Pi-hole Automation

Pi-hole Automation is a collection of scripts designed to automate maintenance tasks for a Pi-hole DNS server and its underlying Raspberry Pi operating system. These scripts are scheduled with cron to ensure that the Pi-hole instance and the system are always up-to-date and performing optimally.

Project Structure

cron-jobs/cron.custom/: Contains custom cron job scripts for different maintenance tasks, including Debian updates, Pi-hole gravity updates, Pi-hole software updates, and Raspberry Pi firmware updates.
crontab: A sample crontab configuration file, defining specific times for each maintenance task.
lists.txt: A list of URLs to popular blocklists that can be imported into Pi-hole, providing a baseline for ad-blocking and privacy protection.

Scripts

The following scripts are included in the cron-jobs/cron.custom/ directory and are intended to be scheduled with cron for automated execution.

Daily Updates

These scripts perform daily maintenance to ensure Pi-hole and the underlying system are up-to-date.

update-debian.sh: Updates the Debian operating system on the Raspberry Pi using apt. This includes fetching and applying package updates for system stability and security.
update-gravity.sh: Updates Pi-hole’s gravity list, which refreshes the blocklists used to block ads and trackers, keeping them current.
update-pihole.sh: Updates the Pi-hole software itself, ensuring the latest features and security patches are applied.

Monthly Updates

This script performs a less frequent, but essential, update to the Raspberry Pi’s firmware.

update-pi-firmware.sh: Updates the Raspberry Pi firmware using rpi-update, which may include performance enhancements and hardware compatibility improvements. This script is scheduled to run monthly to keep the firmware up-to-date without risking frequent interruptions.

Usage

Setting Up the Cron Jobs

Move Scripts to Custom Directory: Place the scripts in /etc/cron.custom/ to prevent them from being run by default cron directories (e.g., /etc/cron.daily). This allows for precise scheduling.
```
sudo mkdir -p /etc/cron.custom
sudo cp cron-jobs/cron.custom/* /etc/cron.custom/
sudo chmod +x /etc/cron.custom/*.sh
```
Configure the Crontab: Use the provided crontab file as a template to schedule each script at the specified times. Open the root crontab and add entries for each script.
```
sudo crontab -e
```
Then, add the contents of the provided crontab file to set the desired schedule.

Example Crontab Schedule

The crontab file schedules each script with specific times for daily and monthly tasks:

Debian updates: 2:00 AM daily
Pi-hole gravity updates: 3:00 AM daily
Pi-hole software updates: 4:00 AM daily
Raspberry Pi firmware updates: 5:00 AM on the 1st of each month

This configuration ensures the Pi-hole instance and Raspberry Pi are maintained without interfering with each other or other system tasks.

Importing Blocklists

The lists.txt file includes popular URLs for blocklists that can be imported into Pi-hole. To use these blocklists:

Open the Pi-hole web interface.
Go to Group Management > Adlists.
Copy the URLs from lists.txt and paste them into the Adlists section.

Logs

Each script logs its output to a unique file in /var/log/, making it easy to review and troubleshoot:

Debian update log: /var/log/update-debian-cron.log
Gravity update log: /var/log/update-gravity-cron.log
Pi-hole update log: /var/log/update-pihole-cron.log
Firmware update log: /var/log/update-pi-firmware-cron.log

Check these logs periodically to verify that each task completes successfully.

License

This project is licensed under the GNU GPL v3. See the LICENSE file for details.

webpwnized / pihole-automation