An experiment exploring whether a local large language model can manage a home server without strict guardrails. By using the Pi agent harness and the Qwen3.6-35B-A3B model, the author successfully enabled an LLM to control a Proxmox VE node. The setup demonstrated impressive capabilities in managing LXC containers, checking system metrics, creating snapshots, and provisioning new virtual machines. Despite these successes, the system encountered difficulties with guest terminal command execution, persistent configuration management, and multi-node scaling.
- Implementation of the Pi agent harness with local models
- Autonomous creation of custom Proxmox extensions by the LLM
- Successful management of LXC containers and VM provisioning
- Challenges with terminal command execution and credential persistence
- Implementation of the Pi agent harness with local models
- Autonomous creation of custom Proxmox extensions by the LLM
- Successful management of LXC containers and VM provisioning
- Challenges with terminal command execution and credential persistence
An exploration of transitioning from Docker to Podman within a home lab environment. The author details a weekend project setting up an Ubuntu-based Podman server on Proxmox, highlighting the key architectural differences such as the absence of a central daemon and the benefits of rootless container execution for enhanced security.
Key topics include:
- Comparison between Docker's daemon-based model and Podman's daemonless architecture.
- The advantages of rootless containers for improved host security.
- Utilizing systemd integration through Quadlets for more native Linux service management.
- Practical steps for installation on Ubuntu and Rocky Linux.
- Maintaining compatibility with tools like Portainer via the Podman API socket.
Key topics include:
- Comparison between Docker's daemon-based model and Podman's daemonless architecture.
- The advantages of rootless containers for improved host security.
- Utilizing systemd integration through Quadlets for more native Linux service management.
- Practical steps for installation on Ubuntu and Rocky Linux.
- Maintaining compatibility with tools like Portainer via the Podman API socket.
The NanoPi NEO3 Plus is a compact, headless single-board computer:
- Rockchip RK3528A SoC with 1GB of RAM
- Gigabit Ethernet, a USB 3.0 port, and a 26-pin GPIO header
- 2.0 GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 processor
- Debian, Ubuntu, OpenMediaVault, Proxmox, and FriendlyWrt, openclaw
- $24, plus $8 case and 64GB or 256GB eMMC module for $23 or $61
- Rockchip RK3528A SoC with 1GB of RAM
- Gigabit Ethernet, a USB 3.0 port, and a 26-pin GPIO header
- 2.0 GHz quad-core Cortex-A53 processor
- Debian, Ubuntu, OpenMediaVault, Proxmox, and FriendlyWrt, openclaw
- $24, plus $8 case and 64GB or 256GB eMMC module for $23 or $61
This article details how to run a 120B parameter LLM locally with 24GB of VRAM and 64GB of system RAM, using a setup with Proxmox LXCs, Whisper for voice transcription, and integration with Home Assistant for smart home automation.
Documentation and downloads for Proxmox Mail Gateway, including admin guides for versions 9.x, 8.x, and 7.x, as well as a datasheet.
Proxmox Mail Gateway is an open-source email security appliance designed to protect self-hosted email servers from spam, malware, and other threats. It functions as a firewall with IDS/IDP features, utilizing ClamAV, SpamAssassin, and Postfix.
Easy‑to‑use turn‑key SD‑card image for popular single‑board computers (Raspberry Pi, Orange Pi, NanoPi, Odroid, etc.) that runs a complete ADS‑B/SDR feeder, supporting ADS‑B, ACARS, AIS and weather‑sonde data aggregation.
Gotify is a notification server that pulls alerts from other applications and pushes them to its neat UI. It's a useful addition to a home lab setup, especially for monitoring self-hosted services like Uptime Kuma, TrueNAS Scale, and Proxmox.
Learn how to automate your home lab using Terraform, Ansible, Packer & GitLab CI/CD for consistent, version-controlled, and scalable infrastructure.
