It’s worked well for me so far. I chose Homarr because it has a GUI for dashboard creation, I wanted the whole family to be able to use it and they aren’t all up to editing YAML etc.

I use Homarr and initially created a really complex dash, but I’ve since whittled it down to just the bare essentials as a homepage.

Links to my most used web pages and self hosted services, and a couple of vital metrics that I would need to act upon quickly.

For everything else I have Grafana dashboards I can dip into as I need to.

A VPS is going to have all the same problems as a local server in terms of inexperienced users, and will also add all the extra hassle of managing and paying for the VPS account.

I would say the best options for emergency access are local backups and documentation, which you already have. You could also consider keeping additional copies of essential passwords (like email accounts etc) in a simpler vault like Keepass. Or even physical copies written down in a security envelope in a safe.

It’s called “disk destroyer” for a reason.

Always double check your dd commands folks.

I hadn’t heard of Moonfin before, it looks promising as an Apple TV client. Any pitfalls with it?

I’ve got an X220 as my secondary laptop, currently running Debian. It’s had several mods/upgrades and it’s still a very useful machine.

I’m using Jellyfin with 2 Apple TV 4Ks, one newer and one older. As other commenters have said there is no complete official Jellyfin app for Apple TV.

Swiftfin is the in development new app for Apple platforms, but it still very incomplete. Basic video playback works, but there are a lot of missing features like music and live tv support. The interface is functional but still fairly crude, and in the current version there’s a lot of ugly overflow issues in the UI. Video playback has always been reliable for me though. It will improve as development progresses but for now it’s very much a work in progress.

The other option is Infuse, which has a much nicer and mature UI, but also isn’t fully feature complete for Jellyfin. It also a proprietary app with a subscription to unlock all features. I’ve tried the free version and it seems to work well enough, video playback was smooth.

I think there are few other small apps but I haven’t tried them.

I wish there were better options for clients as the Apple TV is the best streaming box I’ve found but the Jellyfin support could be better.

I’m using a Drayton Wiser thermostat, which uses WiFi but has a fully local integration via HACS. Has worked great for me so far.

I have a smart water meter installed by the utility provider with a cloud integration, unfortunately the readings have a 24-48h delay so it’s no use for real time monitoring.

A proper permissions system for entities has long been one of my most desired features for Home Assistant. It should be possible to set visibility and control for each entity and user.

Trying to do control access via dashboards as always seems the wrong way around to me.

Orcaslicer is also available as a Flatpak, which has worked in most distros I’ve tried it with.

So far the only inline option I’ve found is this dimmable switch from Samotech. I haven’t tried one yet myself, and there’s mixed reviews online. For the lamps I have I only want an on-off switch though, not a dimmer.

Making due with plugging them into smart plugs for now, but an inline option would be much neater.

I’d say it’s always best to avoid Zigbee devices going offline, its neither convenient for automation or good for the mesh for devices to keep dropping.

Disable or remove the lamp switches. Add more smart buttons if there is a need for a physical control near the lamp.

As it happens I’m actually looking for a smart lamp switch if anyone knows of any options.

UniFi Protect now has limited ONVIF support allowing various 3rd party cameras to work with Protect.

UniFi cameras can have RTSP enabled also, but it requires UniFi Protect to enable the setting.

What model of label printer is that?

So far I just keep recipes in whatever I’m using for notes.

Some of these dedicated programs look interesting though. Thinking about it, it would be handy to have some dedicated cooking features, like being able to search for recipes by ingredients.

I think the options either that combination are limited. IKEA Zigbee devices use removable batteries, but they don’t have a temperature sensor. They do have a USB air quality sensor but it’s a bit more complex/expensive.

There are some good WiFi, Bluetooth or RF options with removable batteries but they won’t be Zigbee.

I’ve heard of some people modifying the coin cell devices to used a wired power supply, maybe that would be an option.

It’s not mentioned in the release notes anywhere, but the 2025.8 update has subtly changed the shade of blue used in the UI:

It’s been throwing me off a bit ever since I updated.

I would also recommend openSUSE Tumbleweed. I’m usually a Debian/Debian-based person but I’ve been running Tumbleweed on my desktop for a few years now and it’s been great.

It has a few peculiarities like any distro but it’s been very stable, with few issues even with things like Nvidia drivers. Docs and community seem good too.