Self-Hosted

Self-hosted software runs on infrastructure you control, whether that's a home server, a VPS, or your company's own data center. This category covers the tools people install instead of subscribing to a hosted SaaS: automation platforms like n8n, chat interfaces for local or remote LLMs like open-webui, photo and video backup systems like immich, backend-as-a-service stacks like supabase, and analytics or BI dashboards like superset. The common thread is that you own the data, the uptime, and the maintenance burden, in exchange for no monthly fee, no vendor lock-in, and full control over configuration.

Choosing between self-hosted projects depends on what you're replacing and how much operational work you're willing to take on. Some tools ship as a single Docker container with sane defaults, while others need a database, a reverse proxy, background workers, and periodic updates to stay secure. Before picking one, check:

• Resource requirements (RAM, CPU, storage) against the hardware you actually have
• How updates are delivered: Docker images, package managers, or manual builds
• Backup and migration tools, since you're responsible for your own data safety
• Community size and how often issues get resolved, since there's no support contract
• License terms, especially for projects with dual open-source/commercial models

Self-hosting suits people who want privacy, cost predictability at scale, or the ability to customize behavior that a hosted vendor won't expose. It's a worse fit if you can't commit to patching, monitoring, and backing things up yourself.