MakerFLOSS/docs/project-ideas.md

title
Project ideas

Project ideas

Things we could build, fix, or figure out at a MakerFLOSS jam session. This is a menu, not a backlog — nothing here is promised to anyone, and picking something up is as simple as putting your name in the Owner column.

!!! tip "Add your own idea" Edit this page in Forgejo (pencil icon, top right) or send a pull request. See Contributing at the bottom.

Status legend

Status	Meaning
💡 Idea	Proposed, nobody has started. Up for grabs.
🔨 In progress	Somebody is actively working on it.
✅ Done	Finished — usually with a page on this site to show for it.
⏸️ Parked	Deliberately on hold. Reason noted in the row.

An empty Owner means the idea is unclaimed. Claim one by adding your name.

Lab & cluster foundations

Getting the lab clusters to a state where we can actually build on them.

#	Idea	Done when…	Status	Owner
1	Ansible control node on lab cluster 1	A working control node exists from which the lab cluster can be configured declaratively.	💡 Idea
2	User management for lab cluster 1	We have decided on and set up an approach to accounts and access on the lab cluster.	🔨 In progress	Holger
3	Remote power on/off of rack equipment	Rack hardware can be power-cycled without being physically in the room.	💡 Idea
4	UPS strategy	We have a decision: do we need a UPS, can we cover it with gear we already own, and should the clusters run networked NUT so hosts shut down cleanly?	💡 Idea
5	Lab monitoring / dashboard	One place to see what is up and what is down across the hardware we have.	💡 Idea

Running things on TaPPaaS (production)

The production cluster. Careful, deliberate work — see the house rules: mistakes belong in the labs, not here.

#	Idea	Done when…	Status	Owner
6	Guide: deploy a Docker container on TaPPaaS	A reproducible walk-through in docs/guides/ that a new maker can follow end to end.	💡 Idea
7	Migrate Klaus' display project to TaPPaaS	Evaluated first — then migrated if it fits.	💡 Idea
8	Host Bo's QR-box-content project on TaPPaaS	The project runs on TaPPaaS, including the DNS its QR codes depend on.	💡 Idea
9	Backup & restore story for MakerFLOSS services	Forgejo and the docs site have a documented, tested restore path.	💡 Idea

Tools for Orange Makerspace

MakerFLOSS is not the Orange Makerspace IT setup — but we help out where we can.

#	Idea	Done when…	Status	Owner
10	Event management system	OM events are organised in a system we host. Decided: we are building it rather than adopting an existing tool.	🔨 In progress	Marcus
11	Todo-gizmo for OM	A shared task system with both an online part and a physical part in the makerspace (status board / display).	💡 Idea
12	Newsletter service	OM can send a newsletter from a system we host, including content ingestion and managed recipient lists.	🔨 In progress	Tais

Documentation & housekeeping

Unglamorous, high-value, and easy to pick up for an evening.

#	Idea	Done when…	Status	Owner
13	Nicer hardware labels	Every device carries a printed label matching the naming scheme.	💡 Idea
14	Complete hardware specs on every host page	Every device in Hardware has full frontmatter, with network details (ports, VLANs, patch-panel positions) double-checked.	💡 Idea
15	Follow up on a dedicated ISP line	We have a decision and a quote.	💡 Idea
16	"First 30 minutes" onboarding page	A new maker can get a Forgejo account, clone the repo, and land their first change by following one page.	💡 Idea

Contributing

Anyone can add an idea, claim one, or move a status.

1. Get a Forgejo account at forgejo.makerfloss.eu and ask in the MakerFLOSS Matrix room for contributor access to the repo.

2. Small change? Use the pencil icon at the top of this page — it opens the file straight in Forgejo's editor.

3. Bigger change? Clone and work on a branch:

   git clone ssh://git@forgejo.makerfloss.eu:7577/sjat/MakerFLOSS.git
   cd MakerFLOSS
   git switch -c my-idea
   # edit docs/project-ideas.md
   git commit -am "docs(ideas): add <your idea>"
   git push -u origin my-idea
   

   Then open a pull request. Editing this page needs no extra build steps — but if you touch anything under docs/hardware/, run make docs-index first and commit the regenerated files (see Editing the hardware docs).