I am looking for self hosted blog/journal that is private by default. Not looking to host a public blog, rather something that I can write more personal entries on and is easy to read later. I want to be able to include multimedia in the entries.
Currently I’m thinking of a Mastodon server with posts set to private by default and turning off federation. It would be awesome to be able to post from my phone as events happen rather than having to find time later.
I’ve tried around with using IMAP and an email client, but not sold on it. Tried using a calendar, but too cludgy.
Open to other ideas!
Try https://joplinapp.org . You can self-host your database with something like Nextcloud or Apache Server using WebDAV. I moved from StandardNotes after they got tricky about Self-hosting.
I also recommend Joplin - I’ve moved my entire journal over to Joplin and use it as a primary note source now.
The mobile app UX is its weakness, but is fully functional.
Any flatfile cms should do the job.
You could try https://automad.org/ and setup up a password page to keep it private. It’s super simple to maintain and secure. You just need a vps and a domain.
I’m shocked I haven’t seen mention of stranded notes!
https://standardnotes.com/help/47/can-i-self-host-standard-notes
Logseq it defaults to a daily journal and uses Markdown files (again, daily files by default)
It has a whiteboard function and can “embed” images, videos, etc (they’re obviously links to asset files stored separately to the markdown text file…)
There’s an Android app which I sync to Windows and Linux machines via syncthing - the App doesn’t have plugin support yet, but IMHO, on the phone, I just want to type notes…
It can be hosted on a web server, but I have not tried that (more resources to setup & maintain from my POV)
I tried Obsidian and Joplin in the past, but this just seems to be simpler, opener (if that’s a word) and fits to my needs easily.
There’s also a load of videos on youtube to get started…
+1 for Logseq & Syncthing
It works really well!
I’m trying this out. Installed both on phone and laptop last night.
I forgot to mention, the Android App has a voice recording function too.
Enjoy
i’d recommend havenblog https://github.com/havenweb/haven or Memos https://github.com/usememos/memos
Just went searching for something like this as my wife wanted to start a “journal”. The requirements were simple, private, nothing too crazy complicated to use, web interface, easy setup and tear down (in case she didn’t like it). Started up an instance of Ghost, way overkill, was looking at WriteFreely, stood up an instance of Bookstack. She’s trying it out now, nothing bad to report so far. The hierarchy is a bit confusing to grasp but when you put it in the context of something like shelve = My Journal, Book= 2023 Vacation or 2023 or Homeschooling, Chapters = 1st week of Vacation or First year Homeschool, Pages = Todays date. It started clicking with her a bit more. If you find something better, please report back!
Hey, I’m pretty much in the same boat. I like bookstack for its mature features but I wish there was something more tailored to shared journaling although that is a bit specific. Have you changed something?
Well she stopped using it so I deleted the instance (just too busy with small children). For the time that she was using it Bookstack seemed to have me her needs once a cohesive breakdown was established (translating Bookstack hierarchy and matching it up with her topics).
Oh, how unfortunate :(
But thanks for the update!
I’m going to put a +1 for Obsidian here, as it is a really good app that I use as well. However, if it’s not what you’re looking for, there’s also Nomie. It was a closed-source app on its 6th version, but the developer decided to close it down earlier this year. The absolute champion open-sourced the code in full though.
TiddlyWiki might interest you. It’s an entire wiki stored in a single HTML file. You can even use it without a web server if you want (although a web server makes editing more convenient)
I am always pro tiddlywiki wherever I see it.
however I have to admit that heavy multimedia support isnt the most ideal thing to do for TW.
and thats what OP asked for.
This is a 17 years old video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzj723LkRJY which I followed back then to write the blog I’m still running on https://jeena.net/posts and I still use it on a semi daily basis.
Elog is fantastic for this. I did up a Gentoo package.
Single binary and lightweight, backend is all text files.
So you have seen this video, too? 🙂
Amazing
Git sounds perfect for you. Self hosted, private
You could give Monica a try. It is an self hosted diary app.
I use Monica. The journal function is meh and a pain to use from phone. Otherwise I love it. When I meet new people through my friend group, I add them so I can remember details about them for next time we meet.
