Hello! How are folks self-hosting online storage, similar to Google Drive?

Some options I’ve found:

A bunch more: https://github.com/awesome-selfhosted/awesome-selfhosted?tab=readme-ov-file#file-transfer---web-based-file-managers

I mainly just need basic file management features. I don’t plan to share files outside of my tailscale VPN. I do need to support multiple users though.

I’m not considering Nextcloud because that seems too big. I’m also not considering syncthing for this project because I don’t want copies on multiple devices.

I’m currently just using ssh+nautilus and that’s worked great for just me, but something similar to Google Drive would be easier to onboard my family.

  • aksdb@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Why does the storage layer of seafile scare you? Are you also scared of databases and prefer storing things in raw txt files? The difference is the same. You get certain features in return:

    • Versioning is possible (so each file can have a history you can roll back)
    • Sync is very fast
    • It can sync incremental changes even of big files

    You still have access via:

    • Web
    • Synced locally using Seafile Client
    • WebDAV
    • Mounted as network filesystem anywhere using SeaDrive.
    • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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      1 day ago

      I’m not OP and am a dev, but also prefer flat files. Here’s my reasoning:

      • versioning - I use snapshots in my filesystem (BTRFS), which is more than enough, and have a git hosting solution for things I care about more
      • sync is plenty fast on OCIS and Samba, it’s just kinda slow on Nextcloud; I’m sure Seafile is better, but it’s not something I do frequently anyway, especially since backups from devices is automatic and uses a different, fast system
      • incremental - not my use case, most of my files either never change (movies) or are small (text flees)

      My main concerns with Seafile specifically are:

      • developed by a Chinese company and doesn’t seem particularly open to contributions
      • mostly written in C, so there’s a good chance of security vulnerabilities
      • documentation about the disk format isn’t very open, so third party tools don’t really exist
      • main target is larger orgs, so I’m unlikely to get very good support

      With flat files, I can easily switch to a different service if my needs change.

    • paequ2@lemmy.todayOP
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      2 days ago

      Are you also scared of databases and prefer storing things in raw txt files?

      Yes, actually. 😅 I can’t manage a database for more than a few weeks before I screw it up or want to easily edit something and stop using it.

      I don’t think databases are bad. I think I’m too much of a fuckup to manage one.

      • aksdb@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        LOL, ok, fair 😁

        You should in any case consider your backup strategy. If you have reliable backups, your fuckups can’t be as bad anymore. If you don’t have reliable backups, a “raw” storage doesn’t help you either. Maybe even the contrary: you won’t notice, if individual files get corrupted or even lost until it’s too late. (Not talking about disk corruption, against which the right filesystem can guard you… but I am not sure you trust filesystems either 😛)