Editorial pickFile synchronisation
Syncthing
File synchronisation between devices, directly and without a cloud
256 MB RAMamd64 / arm64 / armv7Go / JavaScriptEasyMPL-2.0Version v2.1.3
Instead of a subscription
Self-hosted alternatives to Google Drive
Google Drive stores, syncs and shares files, tied to the Google account that also holds your mail and photos. The recipes here separate the two jobs: a personal cloud with sharing and web editing, or plain synchronisation between devices you own.
Catalog
Recipes that cover it
2048 MB RAMamd64 / arm64 / armv7PHP / JavaScriptMediumAGPL-3.0-onlyVersion v34.0.3
2048 MB RAMamd64C / Python / JavaScript / GoMediumAGPL-3.0-only AND Apache-2.0Version 13.0.25
Requirements
Side by side
| Application | Minimum RAM | Disk estimate | Database | Installation difficulty | Backup | Recipe verification | License |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Syncthing | 256 MB RAM | 2 GB | No database | Easy | Yes · Restore tested | Fully verifiedRecheck overdue · 0 dCheck is current | MPL-2.0 |
| Nextcloud | 2048 MB RAM | 20 GB | PostgreSQL | Medium | Yes · Restore tested | Fully verifiedRecheck overdue · 0 dCheck is current | AGPL-3.0-only |
| Seafile | 2048 MB RAM | 10 GB | MariaDB | Medium | Yes · Restore tested | Fully verifiedRecheck overdue · 0 dCheck is current | AGPL-3.0-only AND Apache-2.0 |
Migration
What changes when you host it yourself
The data stops leaving your network, and so does the responsibility for it: backups, the restore you have actually tested, and the disk it all sits on.
Feature parity is never exact. Read what each recipe states about limitations and the smoke test before planning a migration.
The bill turns into work: updates, certificates and an eye on the release notes. The catalog shows how much of that each recipe asks for.
Categories
Guides with these applications
- A home server that earns its keepSix recipes that turn a spare machine into something the household actually uses: a password vault, network-wide filtering, file sync, uptime checks and a media library.
- Everything that fits into 1 GB of RAMThe recipes that run comfortably on the cheapest VPS or an old thin client — what they cost in memory, and where the number stops being the whole story.
- What a Raspberry Pi can actually runRecipes with 32-bit ARM images and a memory budget a Pi can meet — plus the two hardware decisions that matter more than the application you pick.
- Services that never need a public addressRecipes designed to stay on the local network: what they give up by not being published, and why that is usually the safer trade.
- A family cloud without the subscriptionFiles, photos and shared links for a household — three ways to build it, and the one thing all of them require you to decide first.