FTL could not write gravity.db, reporting "attempt to write a readonly database". The database file was writable; the directory was not. sqlite creates a sibling gravity.db-journal for every write transaction, so FTL needs to CREATE files in /var/lib/pihole, and the tmpfiles rule left it root-owned. The error names the database rather than the directory, which sends you looking at the file and the filesystem, neither of which is at fault. Own the directory as 1000 instead -- the pihole user FTL drops to after the entrypoint's root phase. Podman is rootful here with no userns remapping, so the number is the same inside and out; on the host it collides with darman, harmlessly. The blocklists are now declared in this module and seeded by a oneshot, because /var/lib/pihole is not declarative and a reflash took gravity with it. INSERT OR IGNORE keyed on the URL is idempotent so it can run on every boot, while the expensive rebuild only runs when gravity is empty. Adding a list to the Nix attribute needs a manual `pihole -g` -- that is deliberate, since the rebuild downloads every list and is slow on a Pi. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
259 lines
13 KiB
Markdown
259 lines
13 KiB
Markdown
# homelab
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Flake-based NixOS config. Hosts: `jupiter` (ZimaBlade, NAS + services),
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`neptun` (netcup VPS: public reverse proxy, Authentik, headscale),
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`mercury` (Raspberry Pi 3B+, DNS/DHCP), `terra` (desktop).
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## Structure
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```
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flake.nix # inputs + nixosConfigurations (jupiter, neptun, kexec, ...)
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common.nix # shared base: user, ssh, nix, firewall, timezone
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services/ # one reusable module per service, by category
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media/ jellyfin, audiobookshelf, the *arrs, sabnzbd, seerr, ...
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network/ caddy, samba, avahi, pihole, unbound
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vpn/ tailscale, headscale (control server), headplane (its web UI)
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identity/ authentik (OIDC provider, from the authentik-nix flake)
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dev/ gitea
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desktop/ hyprland
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containers.nix # podman backend, shared across categories
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hosts/
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jupiter/ # ZimaBlade NAS
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configuration.nix # host bits + imports common + the services it runs
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disk-config.nix # disko: eMMC partitions
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hardware-configuration.nix
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secrets.nix # sops-nix wiring
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vm.nix # VirtualBox test image (jupiter-vbox)
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neptun/ # netcup public reverse proxy + tailnet node
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configuration.nix disk-config.nix hardware-configuration.nix secrets.nix
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secrets/ # age-encrypted sops files, one per host
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scripts/ # deploy, edit_secrets
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```
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Hosts compose by importing `common.nix` + whichever `services/*` modules they
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run. Each service module opens its own firewall ports.
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## Test in VirtualBox (no hardware needed)
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```
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nix build .#nixosConfigurations.jupiter-vbox.config.system.build.virtualBoxOVA
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VBoxManage import result/*.ova --vsys 0 --vmname jupiter-vbox
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VBoxManage startvm jupiter-vbox --type headless
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```
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Login `darman` / `test`. Forward ports with `VBoxManage modifyvm ... --natpf1`.
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## First install on the ZimaBlade — nixos-anywhere + disko
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Wipes the OS disk and installs the flake over SSH. No USB needed if the box
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already runs Linux (ZimaOS) reachable by root SSH — nixos-anywhere kexecs into
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an installer, partitions via disko, installs.
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> ⚠️ The OS disk in `disk-config.nix` is WIPED. Set `device` to the OS disk
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> ONLY (by-id). Back up / physically identify the NAS data disk first — it must
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> NOT appear in disko. `lsblk -o NAME,SERIAL,SIZE,MODEL` to identify.
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1. Set the real OS disk id in `hosts/jupiter/disk-config.nix`
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(`ls -l /dev/disk/by-id`), and the data-disk mount in `configuration.nix`.
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2. Add your login SSH pubkey to `users.users.darman.openssh.authorizedKeys.keys`.
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3. Set the real samba password:
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```
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export SOPS_AGE_KEY_FILE=~/.config/sops/age/keys.txt
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nix shell nixpkgs#sops -c sops secrets/jupiter.yaml # edit, commit
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```
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4. Stage the pre-generated host key so sops can decrypt on boot #1
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(private key lives off-repo in `~/.config/homelab/jupiter/`):
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```
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install -Dm600 ~/.config/homelab/jupiter/ssh_host_ed25519_key \
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/tmp/extra/etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key
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install -Dm644 ~/.config/homelab/jupiter/ssh_host_ed25519_key.pub \
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/tmp/extra/etc/ssh/ssh_host_ed25519_key.pub
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```
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5. Run from your laptop:
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```
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nix run github:nix-community/nixos-anywhere -- \
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--flake .#jupiter \
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--extra-files /tmp/extra \
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--generate-hardware-config nixos-generate-config ./hosts/jupiter/hardware-configuration.nix \
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--target-host root@<zimablade-ip>
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```
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`--extra-files` plants the host key before first boot (its age identity is
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already a recipient in `.sops.yaml`, so `/run/secrets/samba_password`
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decrypts on boot #1). `--generate-hardware-config` pulls the target's real
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kernel modules into the placeholder. Commit the result. Reboot into NixOS.
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Manual alternative (USB ISO): boot installer, `disko` the disk, then
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`nixos-install --flake .#jupiter`.
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## Deploy (the `./deploy` wrapper)
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All arguments mandatory — no default host, no default config.
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```
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./deploy kexec <host> # headless kexec into a RAM installer (RO-root box)
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./deploy install <config> <host> # first install; wipes OS disk, ships host key
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./deploy switch <config> <host> # rebuild + activate on a running host
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./deploy boot|test <config> <host> # stage for next boot / activate without boot entry
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./deploy image <config> # build an SD-card image (mercury)
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./deploy flash <config> <dev> # build SD image, write it, drop the sops age key
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```
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`switch`/`boot`/`test` prompt for darman's password (`wheelNeedsPassword`).
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`<config>` is a `nixosConfigurations` name (`jupiter`, `neptun`). Its pre-generated
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SSH host key lives at `~/.config/homelab/<config>/ssh_host_ed25519_key`.
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Examples:
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```
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./deploy switch jupiter jupiter.sol
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./deploy install neptun 159.195.64.117
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```
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Rollback: `nixos-rebuild switch --rollback` on the host, or pick a prior
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generation at boot.
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## Post-deploy steps (per host)
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Things the flake cannot do for you. Skipping these leaves a host that builds
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and boots but doesn't work.
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### Every host, immediately after a first install
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```
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ssh darman@<host> sudo -v # DO NOT SKIP
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```
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`users.mutableUsers` is `true`, so `/etc/shadow` is written **once**, when the
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user is created. If the sops secret wasn't readable at that moment the account
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gets `!` (locked) permanently — `deploy switch` will never fix it, because the
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activation script only sets a password for users not already in `/etc/shadow`.
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Combined with `wheelNeedsPassword = true` and `PermitRootLogin = "no"` that
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means no way to escalate, and recovery is physical: netcup's rescue system for
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neptun, or pulling the SD card for mercury. Verify sudo while you still have
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another way in.
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### neptun (netcup VPS)
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1. **Edge firewall.** In netcup's panel, inbound `ACCEPT` for TCP 22/80/443/2222
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**and a rule accepting inbound UDP**. The firewall is stateless: without the
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UDP rule every DNS and NTP *reply* is dropped, and nothing on the box reports
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an error — it looks like headscale crash-looping on its DERP fetch and Caddy
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failing ACME. `grep -A1 '^Udp:' /proc/net/snmp` showing `InDatagrams 0` is the
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tell. Rules apply on VM restart, not on save. This is safe: `nixos-fw` is
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stateful and default-deny, so it remains the real policy.
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Also open UDP 3478 (STUN) and 41641 (tailscale direct).
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2. **Authentik** creates `akadmin` on first start; log in at
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`https://auth.mgaction.town` with `authentik_bootstrap_password` from sops.
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The username is hardcoded upstream and the bootstrap runs once — later
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changes to the env vars are ignored.
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To use your own admin instead: create a user, add it to the **`authentik
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Admins`** group (superuser is a *group* flag in Authentik, there is no
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per-user one), verify it works in a private window, then **deactivate**
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`akadmin` — do not rename or delete it. The bootstrap blueprint keys on
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`username: akadmin` with `state: created`, so if no user by that name
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exists it simply makes a new one on the next reconcile.
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3. **Bootstrap the tailnet** (headscale starts with an empty database):
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```
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sudo headscale users create darman
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sudo headscale preauthkeys create --user darman --reusable --expiration 24h
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```
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Put that key in **every** host's sops file as `tailscale_authkey` and rebuild.
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4. **Headplane API key** — defaults to 90d, after which headplane silently stops
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listing nodes:
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```
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sudo headscale apikeys create --expiration 999d # -> headplane_headscale_api_key
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```
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5. **Headplane OIDC.** In Authentik create an OAuth2/OpenID provider
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(confidential, redirect `https://vpn.mgaction.town/admin/oidc/callback`,
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**a signing key must be selected** or discovery exposes no JWKS) and an
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application with slug **`headplane`** — the slug is what makes the issuer
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`.../application/o/headplane/` in `services/vpn/headplane.nix`. Client ID goes
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in that file, client secret into sops.
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6. **Headscale OIDC** (optional — pre-auth keys work without it). A *second*
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Authentik provider/application, slug **`headscale`**, redirect
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`https://vpn.mgaction.town/oidc/callback` (headscale's own, not headplane's
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under `/admin`). Client ID in `services/vpn/headscale.nix`, secret into sops
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as `headscale_oidc_client_secret`.
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⚠️ headscale runs OIDC discovery **at startup and a failure is fatal** —
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an issuer pointing at an application that doesn't exist yet means the
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control server won't boot, taking the whole tailnet's control plane with
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it. Always verify first:
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```
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curl -s https://auth.mgaction.town/application/o/headscale/.well-known/openid-configuration
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```
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Users created by OIDC login are distinct from `headscale users create`
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ones: headplane matches the OIDC `sub` claim against the user's
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`providerId`, CLI-made users have none, and 0.28 dropped both
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`map_legacy_users` and node reassignment — so moving an existing node to
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an OIDC user means re-enrolling it.
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### jupiter
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- `chown -R gitea:gitea /mnt/data/AppData/gitea` after the first deploy (the
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repos were copied in over CIFS as `darman:users`).
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- **Re-enrolling after the headscale database was recreated:** `tailscaled`
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keeps its old node key and reports `Running`, and the autoconnect unit exits
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early on that state without ever sending the new pre-auth key. Force it:
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```
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sudo tailscale logout && sudo systemctl restart tailscaled-autoconnect
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```
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### mercury (Raspberry Pi 3B+)
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- `./deploy flash mercury /dev/sdX` writes the dedicated age key to the root
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partition. Without `~/.config/homelab/mercury/age.txt` it silently skips that
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step and **no secret decrypts on the box** — check `ls /run/secrets` after
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first boot.
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- It boots from an SD card, so config changes are `./deploy switch mercury <ip>`
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(an aarch64 build — needs `extra-platforms` + binfmt on the laptop, see the
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gotchas in `CLAUDE.md`) rather than a reflash.
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- **Suspect the card first** when binaries crash with `Illegal instruction` or
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services fail inexplicably. Failing flash returns corrupt data with no I/O
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errors in `dmesg`:
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```
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sudo nix-store --verify --check-contents # add --repair to fix
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```
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A card that has corrupted one path will corrupt more. Replace it and reflash.
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- **A reflash wipes `/var/lib/pihole`**, taking the gravity database with it.
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The blocklists themselves are declared in `services/network/pihole.nix`, and
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the `pihole-adlists` unit re-seeds them on boot and rebuilds gravity when it
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finds it empty — so this heals itself, but the first boot after a reflash
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spends several minutes downloading lists. Query history and dynamic DHCP
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leases are genuinely lost (static leases are declarative). Check with:
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```
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systemctl status pihole-adlists
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sudo podman exec pihole pihole-FTL sqlite3 /etc/pihole/gravity.db \
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"SELECT address,enabled FROM adlist; SELECT COUNT(*) FROM gravity;"
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```
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`Blocked DNS queries: 0` in the pihole logs means gravity is empty — DNS
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resolves fine, nothing is filtered.
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- mercury's own `resolv.conf` is deliberately public resolvers, not its own
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pihole (`resolveLocalQueries = false`, see `CLAUDE.md`) — so `.sol` names do
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not resolve *on mercury itself*. That is expected, not a fault.
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- LAN `.sol` names resolve on tailnet members only because headscale sets
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`override_local_dns = false`. With upstream's default of `true`, every node's
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`resolv.conf` is replaced with MagicDNS and `.sol` returns NXDOMAIN
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everywhere — along with losing ad blocking, since queries stop reaching
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pihole at all.
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## Adding a service
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Copy the `whoami` block in `oci-containers.containers`, swap image/ports/volumes.
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Native NixOS module exists for many apps (Nextcloud, Jellyfin, Grafana...) —
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prefer `services.<app>` over a container when available. Add a `caddy`
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`virtualHosts` block to expose it.
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## Notes
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- Backend is Podman with `dockerCompat` — `docker` CLI works, no daemon.
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- Samba keeps its own password DB. `services.samba` never sets it; a systemd
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oneshot (`samba-smbpasswd`) provisions it. Host reads the password from
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`/run/secrets/samba_password` (**sops-nix**); the VM falls back to plaintext
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`/etc/samba/smb-password`.
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- Secrets: `secrets/jupiter.yaml` is age-encrypted (safe to commit) to two
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recipients in `.sops.yaml` — the **admin** key (edit on laptop,
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`~/.config/sops/age/keys.txt`) and the **jupiter host** key (derived from its
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SSH host key via `ssh-to-age`, decrypts at runtime). Private keys live
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off-repo and are gitignored. Rotate/add recipients with `sops updatekeys`.
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- Data disk: plain `fileSystems."/mnt/data"` in configuration.nix — kept out of
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disko so it is never formatted. Reference by `by-id` / `by-uuid`.
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- `system.stateVersion` = `26.05`, install-time schema. Do NOT bump on upgrades.
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- Terraform is not used: a single bare-metal box has no provider API. disko +
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nixos-anywhere cover provisioning natively.
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