Public Website
tylerrodgers.space
Main project site for Barndoor, Haystack, the build log, current work, and self-hosted infrastructure documentation.
Project Hub Build Log CaddyProject / Barndoor
Server is healthyBarndoor
Barndoor is my self-hosted operations platform: a bare-metal Linux LTS server that runs local AI, websites, monitoring, Discord-powered tools, backups, and documented recovery workflows from my own hardware.
Overview
What it does — operating model Open the overview of Barndoor’s command center, documentation, backups, and recovery layer
Barndoor brings the software and physical sides of my home lab into one operating layer. It hosts public sites, runs local AI through Ollama, exposes server tools through Discord, and keeps project documentation close to the systems it describes.
The Discord bot acts as the command center. It groups health checks, documentation search, backup review, website checks, and local AI controls into one easier operations workflow.
The reliability side is just as important: Barndoor has daily config backups, internal recovery notes, build log notifications, and rack power support through a PDU, UPS, and power meter.
Command Center Local Documentation Health Checks Backups Power-Aware RackSystem Timeline
How Barndoor has evolved — six build phases
Barndoor has evolved through six major phases: bare-metal setup, local AI, public website hosting, Discord operations, recovery workflows, and platform polish.
Phase 1
Bare-metal foundation
Installed Ubuntu Server on dedicated hardware and moved Barndoor into a real self-hosted environment with direct access to the machine’s resources. This created the foundation for local services, automation, monitoring, and future infrastructure work.
Phase 2
Local AI and Discord bot
Added Ollama for local language models and connected the server to Discord through the Barndoor bot. This turned the machine from a passive server into an interactive assistant that could answer questions, summarize text, explain topics, and expose local AI through Discord.
Phase 3
Self-hosted websites
Migrated tylerrodgers.space and TM44.link onto Barndoor using Docker, Caddy, DNS, HTTPS, and router port forwarding. The server became a public project platform for build logs, project pages, short links, and self-hosted documentation.
Phase 4
Discord operations toolkit
Expanded Barndoor’s Discord interface into an owner-only operations layer for health checks, service review, documentation lookup, backup visibility, website checks, and local AI controls. The bot became a practical control surface for the server.
Phase 5
Knowledge, backups, and recovery
Added searchable knowledge notes, daily configuration backups, retention cleanup, internal recovery notes, build log notifications, a maintenance lifecycle document, and a tested restore drill. This gave Barndoor a real maintenance loop: build, document, notify, back up, and test restore.
Phase 6
Operations platform polish
Cleaned up the command interface with a short /help, full
/listcommands, /listnotes, and an upgraded
/doctor first-stop dashboard. The public website was also
polished with a dashboard-style Barndoor page, scrollable timeline, service
catalog, and compact update feed.
Current Stack
Core platform — tightly knit
The current setup is built around Ubuntu Server, Docker, Caddy, Uptime Kuma, Ollama, Discord.js, DNS, router port forwarding, and local network services.
Rack Power Ubuntu Server Docker Caddy Ollama Uptime Kuma Discord.jsHosted Services
Short-Link Hub
tm44.link
Public shortcut domain for project links, active build pages, and quick redirects into the Barndoor-hosted website.
Short Links Redirects /now Build Log /barndoor /haystack
Monitoring
Uptime Kuma
Local monitoring dashboard for checking service availability and keeping visibility into Barndoor-hosted endpoints.
Local Monitoring Docker Monitoring
Local AI API
Ollama
Local model runtime used by the Barndoor Discord bot for AI responses, summaries, explanations, and future admin-assistant workflows.
Local AI Private API OllamaDiscord Bot
Developed by Tyler Rodgers (@tilhr)
Barndoor as a command center — Discord-powered operations
The Barndoor Discord bot turns the server into an interactive operations console. From Discord, I can use grouped tools for health checks, documentation lookup, backup visibility, website monitoring, and local AI controls.
Online
First check
Health overview
A first-stop health dashboard for services, Docker, disk, network, backups, websites, and build log notifications.
Knowledge
Knowledge search
Searches Barndoor’s local notes for services, recovery, websites, commands, networking, and backup workflows.
Reference
Command reference
Shows the full grouped command reference so the bot stays usable as the toolkit grows.
Discover
Command discovery
Short help, grouped command reference, and knowledge topic listing.
Help Menu Command Reference Topic ListingOperate
Operations
Grouped health, service review, log review, and network checks.
Health Checks Service Review Log Review Network Checks Recovery ControlsDocument
Knowledge
Read, search, and update Barndoor’s local infrastructure notes.
Note Reading Note Search Note CaptureProtect
Backups
Check backup status and support daily config backup workflows.
Backup StatusPublish
Web + Build Log
Review hosted sites, project links, and build log notification status.
Website Checks Build Log Link Reference NotificationsAssist
Local AI
Ask questions, summarize text, explain topics, and adjust local AI behavior.
Ask Summarize Explain Model Controls SettingsUpdate Feed
Recent Barndoor milestones — update feed
A running feed of the newest operations, documentation, recovery, and Discord bot improvements.
Barndoor project page polished
Updated the Barndoor project page so it better reflects the current direction of the project as a self-hosted operations and recovery platform.
The system timeline is now scrollable, the hosted services section has been redesigned into a cleaner service catalog, and the latest updates section now works more like a compact update feed.
Website Polish System Timeline Update Feed Service CatalogDoctor command added
Barndoor now has /doctor, a quick first-response health diagnosis
command for checking core services, disk usage, network and Ollama connectivity,
backup freshness, and public website availability.
The command gives a short summary and recommends the next detailed check when something needs attention.
Health Check Health Check OperationsCommand interface cleaned up
Barndoor’s Discord interface is now easier to navigate. The /help
command is a short starter menu, /listcommands provides the full
grouped command reference, and /listnotes lists available knowledge
topics.
Knowledge base expanded
Barndoor’s local knowledge files now include deeper documentation for services, networking, backups, commands, recovery, and websites.
A new websites topic was added so Barndoor can return notes about
tylerrodgers.space, TM44.link, Caddy, website paths, the build log watcher, and
the internal recovery notes directly from Discord.
Knowledge notes can now be edited from Discord
Barndoor now has a simple read, search, and write workflow for local infrastructure
documentation. The bot can return fixed notes with /notes, search
across the knowledge folder with /searchnotes, and append new notes
with /addnote.
This makes it easier to capture recovery steps, service details, backup reminders, and command references while actively working on the server.
Note Reading Note Search Note Capture Knowledge BaseAdmin toolkit added
Barndoor now includes an owner-only server administration toolkit inside Discord. This update moves the bot beyond basic chat functionality and gives it practical tools for checking, diagnosing, and recovering services running on the server.
The new workflow is simple: check the system, review the relevant details, and use approved recovery controls when needed. This creates the first version of a Discord-based operations panel for the Barndoor home-lab environment.
Health Check Service Review Disk Review Network Check Log Review Recovery ControlsNext Steps
Where this project is going — next phase
The next phase is about turning Barndoor from a monitored self-hosted system into a more capable AI-assisted operations platform.
-
Improve
/doctorso it becomes the first place to check system health, service status, backups, websites, and notification state. - Expand the knowledge base so Barndoor can answer more project-specific questions about services, recovery steps, network details, and website paths.
- Add better observability around Docker containers, website uptime, storage, logs, and long-running service behavior.
- Continue refining recovery workflows with clearer real-restore examples, safer restore notes, and more regular restore drills.
- Move toward AI-assisted system administration: Barndoor should not just report what is wrong, but help explain what to check next and how to fix it safely.