About ReadTheManual

For the builders. The breakers. The late-night tinkerers.
Welcome — you’ve just found your tribe.
ReadTheManual was built for people learning tech the real way:
🔧 In the garage.
💡 On nights and weekends.
🧪 By doing, not just reading.
We’re here to show that you don’t need a CS degree or a big budget to get started.
A Raspberry Pi, an old PC, and a bit of curiosity? That’s enough to build real skills that lead to real jobs.

Step-by-step homelab builds

(from $30 Pi setups to full racks)

Cloud & DevOps skills

using real tools like Azure, Proxmox, Docker, and Terraform

Access to free resources

Community projects, and exclusive walkthroughs

Career guidance

for early-career techs, tinkerers, and job-changers

Practical automation + self-hosting

Guides using n8n, Ollama, Home Assistant and more

I’m Eric —
A cloud architect, cybersecurity consultant, and longtime homelab nerd.
By day, I help businesses secure and scale their IT systems.

By night? I’m testing automation tools, building low-power datacentres, and turning ideas into content you can actually use.
This project started from a single post on LinkedIn — 300,000+ views later, the message was clear:
The world needs a place where people can learn, build, and level up — without gatekeeping.
So here it is.

We Feature builds using all kinds of tech

What You’ll Find Here

Step-by-step homelab builds (from $30 Pi setups to full racks)

Cloud & DevOps skills using real tools like Azure, Proxmox, Docker, and Terraform

Career guidance for early-career techs, tinkerers, and job-changers

Practical automation + self-hosting guides using n8n, Ollama, Home Assistant and more

Access to free resources, community projects, and exclusive walkthroughs

Why “ReadTheManual”?

Because it’s what we all used to get told — often sarcastically.
But here? It’s a badge of honour.
If you’re the kind of person who figures it out for yourself, builds your own tools, and learns by doing — this is your space.

Your Lab. Your Rules

Don’t wait for the job. Build the skill. Join our community and start your first project today.

Get STarted