Replicating BlumeOps
Audiences: Replicator
This tutorial provides a roadmap for building your own homelab GitOps environment inspired by BluemeOps. 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
BluemeOps 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Building the 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. BluemeOps 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:
- Create Kubernetes manifests
- Create ArgoCD Application
- Configure ingress routing
- 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
BluemeOps 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