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Homelab Journal

Homelab Journal #20: Documentation, because future me is unreliable

03 Jun 2026

Week twenty of the SmallGrid homelab: writing down server paths, service ports, backup steps, and the things I keep pretending I will remember.

Cartoon homelab desk with Jellyfin working successfully
#journal#homelab#documentation#maintenance

This week’s goal

Write down how the setup actually works.

Not polished documentation. Not a manual. Just enough notes that future me does not have to reverse-engineer my own decisions like a confused detective.

What I actually did

I documented:

  • server IP address
  • service URLs
  • important folders
  • backup locations
  • restore steps
  • update routine
  • storage mount points
  • what not to touch casually

The last category may be the most important.

The notes are plain, boring, and useful. That is the correct order.

What broke, or nearly did

I found several things I had definitely planned to remember.

I had not remembered them.

This was both predictable and, somehow, still disappointing.

What I’m keeping

  • One simple notes file
  • Commands copied exactly
  • Service list with ports
  • Recovery steps written in human language

SmallGrid takeaway

Documentation does not need to be beautiful. It needs to exist before something breaks. Future you is not a reliable storage system.

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