Allen Bina

I build things. Sometimes with code, sometimes with a soldering iron, sometimes with a 3D printer.

Data platform engineer by day. Maker, DJ, and serial project-starter by night.

Projects About me

Projects

All projects

chatwire

2025

Open-source iMessage bridge. Access your messages from any device. React UI, plugin system, mobile app.

Open sourceiMessage bridge

Homelab

2006

A 20-year journey from HTPC to a k3s cluster running 30+ services. ArgoCD, Velero, Cloudflare tunnels.

k3s30+ services

Custom Thermostat

2020

Built from scratch with NodeMCU, MQTT, and Home Assistant. Because the Nest wasn't hackable enough.

HardwareFirmware

Dactyl Manuform

2022

Hand-wired split ergonomic keyboard. Started on KMK (Python), migrated to QMK (C++). Learning PCB design for the next one.

Hand-wiredKMK → QMK

DJ — 17+ Years

2009

Modded flight cases, emergency repair kit, and a philosophy that if something breaks mid-set, you fix it yourself.

17+ yearsModded flight cases

How I got here

~2006

First HTPC

Media playback on TV. The beginning.

~2012

Home server

Atom nettop, PHP, MySQL, SSH tunnels for remote access.

~2018

Electronics

Elegoo kit → Arduino → NodeMCU → custom thermostat → ESP power optimization.

~2022

3D printer → keyboard

Dactyl Manuform, hand-wired. KMK in Python, then QMK in C++.

2024+

k3s + chatwire

30+ services on Kubernetes. chatwire ships as a real product.

"I used to read Hacker News and Hackaday articles in awe. Now I build the things I used to admire."

About me

Data platform engineer (Informatica, Databricks) by day. Self-hoster, maker, and DJ by night. 20 years of career, 20 years of homelab. Always learning.

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