homelab-mastery/build-guide

KiteStacks Build Guide

This guide walks you through rebuilding the entire KiteStacks homelab from scratch on a blank machine. Two paths are available — choose the one that fits how you work.

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Choose Your Path

Path A — With AI (Claude Code)

Tell Claude Code what you want to build. Claude writes the configs, debugs errors, and explains every decision as it goes. Fastest path. Great for learning while doing.

→ Build with AI

Path B — Do It Yourself

Step-by-step instructions where you type every command yourself. Every config, every file, explained. Best for really understanding how things work — great for exam prep.

→ Build Manually

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What You Need Before Starting (Both Paths)

What you need	Details
A Linux computer	Ubuntu 24.04 recommended. At least 16GB RAM, 500GB SSD
A Cloudflare account	Free tier. You need a domain name pointed to Cloudflare
A domain name	Any registrar works — point nameservers to Cloudflare
A Hetzner account (optional)	For the cloud backup machine (kscloud1). Any small VPS works
A Tailscale account	Free — creates the private network between machines
Docker installed	The foundation everything runs on

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Build Order (Both Paths Follow This)

Build in this order — each step depends on the one before it:

Step 1: Install Docker and set up networking
Step 2: Set up Cloudflare Tunnel (the secret post-office connection)
Step 3: Set up Authentik (the single login system)
Step 4: Set up core services (Portainer, Forgejo, BookStack)
Step 5: Set up monitoring (Prometheus, Node Exporter, Grafana)
Step 6: Set up app services (Karakeep, Kavita, OSTicket)
Step 7: Set up AI services (Open WebUI, LiteLLM)
Step 8: Set up the portal (main homepage)
Step 9: Add the cloud backup machine (kscloud1)

Don't skip ahead — if you skip Authentik, none of the SSO logins will work.