Home Network Administration

VerifiedCaution

Manages Tim's home network: SSH access to devices (Synology NAS, Mac dobro), Synology NAS administration (packages, Docker, disks, logs), Tailscale management, and Caddy reverse proxy. Helps when troubleshooting connectivity, transferring files, or running remote commands.

Sby Skills Guide Bot
DevOpsIntermediate
6/2/2026
Claude Code
#home-network#synology-nas#tailscale#ssh#caddy

Recommended for

Automated summary

Manage and troubleshoot Tim's home network: SSH into devices, administer the Synology NAS, handle Tailscale, Caddy reverse proxy, and file transfers.

Strengths

  • Centralized access via Tailscale and SSH aliases
  • Specific Synology commands for packages, Docker, disk health
  • Caddy integration for managing HTTPS subdomains
  • Structured troubleshooting for SSH, DNS, and network issues

Limitations

  • Requires 1Password unlocked for SSH authentication
  • Some commands (e.g., tailscale CLI) need full path on macOS
  • Destructive operations require manual confirmation
When to use it

Use for any home network administration: remote access, NAS management, network troubleshooting, or proxy configuration.

When not to use it

Avoid for non-network tasks or when Tailscale/1Password access is unavailable.

Security analysis

Caution
Quality score90/100

The skill administrates a home network with powerful tools like Docker, SSH, and system services. It includes safety measures (user confirmation for destructive operations) and legitimate purposes, but the inherent capabilities warrant caution.

Findings
  • •Uses privileged commands (sudo docker, ssh, rsync) that could alter or destroy data if misused.
  • •Manages network infrastructure (Caddy, Tailscale) which could disrupt services.
  • •Relies on external authentication (1Password SSH agent) that must be properly secured.
How this analysis is made

Examples

Check Synology disk usage
SSH into the Synology NAS and check disk usage and disk health.
Restart Caddy proxy
SSH into dobro and restart the Caddy reverse proxy service.
Troubleshoot Tailscale connectivity
Check Tailscale status and verify connectivity to the Synology NAS.

name: home-network-admin description: Manage and troubleshoot Tim's home network, SSH into devices, administer the Synology NAS, and work with Tailscale. Use when the user wants to (1) SSH into or run commands on remote machines (synology, dobro), (2) manage the Synology NAS (files, packages, Docker, backups, Surveillance Station), (3) troubleshoot network connectivity or DNS, (4) check Tailscale status or manage the tailnet, (5) transfer files between machines, (6) check device health or disk usage, (7) manage the Caddy reverse proxy on dobro (*.hopperhosted.com), (8) any home server or home network administration task.

Home Network Admin

Administer Tim's home network: devices connected over Tailscale, with a Synology NAS and Macs accessible via SSH.

Read references/network-inventory.md for the full device list, IPs, SSH config, and network topology before performing any task.

SSH Access

SSH configs are defined in ~/.ssh/config. Use the short aliases:

  • ssh synology - Synology NAS (custom port, user tdhopper)
  • ssh dobro - Mac (default port, user thopper)

SSH keys are managed via 1Password agent. If SSH fails with auth errors, verify 1Password is unlocked and the SSH agent is running.

Synology NAS Administration

The Synology runs DSM. Common admin tasks via SSH:

  • Packages: synopkg list (installed), synopkg status <pkg>, synopkg start/stop <pkg>
  • Docker/Container Manager: sudo docker ps, sudo docker logs <container>, sudo docker compose (compose files often in /volume1/docker/)
  • Disk/volume health: df -h, cat /proc/mdstat, synodisk --enum
  • Shared folders: typically under /volume1/
  • DSM web UI: https://synology:5001 or https://100.86.145.18:5001
  • Logs: /var/log/ and DSM log center

For destructive operations (deleting files, stopping services, modifying configs), confirm with the user first.

Tailscale

Tailscale connects all devices over a WireGuard mesh. Run tailscale status to discover the tailnet name and device list.

  • On macOS, the tailscale CLI may not be on PATH. Use: /Applications/Tailscale.app/Contents/MacOS/Tailscale
  • Check status: tailscale status (or the full path above)
  • Verify connectivity: tailscale ping <hostname>
  • All devices are reachable via MagicDNS (e.g., synology.<tailnet>.ts.net)

Caddy Reverse Proxy (on dobro)

Caddy runs on dobro, providing HTTPS reverse proxy for *.hopperhosted.com. The Caddyfile is at ~/Caddyfile (tracked in yadm). TLS uses Cloudflare DNS-01 challenge.

See references/network-inventory.md for the full list of proxied subdomains and backends.

  • Manage Caddy on dobro: ssh dobro then brew services restart caddy, caddy reload --config ~/Caddyfile
  • Logs: journalctl -u caddy or brew services info caddy depending on how it's managed
  • Edit Caddyfile locally: it's tracked in yadm dotfiles at ~/Caddyfile

File Transfer

  • Between local and remote hosts: scp or rsync using the SSH aliases
  • Example: rsync -avz ~/files/ synology:/volume1/backup/files/
  • For large transfers, prefer rsync with --progress

Troubleshooting

  1. Can't SSH: Check 1Password is unlocked, verify Tailscale is connected (tailscale status), ping the Tailscale IP
  2. DNS issues: Check if MagicDNS resolves (dig @100.100.100.100 synology.<tailnet>.ts.net), fall back to Tailscale IPs directly
  3. NAS unresponsive: Try ping, check DSM web UI, SSH may still work even if DSM is sluggish
  4. Slow network: Check if traffic is going through Tailscale relay (tailscale status shows DERP relay vs direct connection)

From the file to a first result

The download contains exactly the content displayed on this page. This copy may differ from the latest version in the source repository.

View the source and supporting files

This download contains SKILL.md only. Any scripts, references, templates and dependencies are not included. Get the required files from the source, preserving their directory structure, before continuing.

1. Download the file

Download SKILL.md

From the root of a test project, save the file as .skill-downloads/home-network-administration-mm78nmo9/SKILL.md, or use the command below. This folder is for inspecting the skill before installation.

Command for macOS/Linux or WSL: requires a POSIX shell and curl. On Windows without WSL, use the download button and create the folder manually.

mkdir -p '.skill-downloads/home-network-administration-mm78nmo9' && curl --fail --show-error --location 'https://skills-guides.com/api/skills/home-network-administration-mm78nmo9/download' --output '.skill-downloads/home-network-administration-mm78nmo9/SKILL.md.part' && mv '.skill-downloads/home-network-administration-mm78nmo9/SKILL.md.part' '.skill-downloads/home-network-administration-mm78nmo9/SKILL.md'

2. Check prerequisites

Read SKILL.md before using it. If it references scripts or external services, inspect them and prepare the required access in your test environment.

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3. Load the skill

After inspection, copy the complete folder into your project using one of the commands below, then open a new tool session. The command stops if a folder with the same name already exists: compare the files before replacing it.

Claude Code
test -f '.skill-downloads/home-network-administration-mm78nmo9/SKILL.md' && test -s '.skill-downloads/home-network-administration-mm78nmo9/SKILL.md' && mkdir -p '.claude/skills' && test ! -e '.claude/skills/home-network-admin' && cp -R '.skill-downloads/home-network-administration-mm78nmo9' '.claude/skills/home-network-admin'

OpenSkills

OpenSkills must already be installed. The local install/read procedure is checked with OpenSkills 1.5.0, which requires Node.js ≥ 20.6.0. Catalog slugs are not resolved automatically.

Official OpenSkills installation
openskills install './.skill-downloads/home-network-administration-mm78nmo9'

openskills read 'home-network-administration-mm78nmo9'

Reading should display the installed file content and its base directory. It does not run the skill or install its dependencies.

For an agent that reads AGENTS.md, then sync the index. This command changes AGENTS.md: review the diff before using it.

openskills sync

Manual method or another tool: attach SKILL.md to a conversation, or open it in an agent that can read files. Include any required supporting resources. No universal folder is recognized by every tool.

4. Try a first task

Use a short, synthetic input: an API endpoint, a small document or an interface brief. In a new conversation, attach the file or give the agent its path, then adapt this request:

Read .skill-downloads/home-network-administration-mm78nmo9/SKILL.md and apply its instructions to this example: [describe a test input]. Identify any missing files, dependencies or access. Produce the result requested by the skill without inventing data or running unreviewed scripts.

Expected result: output matching the skill instructions, or a precise list of missing prerequisites. A read confirmation alone does not validate a first use. If an external resource is unavailable, that path remains untested.

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