blumeops/docs/tutorials/replicating-blumeops.md

title	modified	last-reviewed	tags
Replicating BlumeOps	2026-05-11	2026-05-11	tutorials replication

Replicating BlumeOps

Audiences: Replicator

This tutorial provides a roadmap for building your own homelab GitOps environment inspired by BlumeOps. It links to detailed component tutorials for each major piece.

What You'll Build

By following this guide, you'll have:

• A secure mesh network connecting your devices
• A Kubernetes cluster for running containerized services
• GitOps-driven deployments via ArgoCD
• Observability with metrics, logs, and dashboards
• Backup and disaster recovery capabilities

Hardware Requirements

BlumeOps runs on modest hardware. At minimum:

Component	BlumeOps Uses	Minimum Alternative
Server	Mac Mini M1	Any machine with sufficient RAM (16GB recommended)
NAS	Synology DS920+	USB drive or second machine
Workstation	MacBook Air M4	Whatever you use daily

You can start with a single machine and add storage later.

The Journey

Phase 1: Networking Foundation

Before deploying services, establish secure connectivity.

tailscale-setup

• Create a tailnet and connect your devices
• Configure ACLs for service access
• Set up MagicDNS for convenient naming

This replaces: traditional VPNs, port forwarding, dynamic DNS

Phase 2: Core Services

Bootstrap the essential services that everything else depends on.

core-services

• Set up forgejo for git hosting and CI/CD
• Optionally set up zot container registry
• Configure SSH access and deploy keys

Forgejo is central to GitOps - it's where your infrastructure definitions live and where CI/CD workflows run.

Phase 3: Kubernetes Cluster

A cluster for running containerized workloads.

kubernetes-bootstrap

• Install minikube (or k3s, kind, etc.)
• Configure persistent storage
• Expose the API securely via Tailscale

BlumeOps uses minikube for simplicity, but the patterns apply to any distribution.

Phase 4: GitOps with ArgoCD

Declarative, git-driven deployments.

argocd-config

• Install ArgoCD in your cluster
• Connect to your git repository
• Deploy your first application
• Set up the app-of-apps pattern

This is the heart of GitOps - changes in git automatically sync to your cluster.

Phase 5: Observability Stack

Know what's happening in your infrastructure.

observability-stack

• Deploy Prometheus for metrics
• Deploy Loki for logs
• Deploy Grafana for dashboards
• Configure Alloy for collection

Without observability, you're flying blind.

Phase 6: Your First Services

With the foundation in place, deploy actual workloads. BlumeOps runs:

• miniflux - RSS reader
• jellyfin - Media server
• immich - Photo management
• navidrome - Music streaming
• docs - Documentation site (Quartz)

Pick what matters to you. Each service follows similar patterns:

1. Create Kubernetes manifests
2. Create ArgoCD Application
3. Configure ingress routing
4. Sync and verify

Phase 7: Backups and Resilience

Protect your data.

• Set up borgmatic for backup automation
• Configure NAS as backup target
• Test restore procedures
• Document disaster recovery

Alternative Approaches

BlumeOps makes specific choices that may not suit everyone:

BlumeOps Choice	Alternative
macOS server	Linux server (more common)
Minikube	k3s, kind, or managed K8s
Tailscale	WireGuard, Nebula
ArgoCD	Flux, manual kubectl
Ansible	NixOS, Docker Compose

The principles (GitOps, IaC, observability) matter more than specific tools.

Getting Started

Begin with tailscale-setup - networking is the foundation everything else builds on.

Related

• Reference - See BlumeOps' specific configurations
• contributing - Help improve BlumeOps instead