Comprehensive progress update across all homelab servers and management workstations.
- Lower the Bar: Simple commands that work (
cd /homelab && ./server_maintenance.sh)
- Visual Everything: Clear status indicators, emoji markers in documentation
- Flexible Structure: Multiple valid approaches, fallback IPs, resilient systems
- Simplicity Over Features: If family can't use it, it's too complex
- Reliability Over Intelligence: Working basics beat broken advanced features
- Meet People Where They Are: Use existing tools and patterns
- Local-First: Everything runs on home network, internet optional
- Gradual Enhancement: Read-only first, then careful additions
- Explicit Over Magical: Show what's happening, no surprises
- ✅ Implemented git-Ansible coordination system across all servers
- ✅ Established workstation sync between MacBook Air and lucille5
- ✅ Created ADHD-friendly automation workflows with simple commands
- ✅ Deployed next-steps.md tracking on all servers and workstations
- ✅ Migrated Caddy configuration from Caddyfile to Docker labels
- ✅ Set up MetaMCP infrastructure with SSE proxy approach
- ✅ Successfully tested Homebox API authentication and integration
- Status: All services running normally (CPU 25%, Memory 70%, Disk 65%)
- Last Backup: 2025-06-22 02:00:00
- ✅ Added Glance dashboard for quick system overview
- ✅ Updated Grafana to latest version
- ✅ Configured new alert rules for disk usage
- Status: All services healthy, dashboards loading correctly
- Storage: InfluxDB 45%, System 35%
- Active Dashboards: Infrastructure, Applications, Media, Network, Security
- ✅ Updated Frigate configuration for new camera
- ✅ Cleaned up old download archives
- ✅ Verified NFS share connectivity
- Status: All services running normally
- Storage: ⚠️ Media 75% (expansion needed in 3 months), System 45%
- Camera Status: All cameras online and recording
- ✅ Installed OctoPrint monitoring plugins
- ✅ Calibrated printer bed leveling
- ✅ Updated Docker containers
- Status: Printer connected and ready
- Print Success Rate: 95% (last 30 days)
- Resource Usage: CPU 15%, Memory 40%, Disk 35%
- ✅ GitHub CLI authentication configured
- ✅ SSH authentication setup completed
- ✅ Workstation sync deployed (Ansible, 1Password CLI, Homebrew)
- ✅ 1Password SSH agent integration working for 3/4 servers
- Status: Fully operational as development environment
- SSH Status: Working for lucille3, nas02, loose-seal; lucille4 has key format error
- ✅ Set up workstation coordination system
- ✅ Deployed workstation sync to lucille5
- ✅ Created comprehensive automation scripts
- ✅ Updated inventory with management workstation info
- Recent: Successfully coordinated infrastructure updates across all servers
-
lucille4 SSH Key Format Error
-
MetaMCP Setup Completion
-
Storage Expansion Planning
-
1Password export shows "invalid format"
-
Affects development workstation access
-
Need to regenerate key or fix format issue
-
Deploy MCP servers with SSE proxy
-
Configure each server through MetaMCP UI
-
Test with Claude Desktop integration
-
nas02 media storage at 75% capacity
-
Plan expansion within 3 months
-
Consider RAID configuration updates
-
Home Assistant Integration
-
Work Mac Studio
-
Shared Laptop
-
✅ Discovered at homeassistant.local
-
Need Tailscale IP for inventory
-
Create automation playbooks
-
Suggested static IP: 192.168.99.25
-
Add to management_workstations group
-
Configure SSH key access
-
Set up as secondary management
-
Suggested static IP: 192.168.99.26
-
Create shared_devices group
-
Configure multi-user access
-
Set up limited capabilities
-
Suggested static IP: 192.168.99.27
| Server |
Status |
CPU |
Memory |
Disk |
Last Backup |
Notes |
| lucille4 |
✅ Healthy |
25% |
70% |
65% |
2025-06-22 02:00 |
Primary apps, Authentik SSO |
| loose-seal |
✅ Healthy |
- |
- |
35% |
2025-06-22 01:30 |
Monitoring hub |
| nas02 |
⚠️ Storage |
- |
- |
75% |
2025-06-22 01:00 |
Media storage needs expansion |
| lucille3 |
✅ Healthy |
15% |
40% |
35% |
2025-06-22 01:45 |
3D printing operational |
| lucille5 |
✅ Healthy |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Development workstation ready |
Before starting any task, ask:
- Does this help the family today? (not someday)
- Can it fail gracefully? (not catastrophically)
- Will it still work in 5 years? (not just next month)
- Can I explain it to Kandace? (not just to engineers)
- Does it respect our time? (not create more work)
-
Fix lucille4 SSH key format issue
-
Complete MetaMCP deployment
-
Add Home Assistant to inventory
-
✅ Helps today: Blocks development work
-
✅ Graceful failure: Fallback to password auth
-
✅ Long-term: Standard SSH keys are stable
-
✅ Helps today: Enables AI assistance
-
✅ Graceful failure: Services work without it
-
✅ Family benefit: Powers future automations
-
✅ Helps today: Already discovered and running
-
✅ Simple addition: Just needs IP configuration
-
✅ Family benefit: Smart home control
-
Add Work Mac Studio to infrastructure
-
Create Home Assistant automation playbooks
-
Plan nas02 storage expansion
-
⚠️ Evaluate: Does this add complexity without immediate benefit?
-
Consider: Defer until primary/secondary management proven stable
-
✅ Start read-only: Just monitoring first
-
✅ Progressive enhancement: Add control after stable
-
✅ Critical: 75% full is action threshold
-
✅ Family impact: Media availability
-
Integrate shared laptop with access controls
-
Implement storage expansion for nas02
-
❓ Re-evaluate: Does family need this complexity?
-
Alternative: Simple SSH access might suffice
-
✅ Execute planned expansion
-
✅ Test before family notices issues
Will NOT do until current phases complete:
- No new service integrations
- No "just one more feature" additions
- No architectural changes
- No tool replacements
workspace-helper.sh - Multi-repository managementansible-with-1password.sh - Vault-aware Ansiblessh-with-1password.sh - 1Password SSH integrationsetup-homelab-ssh-key.sh - SSH key deployment
¶ Server Maintenance
server_maintenance.sh - Tag-based maintenance automationconnectivity-failover.sh - Network resilience testingdevelopment-workflow.sh - Safe testing workflows
- Long-running task management with tmux
- Scheduled automation capabilities
- Safe testing environment for changes
- Primary Management: Matthews MacBook Air - full control
- Development Testing: lucille5 - safe testing environment
- Server Dependencies: All servers use Authentik SSO from lucille4
- Monitoring Flow: All servers → loose-seal → centralized dashboards
- Backup Strategy: Multi-cloud (Backblaze B2 + Hetzner)
- Family Usage: Are services actually being used by Kandace and Violet?
- Reliability: Days without "the server is down" conversations
- Time Saved: Reduction in manual maintenance tasks
- "It Just Works": Number of times family uses services without help
- Number of services deployed
- Technical sophistication
- Lines of code/configuration
- Feature count
- ✅ Media Services: Family uses daily without issues
- ✅ Authentication: SSO "just works" for family
- ⚠️ Documentation: Family doesn't know where to find help
- ❌ Smart Home: Not yet accessible to family
- Immediate Action: Fix lucille4 SSH access from development workstation
- Deploy: MetaMCP and MCP servers on lucille4
- Integrate: Home Assistant into Ansible automation
- Plan: Storage expansion for media server
- Document: Update wiki with current infrastructure state
This status update reflects the current state of the homelab infrastructure as of June 23, 2025. The coordination system ensures all changes are tracked and synchronized across the distributed environment, following principles learned from the AKS project.