New Machine Setup Playbook

Generalized provisioning for a homelab machine. Not every machine needs every section: pick by role.

• Install openssh-server. On Ubuntu 24.04 it listens via ssh.socket; ssh.service spawns on demand.
• Key-only auth, drop-in /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/60-key-only.conf: PasswordAuthentication no, PermitRootLogin no
• Keep authorized_keys curated: record which key belongs to which machine and remove dead keys.
• Firewall: ufw deny incoming + ufw allow 22/tcp.

For machines that should be reachable outside the LAN without port forwarding (and immune to routers without hairpin NAT), a Cloudflare tunnel:

curl -L -o ~/.local/bin/cloudflared \
  https://github.com/cloudflare/cloudflared/releases/latest/download/cloudflared-linux-amd64
cloudflared tunnel login                        # browser auth, picks the zone
cloudflared tunnel create <name>                # writes ~/.cloudflared/<id>.json (secret)
cloudflared tunnel route dns <name> <host>      # one route per hostname

• Ingress config: service: http://127.0.0.1:PORT for web, service: ssh://localhost:22 for SSH, always ending with a http_status:404 catch-all.
• SSH client side: ProxyCommand cloudflared access ssh –hostname %h under a Host alias in ~/.ssh/config.
• Cost: ~20-40 MB RAM. python3 -m http.server is a fine origin for a static ~/public.

For a laptop acting as a server:

• Mask sleep/suspend/hibernate/hybrid-sleep targets: immediate and needs no logind restart.
• logind drop-in /etc/systemd/logind.conf.d/: HandleLidSwitch=ignore for lids (takes effect next boot).
• UPower: IgnoreLid=true; consider CriticalPowerAction=PowerOff so a dying battery cleanly shuts down instead of failing a hybrid-sleep.
• Wi-Fi powersave off for server duty: nmcli con mod <ssid> 802-11-wireless.powersave 2 plus a NetworkManager conf.d default.
• Screen blanking is fine to keep: it does not suspend anything.

For laptops on permanent AC: where firmware exposes /sys/class/power_supply/BAT*/charge_control_end_threshold (recent ThinkPads and many ASUS do), write 75-80 and persist it with a oneshot systemd unit. Undo by setting 100 and disabling the unit.

Unattended jobs need non-interactive credentials. Never store passphrases in files.

• Preferred: keychain. Passphrase typed once per boot at an interactive login; cron jobs source ~/.keychain/<host>-sh for SSH_AUTH_SOCK. If the agent is empty after a fresh boot, jobs fail gracefully.
• Alternative: per-repo deploy keys (read-only, scoped). More secure than an account-wide passphrase-less key; never reuse one across repos.
• Anti-pattern: a passphrase-less personal key on the account. Do not.

A daily cron script with functional probes, not just is-active: actually curl the service's own URL to catch running but unresponsive processes.

• Check connectivity first: do not churn restarts on a dead network.
• Retries: 2 attempts, 10 seconds apart, all logged. Self-trim the log.
• Alerts via curl -d msg https://ntfy.sh/<topic>: free, no account. Pick an obscure topic name per machine.
• Daily git pulls run as the owning user (runuser -u), –ff-only, failing gracefully on dirty trees.

For low-spec or focused machines:

• Mask unused services: bluetooth, cups, avahi, ModemManager.
• Hide login autostart entries.
• zram-config plus vm.swappiness=100 for small RAM. See Running Linux on Low RAM.
• snap set system refresh.retain=2 and drop disabled snap revisions.

• One-line conventional commits: type(scope): description.
• Automation runs git -c commit.gpgsign=false so a signing-key passphrase prompt cannot block a cron commit.

[ ] sshd + key-only auth + authorized_keys
[ ] ufw allows 22
[ ] machine recorded in inventory docs
[ ] (optional) cloudflared tunnel + systemd service
[ ] (optional, laptop) battery threshold + always-on
[ ] keychain wired in ~/.profile
[ ] health-check cron job installed
[ ] ntfy topic chosen + subscribed

• Guides Index
• Adding a New Service
• Security Considerations
• SSH: Remote Server
• Return to wiki home