Agent skill · operations · affaan-m
homelab-network-setup
Practical home and homelab network planning for gateways, switches, access points, IP ranges, DHCP reservations, DNS, cabling, and common beginner mistakes. Use when planning or fixing a home or homelab network — gateway, switch, AP, IP ranges, DHCP, DNS, or cabling.
Why this skill is useful
Provides detailed domain-specific knowledge on network planning and configuration that the AI wouldn't reliably generate on its own.
What it needs
About 3k tokens when loaded. Last updated 2026-08-06. 238,342 stars on the source repository.
What this skill does
Homelab Network Setup Use this skill to design a home or small-lab network that can grow without needing a full rebuild. When to Use Planning a new home network or redesigning an ISP-router-only setup. Choosing gateway, switch, and access point roles. Designing IP ranges, DHCP scopes, static reservations, and DNS. Preparing for future VLANs, Pi-hole, NAS, lab servers, or VPN access. Troubleshooting a new network that has double NAT, unstable Wi-Fi, or changing server addresses. How It Works Start by separating device roles: Pick a gateway that matches the operator, not just the feature checklist: Option Best fit Notes --- --- --- ISP router Basic internet only Limited control and often poor VLAN support UniFi gateway Managed home network Good UI, ecosystem lock-in OPNsense or pfSense Flexible homelab Strong VLAN, firewall, VPN, and DNS control MikroTik Advanced network users Powerful, but easy to misconfigure Linux router Tinkerers Document rollback before using as primary gateway IP Plan Avoid the most common default, 192.168.1.0/24, when you expect to use VPNs. It often conflicts with hotels, offices, and ISP routers. Use home.arpa for local names. It is reserved for home networks and avoids the leakage/conflict problems of ad hoc names like home.lan. DHCP And DNS Use DHCP reservations for anything you SSH into, bookmark, monitor, or expose as a service. Hand out the gateway as DNS until a local resolver is intentionally deployed. If using Pi-hole or another DNS filter, give it a reservation first, then point DHCP DNS options at that address. Keep a small static/reserved range per subnet so replacements do not collide with dynamic leases. Cabling And Wi-Fi Prefer wired AP backhaul over mesh when you can run Ethernet. Use a PoE switch for APs and cameras if the budget allows it. Label both ends of each cable and keep a simple port map. Put the gateway, switch, DNS server, and NAS on UPS power if outages are common. …
How to use it
Reference it in AdaL, Claude Code, Cursor or any coding agent — nothing to install:
@skills affaan-m/homelab-network-setup--fd594c