this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2026
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Homelab Documentation (lemmy.zip)
submitted 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) by hellmo_luciferrari@lemmy.zip to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world
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Greetings Lemmings,

I realize that self-hosting for many is just a hobby. Something they do for fun. And the topic of today is usually a "not-so-fun" part of the IT industry.

Jump Scare Warning

Documentation

I have for so long just let my lab grow organically. And months down the road an issue pops up with a service, and I have no idea how I set something up, and may not have documented it. Whether that be comments inside of configuration files, or via other means.

I have gotten marginally better at documenting within the config files or code that I am writing. However, I don't want just that as an option. So I spun myself up a Bookstack container.

I am slowly going through and creating what would amount to a full blown wiki for my setup. Doubly I can use this as part of my resume.

So I ask of you; what ways do you prefer to document? How do you keep yourself honest, and actually stick to it.

Edit: I created bash scripts that are run by a systemd service and timer. At least for my docker box.

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[–] valar@lemmy.ca 2 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

I used to have a set of notes (in a text file) with commands and links to install everything I was running. But it wasn't bulletproof. After updating my hardware and having to redo everything from those notes, which took a whole weekend, I decided to look for a better way.

Now everything in my homelab is deployed with Ansible. So I don't have documentation per se, but its kind of self-documented. If my server was fully wiped tomorrow I could reinstall everything in minutes with one command.