A 'Random Video' Button for the Omarchy Bar

A bar popup that plays a random video inline with a Reroll button — and the YouTube split-stream problem that turned out to be the actual hard part.

September 11, 2026 · 3 min · 523 words · Alan

A Software KVM for Hyprland, Since Synergy/Barrier Won't Work

Why Synergy, Barrier, Input Leap, and Deskflow all fail on Hyprland, and the Rust daemon I built instead — reimplementing PowerToys’ Mouse Without Borders wire protocol against Hyprland’s own wlroots input protocols.

September 11, 2026 · 4 min · 734 words · Alan

Building a Camera Bar Widget for Omarchy (Reolink + Google Nest)

A snapshot pill in the Omarchy bar that switches between however many cameras you’ve got, with a popup UI to add or remove them — no config file editing, no fixed camera count.

September 4, 2026 · 4 min · 643 words · Alan

API Versioning Strategies That Actually Work in Production

Every API eventually needs to change in a way that breaks someone. The question isn’t whether to version — it’s which strategy you can actually maintain two years in.

September 3, 2026 · 3 min · 535 words · Alan

Gaming on Linux in 2026: What Proton Actually Handles and What Still Needs Work

Proton has made Linux gaming genuinely viable, not just theoretically possible. Here’s the honest state of it: what to check before buying a game, and the tools that actually matter.

September 3, 2026 · 3 min · 557 words · Alan

Laravel to Craft CMS: What Actually Transfers, and What Doesn't

Both are PHP, both are opinionated, and that’s about where the similarity stops being useful. Here’s what a Laravel developer’s instincts get right and wrong on a first Craft CMS project.

September 3, 2026 · 3 min · 525 words · Alan

Reverse Proxy with Caddy: The Only Config You Need for HTTPS

Once you’re running more than one self-hosted app, a reverse proxy stops being optional. Caddy gets you there with a config file short enough to read in ten seconds.

September 3, 2026 · 2 min · 409 words · Alan

Systemd Services Explained: Writing Your Own Unit File

Every guide shows you a unit file to copy. Here’s what each line actually does, tested live, including the one gotcha that trips up nearly every first attempt at a user service.

September 3, 2026 · 2 min · 416 words · Alan

WSL2 Setup Guide: A Real Linux Environment on Windows Without Dual-Booting

You don’t need to dual-boot or run a VM to get a genuine Linux environment on Windows. Here’s what WSL2 actually gets you, and the handful of things worth configuring on day one.

September 3, 2026 · 3 min · 516 words · Alan

Best Self-Hosted Apps to Run on a Home Server in 2026

A shortlist of self-hosted apps that are actually worth the maintenance burden, organized by what problem they solve.

September 1, 2026 · 3 min · 495 words · Alan