From Lumière to a Live Site: A Homelab Journey

This website is my personal corner of the internet. My preciousss... We wants it, we needs it! And because it's so precious, it's built with a focus on simplicity and ease of maintenance.

Heh heh heh! Unveiling the Mechanics

At its core, this site is powered by Hugo. I write all my content in “simple Markdown files”, and Hugo transforms them into lightweight, HTML pages. This approach means no databases, just choo-choo-choo, blazing-fast content delivery. It’s perfect for a personal site where performance and ease of maintenance are key.

My Homelab: A Descent into the Suffering of Self-Hosting

Instead of relying on external hosting providers, this site lives on my very own homelab. It’s a mini-PC humming away, quietly asserting its dominance over my projects. This isn’t just about hosting; it’s a continuous learning failing experience and a way to experiment with self-managed infrastructure.

Deployment: Docker and Dokploy

So, how does this digital preciousss escape my lair and reach the masses? Through a deployment process that’s… well, let’s just say it gets the job done:

• Dockerfile: This little text file is the recipe for my Docker image, defining how my site is built and served.

  #####################################################################
  #                            Build Stage                            #
  #####################################################################
  # Use the 'exts' image which includes Hugo Extended and Node.js.
  FROM [hugomods/hugo:exts](https://hub.docker.com/r/hugomods/hugo) AS builder
  
  # Set the working directory for the build.
  WORKDIR /src
  
  # First, copy only the package files and install dependencies.
  # This leverages Docker caching, so 'npm ci' only runs when package files change.
  COPY package*.json ./
  RUN npm ci
  
  # Now, copy the rest of your source code.
  COPY . .
  
  # Run your custom build command. This will execute "hugo && pagefind --source public"
  # as defined in your package.json.
  RUN npm run build
  
  #####################################################################
  #                            Final Stage                            #
  #####################################################################
  # Use the lightweight Nginx-only image for the final container.
  FROM [hugomods/hugo:nginx](https://hub.docker.com/r/hugomods/hugo)
  
  # Copy the generated static files from the 'builder' stage's /src/public directory
  # into the final image's webroot, which is '/site'.
  COPY --from=builder /src/public /site
  

  This Dockerfile uses a multi-stage build process:

  • Build Stage: It starts with a hugomods/hugo image (which includes Hugo and Node.js). It copies package.json and package-lock.json to install Node.js dependencies efficiently (leveraging Docker’s build cache). Then, it copies the rest of your project and runs npm run build (which typically executes hugo and pagefind to generate your static site).

  • Final Stage: A much lighter hugomods/hugo image is used. It copies only the built static files from the public directory of the builder stage into the Nginx webroot (/site). This keeps the final Docker image small and secure, containing only what’s necessary to serve the website.

  • Dokploy: This is an open-source, self-hosted deployment platform. It automates the process of picking up changes from Git, building Docker images, and deploying them to a server, handling tasks like reverse proxying and SSL.

In short, I write, Hugo builds, Docker packages, and Dokploy deploys – all on my own hardware. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my gaming backlog isn’t going to clear itself, and I have a Monolith to conquer, a tainted path leading directly to the Paintress!