Operation Skuld — PREP ↔ LIVE

How the bug-out kit wakes up, gets deployed, and comes home without destroying what it collected

Operation Skuld — PREP ↔ LIVE How the bug-out kit wakes up, gets deployed, and comes home without destroying what it collected 01 / Kit mode 02 / Interlocks 03 / Outcomes PREP · asleep at home, syncing nightly · Kit mode · resting 01 PREP asleep at home, syncing nightly resting LIVE · kit WiFi + DNS for the family · Kit mode · deployed 02 LIVE kit WiFi + DNS for the family deployed Coming Home · only while the flag is set · Kit mode · gate 03 Coming Home only while the flag is set gate Field Merge · kit photos → homelab Immich · Kit mode · idempotent 04 Field Merge kit photos → homelab Immich idempotent Kit Reset · clear flag · wipe DB · sync · Kit mode · the only way back 05 Kit Reset clear flag · wipe DB · sync the only way back Needs-Reset Flag · .needs-reset on the kit's disk · Interlocks · kit-local Needs-Reset Flag .needs-reset on the kit's disk kit-local Homelab unreachable · Kit Reset refuses outright · Interlocks · recoverable Homelab unreachable Kit Reset refuses outright recoverable Nightly sync · refuses while the flag exists · Interlocks · paused while flagged Nightly sync refuses while the flag exists paused while flagged GO LIVE RETURN TO PREP photos to merge merge done after a drill mirror of home restored gated on homelab down Legend start active state waiting decision terminal success failure / exit neutral

Two Modes, Four Actions

  • • PREP is the resting state: LIVE stack down, monitoring up, nightly sync converging
  • • LIVE is the deployed state: full stack, kit WiFi, family devices pointed at the kit
  • • GO LIVE and RETURN TO PREP are the only transitions; RETURN TO PREP writes the Drill Stamp, since a completed LIVE→PREP cycle is by definition a drill ending

The Flag Is The Whole Trick

  • • Every GO LIVE writes it before the first container starts, so even a half-failed transition counts
  • • While it exists the nightly sync refuses to run at all
  • • So the mirror's --delete can never reach un-merged field data, whenever the ethernet goes back in

Deliberate Refusals

  • • Field Merge and Kit Reset both require the homelab — in the field a reset would destroy everything
  • • A drill ends the same way a real deployment does, so practice exercises the real path
  • • A forgotten reset leaves the kit un-synced, surfaced loudly rather than left to rot

One-Directional By Design

  • • Sync is homelab → kit only; Field Merge is its manual counterpart the other way
  • • Photos are the only thing merged back — Vaultwarden and Paperless are read-only in the field
  • • Per-member upload-only API keys keep ownership and checksum dedup lined up