submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month 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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[-] Cyber@feddit.uk 1 points 1 month ago

I'm kinda overlapping with a few other comments here, but perhaps adding a little...

As others have said, getting something down is the main point, so I keep everything in Logseq markdown files. The instantaneous ability to create links between topics means that I can write a note about installing [[X]] and then realise I should mention I had to update the [[DHCP]] and [[DNS]] entries... job done.

I try to automate things in Ansible and put rough notes and URLs I was following in the ansible file. I recently setup an old Ras Pi 1 B+ as a NUT server and the instructions on 1 site didn't work correctly, so I just threw links into the comments and mentioned it in Logseq... next year I'll visit it all again and maybe improve the notes.

I also have a DEATH.txt file which my partner knows where to look... that gives them a high-level overview of what's going on, where the keepass and logseq files are, etc. Maybe they'll understand, but our friends will be able to help... just in case...

this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2026

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