This guide will walk you through setting up **Chrony** (for time synchronization), **AdGuard Home** (for network-wide ad blocking), and **VS Code Server** (for remote code editing) using **Portainer**. Portainer simplifies the management of Docker containers and stacks.
—
Prerequisites
1. **A server or machine running Docker**: This could be a Raspberry Pi, a NAS, or any Linux-based system.
2. **Portainer installed**: If you haven’t installed Portainer yet, follow the official [Portainer installation guide](https://docs.portainer.
3. **Basic knowledge of Docker and YAML**: Familiarity with Docker concepts and YAML syntax will be helpful.
—
Step 1: Access Portainer
1. Open your web browser and navigate to your Portainer instance (e.g., `http://<your-server-ip>:9000`
2. Log in with your credentials.
—
Step 2: Create a New Stack
1. In the Portainer dashboard, go to **Stacks** in the left-hand menu.
2. Click **Add Stack**.
3. Give your stack a name (e.g., `tools-stack`).
—
Step 3: Define the Stack in YAML
In the **Web editor** section, paste the following YAML configuration. This stack will deploy **Chrony**, **AdGuard Home**, and **VS Code Server**.
version: '3.9'
services:
ntp:
build: .
image: simonrupf/chronyd:latest
container_name: NTP
restart: unless-stopped
network_mode: host
ports:
- 123:123/udp
environment:
- NTP_SERVERS=0.za.pool.ntp.org
- LOG_LEVEL=0
- TZ=Africa/Johannesburg
adguard:
image: adguard/adguardhome:latest
container_name: adguard
ports:
- "53:53/tcp" # DNS over TCP
- "53:53/udp" # DNS over UDP
- "80:80/tcp" # Web interface
- "3000:3000/tcp" # AdGuard Home admin interface
volumes:
- /path/to/your/adguard/workdir:/opt/adguardhome/work
- /path/to/your/adguard/confdir:/opt/adguardhome/conf
restart: unless-stopped
vscode:
image: codercom/code-server:latest
container_name: vscode
environment:
– PASSWORD=yourpassword # Set a secure password for VS Code access
ports:
– “8080:8080” # VS Code web interface
volumes:
– /path/to/your/vscode/config:/
– /path/to/your/projects:/home/
restart: unless-stopped
—
Step 4: Customize the Configuration
1. **Replace `/path/to/your/adguard/
2. **Replace `/path/to/your/vscode/config`*
3. **Replace `/path/to/your/projects`**: This is where your code projects will be stored. Replace it with a valid path on your host machine (e.g., `/home/user/projects`).
4. **Set a secure password**: Replace `yourpassword` in the `PASSWORD` environment variable for VS Code Server with a strong password.
—
Step 5: Deploy the Stack
1. Scroll down and click **Deploy the stack**.
2. Portainer will pull the Docker images and start the containers. This may take a few minutes.
—
Step 6: Access the Services
1. **Chrony**:
– Chrony will run in the background and synchronize your system time. No additional configuration is required unless you want to customize the NTP servers.
2. **AdGuard Home**:
– Open your browser and navigate to `http://<your-server-ip>:3000`
– Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the AdGuard Home setup.
– Configure your router or devices to use the AdGuard Home DNS server (`<your-server-ip>:53`).
3. **VS Code Server**:
– Open your browser and navigate to `http://<your-server-ip>:8080`
– Log in using the password you set in the `PASSWORD` environment variable.
—
Step 7: Configure AdGuard Home
1. In the AdGuard Home web interface, configure your DNS settings and blocklists.
2. Set up DHCP (if needed) by enabling it in the AdGuard Home settings.
—
Step 8: Verify the Setup
1. **Chrony**:
– Check the logs in Portainer to ensure Chrony is running and synchronizing time correctly.
2. **AdGuard Home**:
– Test DNS resolution and ad blocking by visiting a website with ads.
3. **VS Code Server**:
– Open a project and verify that you can edit and save files.
—
Optional: Secure Your Setup
1. **AdGuard Home**:
– Enable HTTPS for the web interface by configuring SSL certificates in the AdGuard Home settings.
2. **VS Code Server**:
– Use a reverse proxy (e.g., Nginx) with HTTPS to secure the VS Code web interface.
– Consider restricting access to the VS Code port (8080) using a firewall.
—
Troubleshooting
– **Chrony not synchronizing time**: Check the logs in Portainer for errors. Ensure the `SYS_TIME` capability is enabled.
– **AdGuard Home not blocking ads**: Verify the DNS settings and ensure devices are using the AdGuard Home DNS server.
– **VS Code Server not loading**: Check the logs in Portainer for errors. Ensure the configuration and project paths are correct.
—
Congratulations! You’ve successfully set up **Chrony**, **AdGuard Home**, and **VS Code Server** using Portainer. Enjoy synchronized time, ad-free browsing, and remote code editing!
