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This is The Homelab Wiki blog. Check it out for updates on new open source apps and other homelab related news!

Open Source

Open Source

Yet Another System Monitor Making Waves - Slashboard-pulsar

Monitoring your systems and servers is nothing new. With so many ways to accomplish this it surprises me to see more software being developed for this purpose.

Yesterday the developer Philippe Négrel-Jerzy announced his new project Shalshboard-pulsar. The description on the Github page simply states the following.

A simple dashboard to keep track of all your active devices/servers

ServerList.png

When asked what the technology is behind the project, Philippe responded:

Basically, the home server runs a node js app, with a bunch of API routes (which I need to clean up btw because they are pretty messy) that allow anyone who knows the ip, port and key to retrieve hardware data, and the client (an electron react app) simply fetches the data from the server every second (you should be able to choose the refresh rate in a future update). Then, this data is processed and shown in a graph, using a couple of handy react libs such as visx.

The software is comprised of 2 major components. The nodejs server which runs on the host machine and the desktop app which collects and displays all of the metrics.

Efforts are already being made to create a docker image for the nodejs server side of the project.

It seems like a decent start to a replacement or alternative to other software such as the well known TIG stack (Telegraf, InfluxDB and Grafana), Pulseway, Cockpit, Zabbix and Netdata just to name a few.

You can read more about the Slashboard-desktop client and Slahboard-pulsar server client here on the Github repositories.

More ways to monitor your linux system can be found on our wiki!

Open Source

5 Open Source and Self Hosted Resources for Homelabers in 2021

Homelabs are becoming much more prominent these days as technology evolves. Docker, for example has revolutionized the way web applications are deployed. You can host any dockerized web application and have zero knowledge about the coding language used to create the application. All of this is possible because of the way Docker containerizes the application into a self contained environment that is much easier to manage.

With that being said, many more curious minds are being beamed into the self hosing world using their own hardware. The amazing thing is, you can run your own homelab on something as small as a Raspberry Pi. Docker containers use very little resources enabling you to run multiple applications on one Raspberry Pi if you really wanted to.

If you are on the fence and want to learn more about starting your own homelab to self host your own applications, I have created a list here of 5 resources where you can find open source applications that will allow you to get your homelab up and running at only the cost of the hardware to host it on.

TechWorld with Nana

Nana makes VERY detailed videos on Youtube about Docker and other devops projects. If you want to learn how docker works in depth and detail, this is the channel I recommend the most. Check out her channel TechWorld with Nana.

Awesome Selfhosted

Awesome Selfhosted is a Github repository where you can find a list of Free Software, network services and web applications which can be hosted on your own server. They also have a very active subreddit.

Homelab Subreddit

The Homelab subreddit is a place where techies and sysadmins from everywhere around the world are welcome to share their labs, projects, builds, etc. It's also a great place to learn about hardware, infrastructure and more advanced homelab setups.

Linxserver.io

Linuxserver.io is a group of like-minded enthusiasts from across the world who build and maintain the largest collection of Docker images on the web, and at their core are the principles behind Free and Open Source Software. Their primary goal is to provide easy-to-use and streamlined Docker images with clear and concise documentation.

GeekedTV Youtube

I'd be remiss not to mention my own Youtube channel where I discuss the basics of self hosting and explore new applications while showing how I manage and install them. This wiki is a big part of my goal to help people who are getting into homelabing and self hosting.

There's so many more blogs and Youtube channels out there. You can check out my growing list of blogs here for more inspiration and guides for homelab and self hosting related content.

Open Source

Meemo - The Microblog Note Taking App you never knew you Wanted

When it comes to self hosted note taking apps, there are no shortage of options available. However, Meemo takes on the note taking app from a new angle that gives you a twitter like micro blogging experience while maintaining a plain text and or markdown editor.

You can write posts just as easy as adding text and pressing the checkmark. No other buttons to press. It makes adding notes super easy and hassle free. There is a built in markdown cheat sheet too. Adding photos and gifs is just as easy! Find your notes by searching for terms or categorize them using hashtags.

(Video is best viewed on laptops or desktops)

You can add users in the terminal by running a simple script. This gives the user their own space that is NOT tied to any other users. So the content within their space is only that of their own. However, you can make your content public by pressing the eye icon or sharing a specific post which makes that post public. Any posts made public will be shown on your "Public" feed. All new posts are set to private by default.

Meemo is basic and simple. That's what makes it easy to use and why I enjoy it so much. There very few features within the menu and the the most important being the export and import feature. You can export all your posts from one instance to another. It makes moving hosts that much easier.

The settings are basic too. They allow you to change the title of the app, add a background image and make a few other small changes.

Installing Meemo is simple. It uses a docker compose stack that contains a mongodb database connected to the application. You can learn more about installing the Meemo note taking application via docker compose here.

 

Open Source

Tube Archivist - A Youtube-DL Alternative on Steroids

You may be searching for an alternative to the ever popular Youtube-DL which has been under heavy scrutiny for a while now. At times, when using the software, speeds seem to be throttled and or it stops working completely. There hasn't been any developer updates to the project since December 12 of 2021 and we assume there won't be.

Not to fright! A new dog is in town and we have to say, the application is working flawlessly. Tube Archivist is the next of kin when it comes to archiving your personal Youtube video collection. In our opinion, Tube Archivist is the go to alternative and inspired by the best of the best. Without Youtube-DL, and Youtube-DLP, Tube Archivist would not even exist.

tube-archivist-screenshot-home.png

Here are some of the features in the self hosted Tube Archivist application:

Once your YouTube video collection grows, it becomes hard to search and find a specific video. That's where Tube Archivist comes in: By indexing your video collection with metadata from YouTube, you can organize, search and enjoy your archived YouTube videos without hassle offline through a convenient web interface.

Tube Archivist has also worked hard to keep the dislikes that Youtube has decided to remove from their platform.

tube-archivist-screenshot-single-channel.png

Tube Archivist can be installed in seconds via Docker with a simple compose stack file. Get an instance up and running and start archiving your Youtube videos for safe keeping.

Learn more on their website or join their Discord server.

News

News

Exploring the World of Homelab: Your Personal Mini Computer Playground

Ah, a homelab! That's a fancy way of saying your own personal mini computer center in your house. It's kind of like having your own playground for testing and experimenting with different digital things.

Imagine if you were playing with a set of LEGOs, but instead of just making a cool-looking building, you could create your own virtual world! That's kind of like what a homelab is. 

First off, let me explain what a homelab is. Basically, it's a setup of computer hardware and software in your own house or apartment. You can use it to experiment with different kinds of software, try out things you learn from tutorials, or just geek out in general. 

A homelab can be made up of a variety of different devices, such as your regular laptop or desktop computer, servers, virtual machines, or even Raspberry Pi's. There's no right or wrong way to set up a homelab, just whatever works best for you and what you're trying to accomplish. 

pi-4-1.jpg

Why might you want to have a homelab, you ask? Well, there are a variety of reasons! Maybe you're someone who likes to experiment with different software and tools, and a homelab is a great way to do that without bothering anyone else. Or maybe you're interested in cybersecurity and want your own space to learn how to penetrate firewalls, create security tools, or test different cybersecurity strategies. 

Some people like to set up a homelab for gaming purposes, running their own gaming servers, hosting Minecraft or other multiplayer games, or just learning more about how to program games. Others may want to use their homelab as a virtual office, to work from home or manage their own websites or apps.

In the end, a homelab is a great way to learn more about computer hardware and software while having fun at the same time. It's your own personal space to tinker with and explore different digital things, and who knows - you might even find something new you're passionate about! So grab some equipment, get started, and have fun exploring what you can create in your very own homelab.

We highly recommend checking out Noted for more awesome articles related to homelab and self-hosting!