Homelab Overview

You are managing your homelab using Proxmox with VMs for Ubuntu, Kali, and pfSense. Your main goals include hosting your own services, automating workflows, and connecting everything securely with Twingate.

Obsidian Setup

  • Obsidian is being self-hosted using CouchDB.
  • You’ll run it on the Ubuntu VM and connect to it using Obsidian LiveSync.
  • Secure remote access is managed via Twingate.

Step-by-Step Setup Plan

Phase 1: Server Preparation

  1. Update and secure the Ubuntu VM:

    sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

  2. Install Docker and Docker Compose:

    sudo apt install docker.io docker-compose -y

  3. Create directories for your services:

    mkdir ~/obsidian-sync ~/n8n && cd ~/obsidian-sync

Phase 2: Deploy CouchDB for Obsidian Sync

  1. Create docker-compose.yml file:

    version: '3.8'
services:
  couchdb:
    image: couchdb:latest
    container_name: couchdb-for-obsidian
    environment:
      - COUCHDB_USER=admin
      - COUCHDB_PASSWORD=your_secure_password
    volumes:
      - ./data:/opt/couchdb/data
      - ./config:/opt/couchdb/etc/local.d
    ports:
      - 5984:5984
    restart: unless-stopped

  2. Launch CouchDB:

    docker compose up -d

  3. Open the CouchDB dashboard: http://<ip>:5984/_utils

  4. Login using your credentials and create database obsidian.

  5. In Obsidian, install the Self-Hosted LiveSync plugin and connect to CouchDB.

Phase 3: Install and Configure n8n

  1. Move to n8n directory:

    cd ~/n8n

  2. Create docker-compose.yml:

    version: '3'
services:
  n8n:
    image: n8nio/n8n:latest
    environment:
      - GENERIC_TIMEZONE=Europe/Paris
    ports:
      - 5678:5678
    volumes:
      - ./data:/home/node/.n8n
    restart: unless-stopped

  3. Run n8n:

    docker compose up -d

  4. Open n8n in your browser: http://<server-ip>:5678

Phase 4: Automate Backups with n8n

  1. Create a backup directory: /backups/obsidian
  2. In n8n, create a new workflow:

    • Trigger: Cron node (Weekly on Sunday)

    • Command Node:

      tar czf /backups/obsidian_$(date +%F).tar.gz /path/to/obsidian-vault

    • Notification Node (Optional): Send message via Telegram or Discord API.

Phase 5: Remote Access and Security

  1. Install and link your server to your Twingate account.
  2. Access your n8n and CouchDB dashboards remotely in a secure way.
  3. Set up HTTPS tunnels if needed (optional step using Pinggy or Cloudflare Tunnel).

Weekend Action Plan

Saturday

  • Proxmox maintenance and Ubuntu updates.
  • Install Docker & deploy CouchDB.
  • Test CouchDB connection with Obsidian desktop.

Sunday

  • Deploy n8n and create your first backup automation.
  • Configure Twingate for external secure access.
  • Document your setup directly in Obsidian.

End Goal

By Monday, you’ll have: - A self-hosted Obsidian sync system (CouchDB) - n8n automation for weekly backups - Secure remote workflow using Twingate —