Welcome to my homelab project! This repository documents my journey of turning a spare HP laptop into a fully functional server. The goal is not just to host cool services, but to learn essential skills for a software engineering career, including Linux administration, networking, containerization, and automation.
-Device: HP 15 Notebook PC
-CPU: Intel(R) Pentium(R) N3530 (4) @ 2.58 GHz
-GPU: Intel Atom Integrated Graphics
-RAM: 4 GB
-Storage: 256 GB SSD
-Operating System: Ubuntu 26.04 LTS (Server) — fresh start May 2026, previously Debian 13
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Domain: codespicer.win (managed by Cloudflare)
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Containerization: Docker & Docker Compose
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Monitoring: Uptime Kuma
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Fresh Start Roadmap — Ubuntu 26.04 Complete end-to-end guide: base hardening → Cockpit → Samba → Docker → Portainer → Uptime Kuma → Cloudflare Tunnel → Zero Trust. Start here.
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Hosting Apps with Cloudflare Subdomains Deploy your own backend/frontend projects and route them to subdomains like
api.codespicer.win. Covers Docker, Nginx Proxy Manager, CI/CD with GitHub Actions, and Zero Trust protection.
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Initial Server Setup OS install, SSH, user management, security hardening.
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Web Management Dashboard with Cockpit Cockpit web interface for server monitoring and management.
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Setting up Secondary HDD Drive Formatting and permanently mounting a secondary hard drive.
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Setting up a NAS with Samba Network Attached Storage shares on the server.
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Remote Access with Cloudflare Tunnels Secure remote access without port forwarding.
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Cloudflare ZeroTrust Setup and Domain Zero Trust access policies for exposed services.
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Docker & Uptime Kuma setup First containerized service with monitoring.
Core Technologies
- OS: Ubuntu 26.04 LTS (Server)
- Web Dashboard: Cockpit
- Containerization: Docker & Docker Compose
- Container UI: Portainer
- Monitoring: Uptime Kuma
- Remote Access: Cloudflare Tunnel + Zero Trust
- Firewall: UFW
- Version Control: Git & GitHub