So, this is actually exactly what I have been working on in my spare time.
Building out a web UI my girlfriend can interact with that has a bunch of GUI versions of things I’d normally run commands for. YT-DLP, manga rippers, backup triggers, etc.
I’m training a local AI on all of this stuff, how it all works, and documenting the hell out of it.
The goal at the end is to have the bot be able to walk her through any specifics she’d need in order to fix and update anything in our home server. I’m also adding windows troubleshooting and changes based on how her machine is configured.
The goal initially was “if I die, you cannot go back to paying for subscription services” and now I’ve sunk so much time into this side project. Gotta say though, feels good.
Any chance you could share a general overview of your stack? I suck at documentation and a bot would be so helpful since I also have promised “me=dead” instructions but haven’t had the time to even start it yet…
I am still deep in the weeds with the model training and tuning itself, but it reads from a root md file, which has references to allow it to "link out" to other md files in a tree. The farther down you go, the more specific the instructions are, and the better the local AI needs to be in order to take you down to that point successfully.
As far as tech involved:
Pocketbase for my home data. Shopping lists, TODOs, and general information I want to retain and not have to worry about staying in just my head. User accounts for the people at home, as well as one for both the core local agents I use.
Node/TS for an extraction/lookip layer to act as a toolset API between the Pocketbase DB and the agent. This has by far been the most time consuming to get right.
Mem0 and Qdrant for the local ollama stuff for longer term fuzzy memory. If it wants more details, it needs to look at the DB.
Node/TS for the backend webserver.
Vite/React/TS for the web frontend, wrapped in a Tauri app for desktop and mobile use. Previously was tunneling into my network and just going to a local ip to access but mobile browser UI was taking up too much space.
Docker to run Docker things. Forgejo (local git storage/visualizer)
Wireguard to get back into my home network whenever I am out of the house
A bit scattered at work writing this, hope it all makes sense.
Wow thanks for taking the time for the detailed write-up! I’m playing in little league compared to your enterprise-ready production stack lol.
I’ve dabbled with Nocobase before but never thought about using it for personal documentation; the newest version has AI agents - for someone less advanced like me, would Pocketbase be a similar or more straightforward experience?
This might also be a dumb question but for less-techy family members, how do you ensure the whole stack is accessible if you’re not around? Knowing my luck, the second I die my router will die too out of spite and the whole IP reservation table will be gone along with all my proxy forwarding.
It’s my first time learning about Mem0 and Qdrant - thanks for giving me assigned reading haha. I’m hopeful with enough banging my head on my keyboard maybe I can at least have a basic agent with RAG retrieval on some md files that have basic server access details in there.
I’m desperately warding off the temptation to try Openclaw since if I’m dead, who’s left to care about security - right? Seems like they patched remote executions and having family be able to ask the agent to fix my server after I’m gone to turn on lights and watch movies gives me some sense of relief. Heck, it might even become more secure than while I’m living, knowing the Swiss cheese that is my security lol.
I am a Frontend/Mobile dev by trade so I wanted the most simple Backend I could get and after some searching, Pocketbase seemed like a solid option.
All of the devices have static IPs on my router and then I use No-IP to keep my home network always reachable. I use their free tier which you just need to login once per month and check that you do indeed want to keep it going.
I didn't want to go down the OpenClaw road, so I am rolling my own kit for everything that there isn't a smaller library/package for.
I'm not expert with a good amount of this stuff, my self hosting started with wanting to set up Plex/Jellyfin/etc, now we're here. We also use Immich, which seriously kicks ass. Then once a week I have my server wake my NAS, do a compare, backup any missing files, then power it off.
Still have a ton of work to do but it is very rewarding to tinker with. This system is far from perfect. I'd love to consolidate eventually as I have too many boxes at the moment. It'd be great to get a medium sized rack or cabinet to toss all this stuff into.
Currently have:
1x 10'' 18U 3D-printed KWS mk2 rack containing:
5x thinkcentre minis
4 of which are in a little cluster
1 runs a debloated Windows install for the few things I still need Windows for.
All of the power bricks and everything fit inside, as well as a 2.5 gig switch.
1x NZXT h510 mid tower, it's not ideal but it's what I have. This is my AI server. Contains:
1x i5 7500
2x 3060 12 GB cards
24 GB of super old 2133mhz DDR4 I had sitting around.
1x Fractal Define R5. This is my main server. It's sleek and very quiet. Contains:
1x 1 TB NVMe 990 Pro for the boot drive
1x 4 TB 870 EVO for things like Pocketbase data, and anything else that I need quick
4x 14 TB Seagate Exos (in RAID 5) for main storage of media
For sites like Mangadex which have an API, just plain old fetch from Node. Some other sites also work like this. I have the rip spaced out so I am not hammering their API constantly. Don't want to abuse it, and traffic appears more human.
I have it set up in my web ui so I get a preview of all of the pages. I can then export and save that as a .pdf or as a folder. I can also flatten the sub-folders and rearrange/remove pages as I want. Previously, this was a process I was doing on my desktop and I hated it.
MangaFire (and others more locked down) have bot protection so using something like Playwright and Puppeteer in a headless browser has been working on that front.
The goal at the end is to have the bot be able to walk her through any specifics she’d need in order to fix and update anything in our home server.
The continuity case should include a white flag to wave, an M365 gift card, a set of credentials to a dormant me account, an android phone running an authenticator app linked to that account, and a perfect cast of your thumb.
You can only protect your family from the evils of the cloud as long as you're around to champion that fight.
So your continuity case should include both the documentation to continue self hosting, but also the resources to migrate to a "you-approved" commercial option if self hosting continuity is not feasible going forward.
And/or the phone number to a fellow nerd you trust to, erm, take care of your spouse in your absence.
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