Like soup-to-nuts. I know I need to document what I’m doing and I’ve started several times, but then I never go back and make updates. I don’t know if it’s just the ADHD or if I’m just going about it or thinking about it in the wrong way.
So I’m curious about:
- what you use for your documentation
- how you organize it
- what information you include
- how you work documentation into your changes/tinkering flow
Edit: Dang, folks! You all have given me a lot to read through, think about, and explore. Thank you!
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Ansible.
Infrastructure as code is the best documentation.
The moment you think you might possibly need documentation is the moment you should seriously consider using Ansible or similar to orchestra things. Sure, it’s annoying for a single server, but it is the best form of documentation there is.
When I set something up I write all the steps I’m doing in obsidian as I do it. The pages get tagged so they’re searchable in the future.
draw.io in my nextcloud
And leantime to keep track of what I want to do with notes and such
And a mess of notes in Joplin.
I just create a README.md file wherever I setup services with docker compose which keeps top level docs so I know how and why certain things work.
Other than that, if comments are supported inside configuration files, also document stuff in there too.
That’s been good enough for me.
ADHD: functional notes in abbreviated version on fat strips of painter’s tape on server case or shelf. Passwords go on page dedicated to that server or service in a little black notebook, then eventually in a password manager.
Readme file if my brain lets me, usually 3 months later after hyperfocus on troubleshooting.
Honestly, the tape idea is one of the most practical ones in the thread!
I use Guix
Man I’m as basic as it comes. I have a .txt file that I update with today’s date and write what I’m working on. I try to write as much as needed on what I’m working on. I write commands down and save links to reading material.
It’s not the best but it’s better than nothing.
I’m actually in the middle of rebuilding my entire setup right now and one of my major goals is to actually document my processes this time.
I use Obsidian which is a Markdown editor and I have a couple plugins alongside that for QoL stuff and extra features.
I document processes, problems and fixes I encounter, list of active services alongside where/how to access them, and plans for future additions/changes.
As far as working documentation into your flow, realistically that is just a matter of discipline. It is explicitly up to you to stay on top of documentation.
Hope that helps, and good luck with your endeavor! 😁
I second Obsidianmd.
Even before adding community plugins, the search, organization, and the ability to easily link to other documents/screenshots make documentation so easy for me
Mostly just quick notes in Obsidian, if I do anything complex or ‘unusual’ to set something up I’ll save the history that I ran.
I use obsidian, I dont really have a self hosted setup yet but thats what I use to document desktop config and what I will use for my server when I get it running.
That’s the neat part, I don’t.
“I don’t need to, I have it stored all in my head.”
Famous last words.
Documentation is for onboarding other people. Why on earth would I need to onboard other people to something self-hosted?
Sometimes future me has the memory of a goldfish, and I fear that, for future me, the online sources that guided me before won’t be there for me anymore
It’s not like anyone needs to support it when I’m gone.
“I can remember that” is my cue to write it down, because I won’t.
That’s the devil talking Bobby Boucher.
The theory is I use Docmost. The reality is I don’t, and I hope my backups are solid.
I have an obsidian document where I write changes I want to do in the future that I never look at; does that count?
I just found my todo list and half of it is irrelevant and half of it is done.
I even had a work todo list for my old job lol.
Ouh! I have a checklist of things I need to add/update too, that I never check. Maybe we could mutualize! ;)
I just think I do that, but absolutely don’t.
write-only memory.
no read, only write!
Yeah I also use config-as-code along with wiki but I used to remember things 10 years ago when the setup was simpler and the brain was newer. 😅
I read the title and this was literally the first thing that popped in my head
I’m here to serve.
The fun thing about infrastructure as code is that the terraform, ansible and k8s manifests are documentation.
I only really need to document some bootstrap things in case of emergency and maybe some “architectural” things. I use joplin for that (and many other things).
That’s the direction I’m moving my lab in. Plus a bit of supplemental markdown to keep track of which guides I’m referencing (and which parts can be ignored because I baked it into the terrafom). It’s really nice to know that as long as I tweak the terraform for changes, I don’t have to worry about forgetting what I changed.
Without really knowing much about it, I just always figured it was overkill for me. Plus I don’t know that I’d even consider myself much more of a beginner with Docker. But you all are making me consider looking into it.
I get that - it’s difficult to see the point in it until you’ve gone along without it. Especially as a beginner since you don’t have a strong sense of what problems you will encounter and how these tools solve those problems.
At some point the learning curve for IaaC becomes worth the investment. I actually pushed off learning k8s myself for some time because it was “too complicated” and docker-compose worked just fine for me. And now that I’ve spent time learning it I converted over very quickly and wouldn’t go back… It’s much easier to maintain, monitor and setup new services now.
Depending on your environment something like Ansible might be a good place to start. You can begin even with just a simple playbook that does an “apt update && apt upgrade” on all your systems. And then start using it to push out standard configurations, install software, create users, etc. The benefit pays off in time. For example - recently (yesterday) I was able to install Apache Alloy on a half-dozen systems trivially because I have a set of Ansible scripts that manage my systems. Literally took 10 mins. All servers have the app installed, running, and using the same configuration. And I can modify that configuration across all those systems just as easily. It’s very powerful and reduces “drift” where some systems are configured incorrectly and over time you forget “which one the correct one?” For me the “correct one” is the one in source control.
Yep. It feels good knowing I can take a few hundred KB of text files and rebuild my whole system.
This is the way
