Homelab Setup

Overview

Setting up a personal homelab using a ThinkPad laptop running Arch Linux to move away from cloud providers like Google.

Goals

• Linux installation (Arch Linux on ThinkPad)
• SSH remote access (hostname: homelab)
• Dotfiles and development environment setup
• Network domain setup with SSL certificates
• Self-hosted file server with WebDAV (copyparty)
• Self-hosted git repository (Gitea)
• Self-hosted media server (Jellyfin)
• AI voice assistant (local TTS with Piper)
• Reverse proxy with nginx for multiple services
• Gradual migration from commercial cloud services

Hardware

• Main Server: ThinkPad laptop
• Development: Windows PC with WSL (for AI experimentation)
• Android tablet: Not good for long-term work but can be useful for short SSH sessions
  • Runs Manjaro in a VM, same OS like the laptop

Inspiration & Resources

• PewDiePie homelab setup video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_Lxkt50xOg
  • Need to collect tips and inspiration from this video

Current Status

• ✅ Arch Linux installed on ThinkPad
• ✅ SSH access configured (accessible as homelab)
• ✅ Dotfiles management with yadm configured and merged
• ✅ Development environment setup completed
• ✅ Network domain setup (DuckDNS + Nginx reverse proxy + SSL)
• ✅ Gitea Git server running (Docker container)
• ✅ Copyparty file server with working WebDAV support
• ✅ Jellyfin media server (Docker container)
• ✅ AI voice assistant with local TTS (Piper + FastAPI)
• ✅ All services accessible via HTTPS with proper SSL certificates
• Next: Additional self-hosted services, backup solutions

Documentation Structure

Quick Start Guide

1. System Setup: Follow docs/system-setup.md for Arch installation and configuration
2. Network Security: Configure SSH, DNS, and VPN using docs/network-security.md
3. Services: Plan and deploy applications from docs/services.md
4. Voice Assistant: Set up AI voice capabilities with docs/voice-assistant.md
5. Tasks: Track progress in TODO.md
6. Issues: Find solutions in docs/troubleshooting/

Repository Structure

homelab/
├── README.md                    # This overview
├── TODO.md                     # Task tracking
├── docs/                       # Detailed documentation
│   ├── system-setup.md         # Arch Linux installation & config
│   ├── network-security.md     # SSH, DNS, VPN, firewall
│   ├── services.md             # Self-hosted services
│   ├── voice-assistant.md      # AI voice setup with Piper TTS
│   └── troubleshooting/         # Solutions & troubleshooting guides
├── config/                     # Configurations & scripts
│   ├── docker/gitea/           # Gitea container setup
│   ├── docker/jellyfin/        # Jellyfin media server setup
│   ├── docker/nextcloud/       # Nextcloud config (tested but disabled)
│   ├── copyparty/              # Copyparty file server configuration
│   ├── nginx/                  # Reverse proxy configs
│   ├── www/                    # Landing page HTML
│   └── scripts/                # Utility scripts
├── voice-server/               # AI voice assistant server
│   ├── src/voice_server/       # FastAPI application
│   ├── pyproject.toml          # Poetry dependencies
│   └── README.md               # Voice server documentation
└── scripts/                    # Convenience scripts
    ├── enable-voice.sh         # Start voice assistant
    └── disable-voice.sh        # Stop voice assistant

Documentation Files

• docs/system-setup.md - Complete Arch Linux installation, TTY config, desktop setup
• docs/network-security.md - SSH hardening, DuckDNS, WireGuard VPN, firewall setup
• docs/services.md - Self-hosted services: Git hosting, cloud storage, media server
• docs/voice-assistant.md - AI voice assistant setup with Piper TTS and FastAPI
• TODO.md - Centralized task list with progress tracking by category
• docs/troubleshooting/ - Hardware issues, software problems, and solutions
  • docs/troubleshooting/webdav-copyparty.md - WebDAV troubleshooting guide

Current Configuration

• System: Arch Linux with XFCE desktop, ter-124b TTY font, Colemak layout
• Network: Static IP (192.168.0.100), SSH port 2222, DuckDNS (ak-homelab.duckdns.org)
• Services: Nginx reverse proxy, Gitea Git server, Copyparty file server with WebDAV, Jellyfin media server, AI voice assistant
• Security: SSH hardened, SSL certificates active, WebDAV authentication enabled
• Development: yadm dotfiles, tmux with temperature monitoring, zsh with proper history