FOSS Journey (2019—present)

A running log, documenting my journey to creating an enterprise-grade HomeLab, focusing on free and open-source solutions that prioritise modularity and independence from proprietary 'box-shifters'.

Open source isn’t just about “free tools.” It’s about transparency, collaboration, and control — building and learning without hidden telemetry, vendor lock-in, or data mining.

While I prioritise FOSS wherever possible, some proprietary systems remain essential (for compatibility, testing, or hardware support). The goal is always to find — or help build — open alternatives that respect user freedom and privacy.

FOSS Tools and Platforms

A record of the software and systems I rely on across development, automation, and infrastructure.

Tool / Platform Category Notes / Purpose
AdGuard Home DNS-Level Ad & Tracker Blocking - Ad and script blocking to remove ad placeholders
- Logging & Analytics
Brave + Waterfox Browser Security conscious; decrapified
Docker / Docker Compose v2 Multi-container Docker Reproducible dev/test environments
Flexpilot + Ollama / Sublime Text / VSCodium Development Self-hosted Ollama AI + Flexpilot; Sublime (lightweight); VSCodium (decrapified)
Git + GitLab (CE) Version Control Self-hosted Git + MRs; zero trust internet end-point via Cloudflare
k8s Container orchestration Self-hosted (VMs) cluster
Kali Linux / Kali Purple Debian GNU/Linux Offensive / Defensive Cybersecurity
KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) Bare-metal hypervisor Cloud computing, server virtualisation & containerised environments
Laravel (PHP) Web Framework Elegant MVC with strong community
MariaDB / PostgreSQL Database Open-source RDBMS replacing proprietary options
n8n Workflow automation Self-hosted (VM); zero trust internet end-point via Cloudflare
OpenLLaMA AI Self-hosted AI inference
openSUSE Tumbleweed Rolling release/Linux MinisForum daily driver
OWASP ZAP, Burp Community, nmap Security / Testing Open-source security analysis & testing
pfSense (CE) FW + Router Self-hosted (VM) providing network isolation & controls
Pop!_OS System76/Linux Polished, modern COSMIC DE; de-crapified Ubuntu; new laptop
Proxmox Debian GNU/Linux 2-node cluster Proxmox Virtual Environment (PVE)
SoNNeT eGPU 750ex TB4 Expansion HW Enabling GPU acceleration for AI
Terraform, Ansible Cloud / Infra tools IaC + config management; declarative automation
Trilium Note taking Self-hosted (VM); cross-platform hierarchical personal knowledge base
TrueNAS SCALE Debian GNU/Linux TerraMaster F4-424 Max Rebuild
Ubuntu Gnome Desktop LTS Canonical/Linux MacAir Rebuild
Ubuntu Server LTS Canonical/Linux Stable; well-documented; great for VMs

Last updated - MAY 2026 - content will continue to be reviewed and refined as my personal and professional landscape evolves over time.