Toolage

My Tools and Techniques

The what and how of building and refining my environment; code, systems, and hardware included. Covering how I make my tools fit the job through system configuration, automation, and custom hardware, focusing on reducing friction, improving reliability, and my enjoying of use. Keeping things going as intended-ish.

• refactoring my zsh config

  Jul 1, 2026

  7 min read

  Toolage

  Shell Notes

  How I ZSH (#6 of 6)

  Continuing my journey to build a clean and efficient Zsh environment, I shifted from organising to improving. This article is about how I applied progamming principles and native Zsh features for a simpler, more maintainable configuration by changing the way I think about writing shell scripts.

• My custom vim mode in zsh

  May 24, 2026

  7 min read

  Toolage

  Opensource Shell

  How I ZSH (#5 of 6)

  This article describes how I navigate and edit in the Zsh command line using my custom Vi-mode configuration. This setup transforms the Zsh prompt into a mini-Vim editor, complete with mode-specific cursors and custom productivity macros.

• My ZFS Strategy Ground Work

  Apr 10, 2026

  7 min read

  Home Lab Toolage

  Storage Hardware Proxmox

  Proxmox (#2 of 2)

  I cover the groundwork behind my ZFS storage strategy on Proxmox VE, including the hardware I am working with, how I balance performance, reliability, and capacity. The core ZFS concepts that influence my design and outline how different storage tiers serve different workloads in my homelab. This is less about “how to install ZFS” and more about planning thestorage architecture that fits my Proxmox workloads.

• The Proxmox ZFS SDS Engine

  Apr 8, 2026

  5 min read

  Home Lab Toolage

  Storage Proxmox

  Building my Proxmox VE homelab around ZFS gives me enterprise style software-defined storage without needing expensive hardware or proprietary platforms. By combining ZFS with Proxmox, I can manage storage, replication, snapshots, caching, and virtualisation all in one flexible and scalable platform using affordable enterprise hardware. This article breaks down how ZFS became the core storage engine behind my Proxmox environment and why careful storage planning matters so much for performance, resilience, and long-term growth.

• The Evolution of Virtualisation Storage

  Apr 5, 2026

  7 min read

  Home Lab Toolage

  Storage Proxmox

  I wanted to explore how Proxmox VE and ZFS represent a very different approach to virtualisation storage compared to traditional KVM stacks built around QCOW2, LVM, and XFS. Here I look at how enterprise virtualisation evolved, why ZFS changed the storage model, and the tradeoffs between software defined storage and traditional layered infrastructure. I find Proxmox and ZFS interesting as they bring enterprise style storage features to homelabs and SMB environments without expensive hardware.

• Commisioning Ex-DC Storage

  Apr 3, 2026

  6 min read

  Home Lab Toolage

  Storage Hardware

  Proxmox (#1 of 2)

  Or When SAS Drives Bite Back Or Debugging Slow Burn-In Tests in a Proxmox/ZFS Homelab. The issue I hit during a burn-in process for cheap ex-datacenter SAS HDDs, what I assumed was happening, what was actually happening, and how I confirmed and fixed it

• A XDG compliant Config

  Apr 1, 2026

  5 min read

  Toolage

  Shell Notes

  How I ZSH (#4 of 6)

  As I continued refining my Zsh environment, I realised that performance wasn’t my biggest challenge, organisation was. This article follows my journey to a modular, XDG-compliant configuration, where separating responsibilities and building a clear architecture laid the foundation for a faster, more maintainable shell.

• zsh startup lifecycle

  Mar 29, 2026

  4 min read

  Toolage

  Shell Notes

  How I ZSH (#3 of 6)

  As I continue refining my Zsh environment, I discovered that understanding the startup lifecycle is far more valuable than blindly tweaking configuration files. This article explores how Zsh loads its configuration, the purpose of each startup file, and the design principles that now guide every change I make to my shell.

• zsh xdg standard

  Mar 26, 2026

  3 min read

  Toolage

  Shell Notes

  How I ZSH (#2 of 6)

  The ZDOTDIR environment variable in Zsh defines the configuration location, used as a bootstrap to redirect the rest of the shell startup process and align it with the XDG standards

• A Modular Zsh Environment

  Mar 24, 2026

  4 min read

  Toolage

  Opensource Shell

  How I ZSH (#1 of 6)

  I rebuilt my Zsh configuration into a clean, modular system after struggling with my old messy, brittle setup that slowed down my workflow. By organising configs, replacing heavy weigth frameworks with lightweight functions, and treating my shell like a structured project, I made it easier to maintain, extend, and debug.

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