EZ-Homelab/docs/manual-setup.md

Manual Setup Guide

If you prefer manual control or the automated script fails, follow these steps for manual installation.

Prerequisites

• Fresh Debian/Ubuntu server or existing system
• Root/sudo access
• Internet connection

Step 1: Update System

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install Docker

# Install dependencies
sudo apt install -y apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl gnupg lsb-release

# Add Docker's official GPG key
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/debian/gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg

# Set up repository
echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/docker-archive-keyring.gpg] https://download.docker.com/linux/debian $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

# Install Docker Engine
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-compose-plugin

# Or use convenience script
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh

# Add user to docker group
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
sudo usermod -aG sudo $USER

# Log out and back in, or run: newgrp docker

Step 3: Clone Repository

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/kelinfoxy/AI-Homelab.git
cd AI-Homelab

Step 4: Configure Environment

cp .env.example .env
nano .env  # Edit all required variables

Required variables:

• DOMAIN - Your DuckDNS domain
• DUCKDNS_TOKEN - Your DuckDNS token
• ACME_EMAIL - Your email for Let's Encrypt
• AUTHELIA_JWT_SECRET - Generate with: openssl rand -hex 64
• AUTHELIA_SESSION_SECRET - Generate with: openssl rand -hex 64
• AUTHELIA_STORAGE_ENCRYPTION_KEY - Generate with: openssl rand -hex 64
• SURFSHARK_USERNAME and SURFSHARK_PASSWORD - If using VPN

Step 5: Create Infrastructure

# Create directories
sudo mkdir -p /opt/stacks /mnt/{media,database,downloads,backups}
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /opt/stacks /mnt

# Create networks
docker network create traefik-network
docker network create homelab-network
docker network create dockerproxy-network
docker network create media-network

Step 6: Generate Authelia Password Hash

# Generate password hash (takes 30-60 seconds)
docker run --rm authelia/authelia:4.37 authelia crypto hash generate argon2 --password 'YourSecurePassword'

# Copy the hash starting with $argon2id$...

Step 7: Configure Authelia

# Copy Authelia config templates
mkdir -p /opt/stacks/core/authelia
cp config-templates/authelia/* /opt/stacks/core/authelia/

# Edit users_database.yml
nano /opt/stacks/core/authelia/users_database.yml

# Replace password hash and email in the users section:
users:
  admin:
    displayname: "Admin User"
    password: "$argon2id$v=19$m=65536,t=3,p=4$..."  # Your hash here
    email: your.email@example.com
    groups:
      - admins
      - users

Step 8: Deploy Core Services

# Deploy core infrastructure
sudo mkdir -p /opt/stacks/core
cp docker-compose/core.yml /opt/stacks/core/docker-compose.yml
cp -r config-templates/traefik /opt/stacks/core/
cp .env /opt/stacks/core/

# Update Traefik email
sed -i "s/admin@example.com/$ACME_EMAIL/" /opt/stacks/core/traefik/traefik.yml

cd /opt/stacks/core
docker compose up -d

Step 9: Deploy Infrastructure Stack

sudo mkdir -p /opt/stacks/infrastructure
cp docker-compose/infrastructure.yml /opt/stacks/infrastructure/docker-compose.yml
cp .env /opt/stacks/infrastructure/
cd /opt/stacks/infrastructure
docker compose up -d

Step 10: Deploy Dashboards

sudo mkdir -p /opt/stacks/dashboards
cp docker-compose/dashboards.yml /opt/stacks/dashboards/docker-compose.yml
cp -r config-templates/homepage /opt/stacks/dashboards/
cp .env /opt/stacks/dashboards/

# Replace Homepage domain variables
find /opt/stacks/dashboards/homepage -type f \( -name "*.yaml" -o -name "*.yml" \) -exec sed -i "s/{{HOMEPAGE_VAR_DOMAIN}}/$DOMAIN/g" {} \;

cd /opt/stacks/dashboards
docker compose up -d

Step 11: Verify Deployment

# Check running containers
docker ps

# Check logs if any service fails
docker logs container-name

# Access services
echo "Dockge: https://dockge.$DOMAIN"
echo "Authelia: https://auth.$DOMAIN"
echo "Traefik: https://traefik.$DOMAIN"

Troubleshooting

Permission issues:

# Ensure proper ownership
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /opt/stacks

# Check group membership
groups $USER

Container won't start:

# Check logs
docker logs container-name

# Check compose file syntax
docker compose config

Network conflicts:

# List existing networks
docker network ls

# Remove and recreate if needed
docker network rm network-name
docker network create network-name

When to Use Manual Setup

• Automated script fails on your system
• You want full control over each step
• You're using a non-Debian/Ubuntu distribution
• You need custom configurations
• You're troubleshooting deployment issues

Switching to Automated

If manual setup works, you can switch to the automated scripts for future updates:

# Just run the deploy script
cd ~/AI-Homelab
./scripts/deploy-homelab.sh

The deploy script is idempotent - it won't break existing configurations.