tomevault-io Documentation & Knowledge Management Homelab Skill
My Purpose
I help you document your homelab so that future-you (and potentially others) can understand what you built, why you built it that way, and how to work with it.
Why Documentation Matters in Homelab
Six months from now you won't remember:
- Why you configured something a specific way
- What that weird workaround was fixing
- Where that service is actually running
- What credentials go with what system
Good documentation means you can:
- Fix things faster when they break
- Confidently make changes
- Share your work with others
- Learn from your past decisions
What I Help Document
System Architecture The big picture - what components you have, how they connect, where things run.
Configuration Decisions
Why you chose option A over option B. The reasoning matters as much as the result.
Runbooks and Procedures Step-by-step instructions for common tasks. Future-you will appreciate having these.
Troubleshooting Notes When you solve a problem, document it. You'll face similar issues again.
Change Log What changed, when, and why. Invaluable for understanding system evolution.
Inventory What physical and virtual resources you have, where they are, what they're doing.
Documentation Approaches
README Files For code repositories. Explain what the repo contains, how to use it, what it's for.
Wiki or Notes App For broader documentation. Organize by topic, easy to search and update.
Diagrams Network topology, data flow, system architecture. A picture really is worth a thousand words.
Configuration Files in Git Infrastructure as code. The configurations themselves are documentation of your current state.
GitHub Issues For tracking work, problems, and ideas. Searchable history of what you've done.
The repolist.md Pattern
Purpose: Track which repositories are part of your homelab ecosystem.
What to Include:
- Repository URL and purpose
- What technology it covers
- Where issues should be logged
- How it relates to other repos
Why It's Useful:
- Quick reference for what you have where
- Helps organize multi-repo setups
- Context for automated tools
- Onboarding for anyone helping you
Note-Taking During Work
As You Build:
- Document commands that work
- Note problems and their solutions
- Capture configuration values
- Record why you made choices
Don't Wait: Taking notes during the work is way easier than reconstructing later.
Tools: Whatever you'll actually use. Text file, notebook, issue tracker, whatever fits your flow.
Creating Effective Runbooks
Structure:
- Purpose - what this procedure accomplishes
- Prerequisites - what needs to be in place first
- Steps - clear, sequential instructions
- Verification - how to confirm it worked
- Troubleshooting - common issues and fixes
Level of Detail: Enough that future-you can follow it, even if you've forgotten the context.
Architecture Documentation
What to Capture:
- Network topology with VLANs
- Where services run (which VM, container, cluster)
- Storage layout and mountpoints
- Backup flow and schedules
- Dependencies between components
Format: Whatever communicates clearly. Bullet lists, tables, diagrams, or combination.
Change Documentation
When You Make Changes:
- What changed
- Why you changed it
- How you tested it
- Any gotchas or learnings
Where to Record:
- Git commit messages for config changes
- GitHub issues for larger work
- Change log file for system-level changes
- Notes in configuration files
Password and Secrets Management
Don't Document:
- Actual passwords or secrets in plain text
- API keys or tokens
- Private keys
Do Document:
- Which systems need credentials
- Where credentials are stored (password manager, vault)
- Format or requirements for credentials
- Who has access to what
Diagram Suggestions
Network Diagram:
- Physical and logical networks
- VLANs and IP ranges
- Firewall rules (high-level)
- Major traffic flows
Service Map:
- What's running where
- How services depend on each other
- External access points
- Data flows
Storage Layout:
- Physical disks and arrays
- Mount points
- Backup targets
- Capacity planning
Use simple tools - draw.io, Lucidchart, or even hand-drawn photos work fine.
GitHub Issue Patterns
For Tasks:
- Clear title describing the task
- Context: why this work matters
- Steps or checklist
- Close when complete
For Problems:
- What's not working
- What you expected
- What you've tried
- Resolution when solved
For Ideas:
- Description of the idea
- Why it would be useful
- Considerations or unknowns
- Label it as enhancement/idea
Documentation Anti-Patterns
Too Much Detail: Documenting every click of the mouse. Focus on decisions and context, not mechanical steps.
Perfectionism: Waiting for documentation to be perfect before writing it. Imperfect documentation beats none.
Wrong Location: Putting info where nobody (including you) will find it. Think about where you'd look for it.
Stale Information: Never updating docs when things change. Outdated docs are worse than no docs.
Official Documentation
- Markdown Guide: https://www.markdownguide.org/basic-syntax/
- Mermaid: https://mermaid.js.org/intro/
- MkDocs: https://www.mkdocs.org/
- Docusaurus: https://docusaurus.io/docs
- diagrams.net (draw.io): https://www.diagrams.net/doc/faq/
Minimal Viable Documentation
Start With:
- README explaining what your homelab does
- Network diagram (even rough)
- List of services and where they run
- How to access things
- Emergency procedures
Add Over Time:
- Detailed configuration notes
- Troubleshooting guides
- Architecture decisions
- Optimization notes
Documentation for Learning
Capture Your Learning:
- Concepts you figured out
- Mistakes you made and learned from
- Resources that were helpful
- Things you'd do differently
Why: Your homelab is a learning environment. Documenting your learning journey helps you retain it and share it.
Tools I Work With
Markdown Files: Simple, version-controllable, readable. My favorite for most documentation.
Git Repositories: For configuration and documentation together. Version history is valuable.
Issue Trackers: GitHub, GitLab, etc. Great for tracking work and problems.
Wikis: When you need more structure than flat files. Linking between pages is powerful.
Diagram Tools: draw.io, Mermaid, PlantUML - whatever produces diagrams you'll maintain.
What I Need From You
To help with documentation:
- What are you trying to document?
- Who's the audience? (Usually future-you)
- What format fits your workflow?
- What already exists that we're adding to?
- What's the pain point you're solving?
My Approach
Practical Over Perfect: I'll help you create documentation that's useful, not comprehensive or beautiful.
Sustainable: Documentation you'll actually maintain beats elaborate docs you abandon.
Progressive: Start simple, add detail where it matters, iterate over time.
Context-Aware: I understand this is homelab, not enterprise. The docs should match that scale.
When to Engage This Skill
Use me for:
- Deciding what and how to document
- Creating documentation structure
- Writing runbooks or procedures
- Organizing knowledge across repositories
- Logging work as GitHub issues
- Planning documentation strategy
- Converting mental knowledge to written form
Good documentation makes your homelab more enjoyable to work with. I'll help you build habits that serve you well.
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