Documentation from a system that has to keep working.
I’m Juan Foreman. Bench Notes grew out of the notes, commands, recovery steps, and configuration decisions I needed while building and operating a real home lab and Home Assistant environment.
What the guides are based on
Home Assistant, Zigbee, ESPHome, MQTT, cameras, dashboards, presence detection, automations, and household-facing controls.
Linux hosts, Docker Compose, DNS, monitoring, secure remote access, backups, recovery, and multi-node services.
How I write
- Exact steps when an exact step exists.
- Clear tradeoffs when there is no single correct choice.
- Failure modes and recovery notes, not only the happy path.
- Version dates and corrections when the underlying tools change.
- Printable formats for work done away from a comfortable desk.
What “tested” means
The material is grounded in configurations I have run, repaired, migrated, or validated. It is not a guarantee that every vendor, integration, network, or hardware combination will behave identically. Guides identify external dependencies and areas that require verification rather than presenting uncertain behavior as universal.
Corrections and support
Technical material ages. When a command, interface, or assumption changes, I would rather correct it than defend an outdated page. Use the contact information published with Bench Notes for corrections or questions.