Quick Deploy Guide¶

Get your entire homelab running in under 30 minutes.

Prerequisites¶

Fresh Ubuntu 22.04 server (VM or bare metal)
8GB+ RAM
50GB+ storage
Internet connection
Domain name (optional but recommended)

Method 1: Fully Automated (5 minutes)¶

One command deploys everything:

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SmartMur/homelab/main/scripts/install-homelab.sh | bash

This will: 1. Install Docker 2. Configure firewall 3. Clone repository 4. Deploy core services 5. Set up monitoring

What you get: - Traefik (reverse proxy) - Pi-hole (DNS/ad blocking) - Vaultwarden (password manager) - Portainer (Docker UI) - Watchtower (auto-updates) - Uptime Kuma (monitoring)

Total time: 5-10 minutes

Method 2: Step-by-Step (30 minutes)¶

Step 1: Install Docker (2 minutes)¶

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Log out and back in, then verify:

docker --version

Step 2: Clone Repository (1 minute)¶

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/SmartMur/homelab.git
cd homelab

Step 3: Deploy Core Services (10 minutes)¶

./scripts/deploy-core.sh

When prompted, enter: - Your domain name - Your email - Cloudflare API token (optional)

Step 4: Deploy Applications (15 minutes)¶

Choose what you want:

Media Server:

./scripts/deploy-media.sh

Cloud Storage:

cd ~/homelab/Nextcloud
docker compose up -d

Developer Tools:

cd ~/homelab/Gitea
docker compose up -d

Home Automation:

cd ~/homelab/Home-Assistant
docker compose up -d

Step 5: Verify Everything (2 minutes)¶

docker ps

You should see all your containers running!

Method 3: Manual Service-by-Service¶

Deploy exactly what you want, in order:

1. Traefik (MUST BE FIRST)¶

cd ~/homelab/Traefikv3
cp .env.example .env
nano .env  # Edit DOMAIN, EMAIL, CF_API_TOKEN
docker compose up -d

2. Pi-hole¶

cd ~/homelab/Pihole
docker compose up -d
docker logs pihole | grep "password"  # Save this!

3. Vaultwarden¶

cd ~/homelab/Vaultwarden
docker compose up -d

4. Portainer¶

cd ~/homelab/Portainer
docker compose up -d

5. Any Other Service¶

cd ~/homelab/SERVICE_NAME
docker compose up -d

Quick Commands Reference¶

Check All Running Services¶

docker ps

Check Logs¶

# Specific service
docker logs SERVICE_NAME

# Follow logs (live)
docker logs -f SERVICE_NAME

# Via compose
cd ~/homelab/SERVICE_NAME
docker compose logs -f

Restart Service¶

cd ~/homelab/SERVICE_NAME
docker compose restart

Stop Service¶

cd ~/homelab/SERVICE_NAME
docker compose down

Update Service¶

cd ~/homelab/SERVICE_NAME
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Update All Services¶

cd ~/homelab
for dir in */; do
  if [ -f "$dir/docker-compose.yml" ]; then
    echo "Updating $dir"
    cd "$dir"
    docker compose pull
    docker compose up -d
    cd ..
  fi
done

Resource Usage Quick Reference¶

After deploying, check resource usage:

# CPU and RAM usage
docker stats

# Disk usage
docker system df

# Detailed disk usage
du -sh ~/homelab/*

Typical resource usage:

Core Services (~4GB RAM):
- Traefik:     ~50MB
- Pi-hole:     ~200MB
- Vaultwarden: ~50MB
- Portainer:   ~50MB
- Watchtower:  ~20MB
- Authelia:    ~100MB

Media Services (~4GB RAM):
- Jellyfin:    ~500MB (2GB when streaming)
- Nextcloud:   ~500MB
- Databases:   ~200MB each

Total for 10-15 services: 6-8GB RAM

Troubleshooting Quick Fixes¶

Service Won't Start¶

# Check logs
docker logs SERVICE_NAME

# Check if port is in use
sudo netstat -tulpn | grep PORT

# Restart
docker restart SERVICE_NAME

Can't Access Web UI¶

# Check if running
docker ps | grep SERVICE_NAME

# Check Traefik
docker logs traefik | grep SERVICE_NAME

# Check DNS
nslookup service.yourdomain.com

Out of Disk Space¶

# Clean up Docker
docker system prune -a

# Remove unused volumes
docker volume prune

Container Keeps Restarting¶

# Check logs for errors
docker logs SERVICE_NAME

# Check .env file
cat ~/homelab/SERVICE_NAME/.env

# Check permissions
ls -la ~/homelab/SERVICE_NAME/

Common Deployment Patterns¶

Pattern 1: Minimal (1 VM, 8GB RAM)¶

# Core only
./scripts/deploy-core.sh

Services: Traefik, Pi-hole, Vaultwarden, Portainer

Pattern 2: Media Server (1 VM, 16GB RAM)¶

# Core + Media
./scripts/deploy-core.sh
./scripts/deploy-media.sh

Services: Core + Jellyfin

Pattern 3: Full Stack (1 VM, 32GB RAM)¶

# Everything
./scripts/deploy-core.sh
./scripts/deploy-media.sh
./scripts/deploy-productivity.sh

Services: 20-30 services

Pattern 4: Multi-VM (Proxmox)¶

VM 1 (Core): Traefik, Pi-hole, Authelia
VM 2 (Media): Jellyfin, *arr stack
VM 3 (Apps): Nextcloud, Gitea, etc.

See Proxmox Deployment

Post-Deployment Checklist¶

After deploying services:

[ ] All containers running (docker ps)
[ ] Can access Traefik dashboard
[ ] Pi-hole blocking ads
[ ] Vaultwarden accessible
[ ] Portainer showing containers
[ ] DNS configured
[ ] Firewall configured
[ ] Backups scheduled
[ ] Monitoring set up
[ ] Documentation updated with your IPs/domains

Getting Help¶

If something doesn't work:

Check logs: docker logs SERVICE_NAME
Verify config: cat .env
Test connection: curl -I http://localhost:PORT
Search issues: GitHub Issues
Ask community: r/homelab or r/selfhosted

What's Next?¶

After basic deployment:

Secure it:
Deploy Authelia for 2FA
Configure firewall rules
Set up VPN access
Monitor it:
Deploy Uptime Kuma
Set up Grafana + Prometheus
Configure alerts
Back it up:
Schedule automated backups
Test restore process
Document recovery steps
Share it:
Post your setup on r/homelab
Contribute improvements
Help other beginners

Example: Complete Fresh Server to Running Homelab¶

# Start with fresh Ubuntu 22.04 server
# SSH in

# Install Docker
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

# Log out and back in
exit
ssh user@server

# Deploy everything
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SmartMur/homelab/main/scripts/install-homelab.sh | bash

# Enter your domain and email when prompted

# Wait 10 minutes

# Done! Access services at:
# - https://traefik.yourdomain.com
# - https://vault.yourdomain.com
# - https://portainer.yourdomain.com

Total time: 15 minutes

That's it! You now have a production-ready homelab.