# Pi-hole for your home office: decide, test and recover Start with a failed sign-in and decide what the evidence supports. Take a short no-hardware route, or continue with a reversible personal-device deployment. Optional build lessons and advanced workshops preserve the full technical reference without making every topic a prerequisite. [Course reader](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview) ## 1. Decide: is Pi-hole useful for your situation? - [1.1 Start with an incident: choose your route](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/start-here.md) — 8 minutes - [1.2 Before setup: permission, managed devices and privacy](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/workplace-boundaries.md) — 8 minutes ## 2. Trace: networking from zero - [2.1 Networking from zero: devices, addresses and routers](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/networking-basics.md) — 15 minutes - [2.2 What is DNS? Names, addresses and answers](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/what-is-dns.md) — 15 minutes - [2.3 What is DHCP? Settings, leases and reservations](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/what-is-dhcp.md) — 15 minutes ## 3. Trace: follow requests and cached answers - [3.1 Follow a DNS request](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/explore-dns.md) — 8 minutes - [3.2 Watch a DNS cache age](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/explore-cache.md) — 8 minutes - [3.3 Decide from a DNS evidence pack](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/evidence-decision.md) — 12 minutes ## 4. Test one personal device - [4.1 Read a real DNS answer](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/verify-dns.md) — 12 minutes - [4.2 Point one test device at Pi-hole](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/configure-one-client.md) — 15 minutes - [4.3 Make a narrow rule and undo it](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/blocking-experiment.md) — 15 minutes - [4.4 Use logs as evidence, not a browsing history](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/read-query-log.md) — 10 minutes ## 5. Diagnose: choose a test from evidence - [5.1 Find the failing layer](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/explore-diagnose.md) — 8 minutes - [5.2 Diagnose the failing layer](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/diagnostic-ladder.md) — 15 minutes - [5.3 Restore a broken service with a narrow exception](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/fix-false-positive.md) — 12 minutes ## 6. Operate: privacy, maintenance and recovery - [6.1 Choose what logs reveal](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/explore-privacy.md) — 8 minutes - [6.2 Choose logging deliberately](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/privacy-and-retention.md) — 12 minutes - [6.3 Create a backup you can explain](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/backup-and-restore.md) — 15 minutes - [6.4 Update with a baseline and a recovery plan](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/update-and-check.md) — 15 minutes - [6.5 Design DNS resilience](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/explore-resilience.md) — 8 minutes - [6.6 Recover from an outage and retire cleanly](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/outage-and-retirement.md) — 12 minutes ## 7. Demonstrate and hand over your home-office result - [7.1 Home-office challenge: trace, test and recover](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/capstone.md) — 30 minutes - [7.2 Hand over a maintainable service](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/handover-checklist.md) — 10 minutes ## 8. Build route: prepare your Raspberry Pi - [8.1 Find and use the official instructions](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/official-reference.md) — 8 minutes - [8.2 Prepare the card and boot your Pi](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/equipment-and-first-boot.md) — 20 minutes - [8.3 Use the terminal: navigate, read and recover](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/terminal-basics.md) — 25 minutes - [8.4 Give the DNS server a stable address](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/address-plan.md) — 15 minutes - [8.5 Check readiness before installation](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/preflight.md) — 15 minutes ## 9. Build route: install and open Pi-hole - [9.1 Download and run the official installer](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/install-pihole.md) — 20 minutes - [9.2 Make each installer choice with confidence](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/installer-decisions.md) — 20 minutes - [9.3 Open the dashboard and find your bearings](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/dashboard-first-login.md) — 12 minutes ## 10. Optional workshops: domain and client policies - [10.1 Explain a blocking decision](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/explore-policy.md) — 8 minutes - [10.2 Maintain lists without collecting problems](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/lists-and-gravity.md) — 12 minutes - [10.3 Give clients different policies](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/explore-groups.md) — 8 minutes - [10.4 Apply different policies to different devices](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/client-groups.md) — 15 minutes ## 11. Optional workshops: local names and DHCP - [11.1 Give a local device a name](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/explore-local-dns.md) — 8 minutes - [11.2 Name a local printer or service](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/local-names.md) — 15 minutes - [11.3 Build a DHCP lease](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/explore-dhcp.md) — 8 minutes - [11.4 Hand DHCP to Pi-hole only when needed](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/optional-dhcp.md) — 20 minutes ## 12. Advanced route: shared-network administration - [12.1 Move from one client to a controlled rollout](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/router-rollout.md) — 15 minutes - [12.2 Find paths that bypass your DNS policy](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/ipv6-vpn-and-encrypted-dns.md) — 12 minutes - [12.3 Advanced challenge: administer a shared workspace](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/shared-workspace-challenge.md) — 30 minutes ## 13. Advanced workshops: DNS trust and upstream choices - [13.1 Validation is not encryption](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/explore-dnssec.md) — 8 minutes - [13.2 Validate answers without confusing encryption](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/dnssec-in-practice.md) — 12 minutes - [13.3 Plan a local recursive resolver](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/optional-unbound.md) — 20 minutes - [13.4 Choose an upstream and understand encrypted DNS](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/encrypted-upstreams.md) — 15 minutes ## 14. Advanced workshops: resolver behaviour and configuration - [14.1 Understand FTL and make one controlled change](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/ftl-configuration.md) — 15 minutes - [14.2 Read blocking answers and cache behaviour](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/dns-answer-types.md) — 15 minutes - [14.3 Keep time and secure the web interface](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/time-and-web-service.md) — 15 minutes ## 15. Advanced workshops: regular expressions and databases - [15.1 Build a regex rule with a counterexample](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/regex-rules.md) — 15 minutes - [15.2 Understand query data, policy data and recovery](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/database-recovery.md) — 15 minutes ## 16. Advanced workshops: Docker and version migrations - [16.1 Design a persistent container deployment](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/docker-deployment.md) — 15 minutes - [16.2 Rehearse a container upgrade and v5 migration](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/container-upgrades.md) — 15 minutes ## 17. Advanced workshops: remote access and automation - [17.1 Extend administration without exposing it publicly](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/remote-access-and-api.md) — 15 minutes - [17.2 Automate one action with a clear recovery path](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/api-and-home-assistant.md) — 15 minutes - [17.3 Plan Pi-hole access through WireGuard](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/wireguard-access.md) — 15 minutes ## 18. Expert extras: diagnostics and specialist integrations - [18.1 Collect the smallest useful diagnostic evidence](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/deep-diagnostics.md) — 15 minutes - [18.2 Evaluate performance and specialist privacy claims](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/benchmark-and-tor.md) — 15 minutes ## 19. Workshop directory and reference: router guides and the wider Pi-hole project - [19.1 Find an advanced workshop by topic or symptom](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/workshop-directory.md) — 5 minutes - [19.2 Use the right guide for your router](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/router-reference.md) — 15 minutes - [19.3 Get help and contribute a useful improvement](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/community-and-contributing.md) — 15 minutes - [19.4 Find every official documentation topic](https://littlebirdelectronics.com.au/courses/pi-hole-course-preview/lessons/documentation-map.md) — 15 minutes