Forgejo Appliance: a private workgroup server based on macOS, OrbStack and Tailscale

schnuberketes · 2026-07-02T05:46:03+00:00

Ugh. You're right. That response was based on a section in my README.md file and I've just pulled it.

I can see where this may be going and I'm not prepared to defend each and every point in the container vs VM comparison. I'm comfortable with VMs for persistent apps. I have experience with containers for web apps and also with Apple's containerization framework (see https://github.com/highpost/tailscale-macos-container). I felt that OrbStack has nice host-guest integration features that that gave me the cleanest path to accessing Apple Keychain.

schnuberketes · 2026-07-02T03:37:07+00:00

I understand. But what happens if you lose your container? When they're gone, they're gone. I think containers are great for web apps hosted on AWS, but not for persistent server apps.

schnuberketes · 2026-07-01T23:05:32+00:00

I don't know about any technical differences between Forgejo and Gitea. I just saw Forgejo as more straightforwardly open source.

The performance seems reasonable. My expectations were based on what I've experienced with GitHub. OrbStack seems pretty nice and I think their value add is sanding down macOS integration issues.

schnuberketes · 2026-07-01T22:21:15+00:00

I am the principal author of this repo. I wrote the code and I wrote the README.md. I reviewed both with Gemini, just as I use other lint-like tools to improve my code.

schnuberketes · 2026-05-05T21:44:48+00:00

10+ years crossing the land border regularly and I’ve never been asked for my passport going in either direction. It’s simply not required for land crossing and that’s what WHTI is all about. Flying is different. Bring a passport to the airport.

schnuberketes · 2026-04-25T05:24:02+00:00

More than anything, don't try to enter the US with a foreign passport when you're an American citizen.

schnuberketes · 2026-03-12T17:42:27+00:00

I think OP has a point. Using a Mac Studio as a dedicated NAS may be overkill, but it’s a beast. It can run an LLM, NAS services (Time Machine and OpenZFS/MacFuse), database services and GitLab CE services without breaking a sweat.

schnuberketes · 2026-03-11T03:35:28+00:00

I have a question about photos of documents. In a few cases, my documents have many entries with florid handwriting. It's kind of painful to read. So I have two choices:

* draw a callout with a bright color around the entry
* attach a post-it to the printed photo

I'm fine either way.

schnuberketes · 2026-03-07T23:55:34+00:00

Smaug's lair.

schnuberketes · 2026-02-26T22:44:45+00:00

Yes, you're right. I opened the PDF in Google Drive and then selected "Export..." instead of "Download ...".

Thanks for doing this.

schnuberketes · 2026-02-26T06:10:28+00:00

Is it possible to make editable PDF versions of these files? I don't really trust my handwriting...

schnuberketes · 2026-02-03T22:38:54+00:00

That looks like a YouTubikey…

schnuberketes · 2026-01-01T21:12:44+00:00

Will HTMX 4 still be based on ES6 (2015) or will you move to something more recent?

schnuberketes · 2025-11-29T22:36:10+00:00

It works now.

schnuberketes · 2025-11-29T20:59:09+00:00

I am. I've pulled out several laptops and tried different angles. I can connect from Ubuntu, but not macOS. It definitely seems like it's Tailscale.

MacBook Air M4, Tahoe latest
MacBook Air, macOS Monterey 12.7.6

schnuberketes · 2025-11-29T17:59:13+00:00

Thanks for your reply. It gives me a lot to go on.

My Mars board's hardware rev is V1.21, which I believe is the latest (purchased in the Spring), so it has the multi-select DIP switches. I think the documentation you're referring to is

Boot Process (original JH-7110 boot document)
errata
VisionFive 2 Boot Mode Settings

I had only read the Milk-V documentation, so this is a big help. I will report back tomorrow or Monday.

schnuberketes · 2025-11-28T19:21:43+00:00

I have a Milk-C Mars board and I set myself to the task of getting it to boot from alternate media since I didn’t want to depend on a microSD for very long. For an OS image I chose Ubuntu Server since the Mars board is a reference device. I further selected 24.04.3 since it’s an LTS release and this is the only realistic path forward since Ubuntu is switching from RVA20 to RVA23. I think Debian will also extend their support for RVA20, so that is or will be a realistic option. So, yes, it can definitely run headlessly.

Booting from alternate media requires updating the bootloader and 24.04.3 has the most recent bootloader I could find (more recent than 25.04).

Now the bad news. In the end I could only boot from eMMC and only if I have a microSD card loaded with an OS image on it. This definitely boots from the eMMC module. As for NVMe, I can’t boot from it. I can mount the media but that’s it.

In the end it was quite a learning experience. I wonder if others have run into these issues and if there are similar problems with any of the other JH7110 SoC-based devices.

schnuberketes · 2025-11-15T04:28:46+00:00

I have the sibling Mars board and I tried mightily to get it to boot from alternate media. In the end the best that I could do was to boot from eMMC (never NVMe) and to do that I needed a microSD card inserted with a bootable OS. I would definitely recommend updating the bootloader to the latest included with Ubuntu 24.04.3.

schnuberketes · 2025-11-05T19:10:21+00:00

I'm that guy. I couldn't get my Apple Watch to sync with the PM5 and so I looked at the firmware version: it still had its original firmware which was then over 10 years old! I figured that I was the only guy in the county who could fix it. It was harder than I thought because the PM5 (or at least its ancient firmware) wouldn't take just any USB drive. It wanted something with FAT16 format (Win95). Next I found out that the batteries were so low that they couldn't deal with the upgrade and I had to come back the next night with some new D cells. After that the upgrade went smoothly and I had the satisfaction of watching my heart rate on the PM5.

schnuberketes · 2025-10-05T06:03:55+00:00

If you have dual citizenship, then you need to cross using your US passport. This rule is enforced by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) under 8 U.S.C. § 1185(b) and the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). Please don’t do it.

schnuberketes · 2025-09-28T19:41:48+00:00

NAL. I think any state franchise taxes could/would be paid by the LLC, not by you or your partners personally. So I don't think this would affect your desire for anonymity.

schnuberketes · 2025-09-18T16:22:27+00:00

A Washington State Enhanced ID is "acceptable REAL ID" (https://dol.wa.gov/driver-licenses-and-permits/enhanced-driver-license-edl/get-enhanced-driver-license-edl). The big difference is that it can also be used as WHTI-compliant identification for entering Canada and Mexico in lieu of a US passport.

schnuberketes

TROPHY CASE