Andrew WileyNov 3
Reece Martin
I feel like this is the place to ask, what is the best option for self hosted storage that will give me a roughly G Drive / G Photos solution?
Nov 3 at 5:05pmWeb
Show threadPhilip TheusNov 3

@reece I have a combination of plex and syncthing running but it’s severely restricted in usage from a phone.

I would hope there are better options.

@ente looks great but AFAICT is only for photos, no drive.

Show threadDianeNov 3

@reece

Probably what'll give you an experience most similar to drive & photos is https://nextcloud.com/

The core utility is a file hosting tool like dropbox or drive.

But they have a bunch of apps that add in more features to give things like editing office documents, contacts & calendar management, and photos.

I think this is the latest photos app is
https://memories.gallery/

They've gone through more than one.

Nextcloud - Open source content collaboration platform

The most popular open source content collaboration platform for tens of millions of users at thousands of organizations across the globe

Nextcloud
Show threadikesauNov 3
@reece i'm using nextcloud but looking to try alternatives. for images, immich is the big name, and seafile is a (non-free) nextcloud alternative.
Show threadReece MartinNov 3
@ikesau Any particular reason you're looking for alts?
Show threadikesauNov 3
@reece I'm in the process of building up my own 3-2-1 homeserver and so I just want to get some experience with other options.

it's been very good on the whole, but i've had a few buggy experiences and its UX leaves something to be desired.
Show threadwalnut 🌱Nov 3
@reece @ikesau
In my experience and everyone else I know that self hosts it, nextcloud is slow, surprisingly resource intensive, and fragile feeling. They have a whole ecosystem of plugins so you can extend its functionality but many are half baked or broken. I also recommend looking elsewhere.

Syncthing for file sync is the best bet. I'm happy with it. But it's not a gdrive alt.

github.com/opencloud-eu might be okay. It looks promising, but I haven't personally used it.

Immich looks like the best for photos only, but also haven't personally used.
OpenCloud

OpenCloud has 47 repositories available. Follow their code on GitHub.

GitHub
Show threadHermann KäserNov 4
@reece @ikesau as someone who's gone through that same journey, the photo "apps" on nextcloud are nowhere near as good as g photos. Immich (which only recently came out of beta) is a missing some minor features still but it's a much closer replacement.
Show threadseancoteNov 3
@reece immich is only for photos, but there's nothing I miss about G photos since switching https://immich.app/
Immich

Self-hosted photo and video management solution. Easily back up, organize, and manage your photos on your own server. Immich helps you browse, search and organize your photos and videos with ease, without sacrificing your privacy.

Immich
Show threadMichael BradleyNov 3
@seancote @reece Seconding this, I’ve only been using it for a few months but so far I’ve been very happy with it. Makes me wish that Apple supported setting a default photo app.
Show threadAlεxιsNov 3

@reece

syncthing is amazing but finicky if syncing between diff OS sometimes (had issues with filestructure). Has no central servers, only p2p; very fast. But no web Ui- more sync layer that full cloud.

Nextcloud is amazing and much closer to g- drive. Maybe should be pointed out, that they don't provide cloud hosting. But you want to host anyways..
+ I second immich.

Show threadCharlesNov 5

@abmfield @reece I've had mostly great experiences with SyncThing. I use it to sync between a laptop, an iPad, and an Android phone.

iOS is the most annoying because the Syncthing app isn't permitted to run fully in the background so it has to do it in snatches when it sends notifications, unless you open the app.

I sync all of my photos, my PC desktop, and various folders like documents, audiobooks, music, etc. across all of my devices. I only use OneDrive for sharing throwaway links to files

Show threadTiffNov 3

@reece what're you looking for in terms of G Photos solution?

the automatic tagging is missing from nextcloud so I am considering leaving nextcloud for the drive but also running immich for photos

Show threadJuni‽Nov 4

@reece Nextcloud (with their AIO container) is probably the closest you'll get to a G Drive experience, but I find it kind of annoying sometimes and I prefer just using network storage like SMB.

For a G Photos solution however Immich is *really* great. Has auto face tagging, auto uploads, duplicate detection (not auto removal though), can easily add external folders... I even bought a supporter "license" for it