homelab/CLAUDE_STATUS.md

Homelab Status Tracker

Last Updated: 2025-11-30 17:37:00 Goal: Document and commit recent infrastructure planning and integration documentation Phase: Completed Current Context: All documentation corrections committed. Architecture updates for Debian 12 and NPM committed to repository. Latest commit hash: c16d521070

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Current Tasks

Pre-Commit Security & Sanitization

• Step 1: Sanitize API key in OBSIDIAN-MCP-SETUP.md

  • Status: Completed at 2025-11-30 13:20:00
  • Owner: Librarian
  • Action: Replaced all 5 occurrences of real API key with placeholder
  • Result: Verified no production secrets remain in file

• Step 2: Update .gitignore to exclude Claude config files

  • Status: Completed at 2025-11-30 13:21:00
  • Owner: Librarian
  • Action: Added .claude.json, *.claude.json, and .claude/ patterns
  • Result: Claude configuration files will not be committed to repository

• Step 3: Stage all changes for commit

  • Status: Completed at 2025-11-30 13:22:00
  • Owner: Librarian
  • Action: Executed git add -A
  • Result: Staged 6 files (1 deleted, 2 modified, 3 new)

• Step 4: Create commit with proper message

  • Status: Completed at 2025-11-30 13:24:29
  • Owner: Librarian
  • Action: Created commit with comprehensive conventional commit message
  • Result: Commit hash a1841f1c41
  • Changes: 6 files changed, 2,849 insertions(+), 73 deletions(-)

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Completed Reviews

• Scribe Review: Documented all changes comprehensively
• Librarian Security Review: Identified security concerns
• Lab-Operator Infrastructure Review: Validated operational impact

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Changes Being Committed

Modified Files

• CLAUDE.md: Enhanced with Universal Workflow sections

Deleted Files

• .claude/agents/homelab-steve.md: Removed legacy agent definition

New Files

• CLAUDE_STATUS.md: Status tracking file
• OBSIDIAN-MCP-SETUP.md: Obsidian MCP guide (820 lines)
• n8n/N8N-SETUP-PLAN.md: n8n deployment plan (1,948 lines)

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Post-Commit Documentation Corrections

• Fix PostgreSQL Installation Instructions: n8n/N8N-SETUP-PLAN.md

  • Status: Completed at 2025-11-30 13:30:00
  • Owner: Scribe
  • Issue: PostgreSQL 16 installation failed - package not in standard repos
  • Action: Added PostgreSQL official repository setup steps (lines 587-605)
  • Result: Installation instructions now work correctly
  • Reported by: User (real-world deployment feedback)

• Architecture Corrections - Batch Updates: n8n/N8N-SETUP-PLAN.md

  • Status: Completed at 2025-11-30 14:00:00
  • Owners: Scribe (documentation), Lab-Operator (validation)
  • Issues Identified:
    1. OS mismatch: Document referenced Ubuntu, actual deployment is Debian 12
    2. Reverse proxy mismatch: Document described standalone nginx, actual is Nginx Proxy Manager (NPM)
  • Total Changes Applied: 30+ corrections across 4 batches

  Batch 1 - OS Corrections (2 changes):

  • Line 200: Updated OS template "Debian 12 or Ubuntu" → "Debian 12"
  • Line 588: Updated comment "Ubuntu repositories" → "Debian repositories"

  Batch 2 - NPM Terminology Updates (10 changes):

  • Line 12: Executive summary updated to reference NPM
  • Lines 112-113: CT 102 specs updated (2 cores, 4GB RAM, 10GB disk) and renamed to nginx-proxy-mgr
  • Line 170: LXC consistency reference updated to NPM
  • Lines 260, 286, 308-309: Network diagrams updated (nginx → NPM, added port 81)
  • Line 320: Firewall comment updated
  • Lines 583-584: Removed nginx-light and certbot from prerequisites
  • Line 893: Firewall rule comment updated to NPM

  Batch 3 - Major Section Rewrites (2 sections):

  • Lines 379-437: Section VI-A completely rewritten for NPM architecture
    • Added NPM overview with GitHub link
    • Replaced manual nginx config with NPM web UI instructions
    • Documented NPM admin access (port 81)
    • Updated SSL configuration approach (GUI vs certbot)
  • Lines 765-917: Phase 7 completely rewritten (reduced from 20min to 10min)
    • Replaced SSH/manual config with browser-based NPM UI steps
    • Added step-by-step proxy host creation guide
    • Included SSL certificate request via NPM interface
    • Added NPM-specific troubleshooting section

  Batch 4 - Remaining Updates (15+ changes):

  • Line 1093: "HTTPS through nginx" → "HTTPS through NPM"
  • Lines 1360-1372: Troubleshooting section updated for NPM (Docker commands, UI access)
  • Line 1376: Firewall check comment updated
  • Line 1392: Timeout check reference updated to NPM Advanced settings
  • Line 1444: Security hardening checklist updated
  • Lines 1478-1487: Rate limiting implementation updated for NPM
  • Line 1575: Workflow diagram updated
  • Line 1801: Architecture diagram updated (nginx → NPM)
  • Line 1868: Deployment checklist updated

  Key Architecture Changes Documented:

  1. Debian 12 vs Ubuntu: Package repositories differ, PostgreSQL requires official apt repo
  2. NPM vs Standalone Nginx:
     • Configuration: Web UI at :81 vs manual config files
     • SSL Management: Automatic via UI vs manual certbot commands
     • Monitoring: Built-in dashboard vs log file review
     • Architecture: Docker-based NPM vs system nginx service
     • Maintenance: GUI-based vs SSH/command-line

  Lab-Operator Validation: ✅ APPROVED

  • All changes verified against actual Proxmox infrastructure
  • NPM compatibility confirmed (Docker on LXC with nesting=1)
  • Security implications reviewed and documented
  • No operational risks identified

  Impact:

  • Phase 7 time reduced: 20 minutes → 10 minutes
  • Deployment complexity reduced (no SSH to CT 102 required)
  • Maintenance simplified (web UI vs config files)
  • Documentation accuracy: Aligned with real deployment environment

• Commit Architecture Corrections to Repository

  • Status: Completed at 2025-11-30 17:37:00
  • Owner: Librarian
  • Action: Created commit with conventional commit message for n8n architecture corrections
  • Result: Commit hash c16d521070
  • Changes: 2 files changed, 325 insertions(+), 194 deletions(-)
    • CLAUDE_STATUS.md: Updated with detailed change log
    • n8n/N8N-SETUP-PLAN.md: 30+ architecture corrections (Debian 12 + NPM)

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Active Troubleshooting: n8n 502 Bad Gateway

Started: 2025-11-30 Updated: 2025-12-01 Status: Ready for Deployment Issue: n8n returns 502 Bad Gateway - Root cause identified and fix script prepared

Problem Summary

Symptoms:

• ❌ External access: https://n8n.apophisnetworking.net returns 502 Bad Gateway (from mobile)
• ❌ Internal access: Returns nginx default page or connection issues
• ✅ Comparison: beszel.apophisnetworking.net works perfectly (both internal and external)

Configuration Context:

• n8n location: CT 113 at 192.168.2.113:5678
• NPM location: CT 102 at 192.168.2.101
• Beszel location: 192.168.2.102:8090 (working reference)
• All services behind same NPM, same Cloudflare DNS setup

n8n Configuration (from /opt/n8n/.env)

# n8n Configuration
N8N_PROTOCOL=https
N8N_HOST=n8n.apophisnetworking.net
N8N_PORT=5678
N8N_PATH=/
WEBHOOK_URL=https://n8n.apophisnetworking.net/

# Database
DB_TYPE=postgresdb
DB_POSTGRESDB_HOST=localhost
DB_POSTGRESDB_PORT=5432
DB_POSTGRESDB_DATABASE=n8n_db
DB_POSTGRESDB_USER=n8n_user

NPM Proxy Host Configuration (from screenshots)

Details Tab:

• Domain: n8n.apophisnetworking.net
• Scheme: http
• Forward to: 192.168.2.113:5678
• Websockets: ✓ Enabled
• Status: Online (green)

SSL Tab:

• Certificate: *.apophisnetworking.net (wildcard)
• Force SSL: ✓ Enabled
• HTTP/2: ✓ Enabled
• HSTS: ✓ Enabled

Diagnostic Steps Completed

• Verify n8n service status (Lab-Operator)

  • Status: Service in crash loop - repeatedly starting and failing
  • Command: systemctl status n8n showed "activating (auto-restart)"

• Review service logs (Lab-Operator)

  • Command: journalctl -u n8n -n 100
  • Errors found: Encryption key validation failures
  • Log showed: n8n exiting immediately after start attempt

• Analyze .env configuration (Backend-Builder)

  • Found: N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=$(openssl rand -hex 32)
  • Issue: .env files don't execute shell commands - this is a literal string
  • Missing: N8N_LISTEN_ADDRESS=0.0.0.0
  • Missing: NODE_ENV=production
  • Password needs quoting: DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD="Nbkx4mdmay1)"

Root Cause Analysis

PRIMARY ISSUE: Invalid N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY in /opt/n8n/.env

Technical Explanation: The .env file contained N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY=$(openssl rand -hex 32) which was intended to generate a random encryption key. However, .env files are not shell scripts - they don't execute commands. The variable was set to the literal string $(openssl rand -hex 32) instead of an actual 64-character hexadecimal key.

Impact:

• n8n service fails encryption key validation on startup
• Service enters crash loop (start → fail → restart → fail)
• NPM returns 502 Bad Gateway because backend service is down
• Issue was NOT hairpin NAT or NPM misconfiguration (beszel works fine with same setup)

Additional Configuration Issues Identified:

1. Missing N8N_LISTEN_ADDRESS=0.0.0.0 - would cause service to listen only on localhost
2. Missing NODE_ENV=production - affects performance and security
3. Database password not quoted - special characters need proper escaping

Attempted Solutions & Lessons Learned

Attempt 1-3: Heredoc Script Failures

• Created fix script using heredoc syntax for .env generation
• Error: warning: here-document at line 22 delimited by end-of-file (wanted 'ENVEOF')
• Root cause: Windows/Linux line ending issues when copying script from WSL to LXC container
• Backend-Builder's first attempt incorrectly changed to SQLite (corrected to maintain PostgreSQL)
• Lesson: Heredoc syntax fragile in cross-platform environments

Final Solution: Simple Echo-Based Script

• Replaced heredoc with simple echo statements
• More robust to copy-paste and line ending issues
• Avoids CRLF/LF conversion problems

Solution: Fix Script Ready for Deployment

Script Location: /tmp/fix_n8n_simple.sh (on WSL, ready to transfer to CT 113)

Script Actions:

1. Generates proper encryption key: ENCRYPTION_KEY=$(openssl rand -hex 32)
2. Backs up existing .env with timestamp: /opt/n8n/.env.backup.YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS
3. Creates new .env file with corrected configuration:
   • Actual generated encryption key (not shell command)
   • Adds N8N_LISTEN_ADDRESS=0.0.0.0
   • Adds NODE_ENV=production
   • Properly quotes DB_POSTGRESDB_PASSWORD
   • Maintains PostgreSQL database configuration
4. Sets secure permissions: chmod 600 and chown n8n:n8n
5. Restarts n8n service
6. Verifies service status and local connectivity

Reviews Completed:

• ✅ Backend-Builder: Code review APPROVED (95% confidence, technically sound)
• ✅ Lab-Operator: Operational review APPROVED with safeguards documented
  • Minimal downtime (~13 seconds)
  • No database corruption risk
  • Rollback procedures documented
  • Security recommendations provided

Pre-Execution Safeguards:

1. Create ZFS snapshot of CT 113: pct snapshot 113 pre-n8n-fix
2. Backup PostgreSQL database: pg_dump n8n_db > /tmp/n8n_db_pre_fix_backup.sql
3. Verify no encrypted credentials exist (likely none since service never started)

Security Notes:

• Script contains hardcoded password - delete after use: shred -u /tmp/fix_n8n_simple.sh
• Do NOT commit script to git repository
• Encryption key properly secured in .env with 600 permissions

Next Actions

• User to deploy fix script on CT 113 tomorrow (2025-12-02)
• Test external access after fix: https://n8n.apophisnetworking.net
• Verify service stability for 24 hours
• Update this status file to RESOLVED after successful deployment

Files Referenced

• /home/jramos/homelab/n8n/N8N-SETUP-PLAN.md - Phase 5 configuration
• /opt/n8n/.env - n8n configuration (on CT 113)
• /tmp/fix_n8n_simple.sh - Fix script (NOT committed to git - contains password)
• /data/nginx/proxy_host/*.conf - NPM proxy configs (on CT 102)

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Repository: /home/jramos/homelab | Branch: main