Category: How to

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NextCloud Setup: Joplin

Joplin was relatively simple to setup on NextCloud. The only difficulty is setting the folder it should run out of. This is done via the webdav url that Joplin connects to. An example is shown below on how to get this going.

https://nextcloud.rapternet.us/remote.php/dav/files/<username>/<path to Joplin directory>

The webdav url just needs your username and the path it should utilize, in my case I just have Joplin setup to go to Documents/Joplin. This would go in the tag above, just add a username and it’s done. This does have to be setup the same way on all Joplin clients or you will end up with files missing from one or another, though they will all be in NextCloud.

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NextCloud Setup: Desktop Client

Setup is easy enough IF http does not redirect to https. The authentication mechanism for the NextCloud desktop client for some reason doesn’t work when http is redirected to https (ex: in the way let’s encrypt sets it up). With the right server setup after that, everything is straight forward.

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Installing OctoPi on an RPi

3D printers have come a long ways in the past few years. The prices have plummeted for basic units, allowing anyone to buy them. The raspberry pi can be setup alongside a basic 3D printer to enable some amazing functionality. They can allow remote control, management, and monitoring of the printers. When combined with a pi cam, you can even create time lapses of the prints.  To do this, we will be running OctoPi on the raspberry pi.

OctoPi is a Raspberry Pi distribution for 3d printers. Out of the box it includes:

  • theOctoPrint host software including all its dependencies and preconfigured with webcam and slicing support,
  • mjpg-streamer for live viewing of prints and timelapse video creation with support for USB webcams and the Raspberry Pi camera,
  • CuraEngine 15.04 for direct slicing on your Raspberry Pi and
  • the LCD app OctoPiPanel plus various scripts to configure supported displays

Continue reading “Installing OctoPi on an RPi”

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Installing MotionEyeOS on an RPi

Raspberry Pis are neat little computers that can be placed just about anywhere assuming there is power and network connectivity nearby. These were made even more convenient with the addition of built in Wi-Fi on the Raspberry Pi 3. One application of these small devices is for home security, as a small motion sensing webcam that can record 24/7, or only when there is motion detected.

There are ways to build up your own system using the basic raspbian distribution and various software packages, or you can use a custom built operating system for this purpose, MotionEyeOS.

MotionEyeOS has everything needed to run a security camera system, or simply a remote webcam monitoring system. This will cover setting up a camera in this tutorial for basic recording and monitoring. This will let us spy on our dog while away at work. Continue reading “Installing MotionEyeOS on an RPi”

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Ansible Setup

Having been running short on time to maintain my servers, I decided to look into some automation on that front. I came across Ansible, which allows management of multiple servers configuration and installation using some of the basic software that’s pre-installed: python and SSH.

Setting up ansible is the easy part. This can be done by simply setting up the Ansible host with SSH key based access to all machines that it will be managing. I set it up with root access to those machines so that it could do mass updates without problem or requesting dozens of passwords and because I don’t have Kerberos or a domain based login system. Continue reading “Ansible Setup”