Evidence-led homelab decisions

Practical tools. Clear trade-offs.

For developers and self-builders: useful browser tools and source-led guidance for choosing, building, and maintaining a homelab. Measure first, understand the limits, and decide what fits.

A free guided Buying Checklist with self-reported checks and a full printable worksheet. Not a sizing calculator, purchase approval, or guarantee. No signup.

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Images

QuickShrink

Compress and convert images before publishing or sharing them.

Works with: JPEG, PNG, and WebP. Free: 20 compressions per day. Pro: $3.99 once for batch, format, resize, preset, and ZIP features.

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Developer utilities

HashForge

Generate and compare hashes for text or files.

Works with: MD5, SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384, SHA-512, HMAC, comparison, hex, and Base64. Files load fully into memory.

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Developer utilities

RegexLab

Test and debug regular expressions against sample text.

Works with: JavaScript regex, flags g/i/m/s/u/d, replacement, capture groups, test cases, and a pattern library.

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Scoped work for small teams

Automation Reliability Service

One existing, non-critical workflow: diagnosis, approved hardening, and an evidence and recovery handoff. Quote after scoping, not a managed-service promise.

See the scope, free synthetic delivery kit and private inquiry path

Plan before spending

Planning a homelab purchase?

Start with the bottleneck, compatibility, and recovery plan. Choose a path to compare requirements before looking at products.

  • Storage and build performance

    Docker build caches, local project storage, and planned TrueNAS data pools.

  • Power and network reliability

    TrueNAS systems, always-on services, and 2.5GbE upgrades where one unsupported link can cap the whole path.

  • Secure access

    Administrators who want hardware-backed OpenSSH authentication and can enroll a separate recovery key.

Use the free guided Homelab Decision Kit / Buying Checklist to identify missing evidence before making a shortlist, or ask a compatibility question. Reusing existing hardware may be the right answer.

Choose a path

Start with a guide

Security

Harden applications and infrastructure without losing the recovery path.

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DevOps

Build safer delivery pipelines with practical, runnable controls.

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Homelab

Plan storage, networking, access, and recovery as one system.

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Selected, not ranked

Selected field notes

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Follow or discuss

RSS updates. Practical discussion.

Follow published guides in your feed reader, or ask a build question in the moderated onsite community. Email updates are not enabled. Free tools need no account or subscription.