk you around)