I am somewhat late into the Linux-verse (three years in now) and want to move into self-hosting to do two things:

  1. Host my own Jitsi server and sessions. (or any other open source solution)

  2. Host my own solution to privately and securely share photographs of my kids and life here with my family abroad.

At some point, I want to host my own little static-website about myself which should “replace” having to give people a LinkedIn account or something.

The thing is, I know nothing about owning domains, etc. I have never done this before. I have been lurking around this forum to learn some of the basics, but would really like a more tailored reply (is possible). I am working in Europe.

  1. Which computer should I use? I want to host everything on my computer at home. I don’t want to go the VPS route.

  2. Where can I buy an inexpensive domain(s)? I assume I only need one.

  3. What other things do I need to consider? My current broadband is IPv4 only.

  • ShimitarEnglish
    7•9 months ago

    I wouldn’t follow the advice of using Immich. While its a great tool, growing fast and super polished, its currently aimed at photo backup from your android phone/tablet and is not a good pick for a family photo gallery.

    To that end I would look into pigallery2 or the very good homegallery, which is still in early stages as well but also quite polished and already working great. They will not replace Immich, but will complete the workflow nicely.

    My photo management flow (which includes your requirements, plus the capability to organize new photos over time) is here https://wiki.gardiol.org/doku.php?id=services:photomanagement if you are interested.

    In general the flow is to buy or recycle a pc of anykind, install linux (optional, but recomendes), buy a domain you like from some registrar, setup some kind of remote access from outside to your home, and install the services you want.

    The workflow mandatory includes hours spent trying and failing, and also having tons of fun in the process. Don’t forget the WAF (Wife Appreciation Factor) which will determine how much fun you can have.

    Last, i al documenting all my steps and proceedings while I run down my own selfhost rabbit hole in the above linked wiki (self hosted, ofc).

    See you around, I guess!

    • UndeariusEnglish
      1•9 months ago

      I’ve been trying to find some good examples of how to structure the files, and whether to combine the photos from everyone or to keep them separate. Obviously there’s different systems for everyone, but your method of syncing, tagging, and displaying/sharing photos is almost identical to how I’ve been wanting to go about it.

      Do you mind sharing how you structure the photo files and naming in your Gallery directory?

      I was thinking of implementing the Copyright tag to keep the data of the original phototaker, and then combine all the photos into a Gallery/YYYY/MM structure, with the filenames being YYYYMMDD-CameraModel. There aren’t many events we go to, so albums aren’t a big priority, but on the occasion, I was thinking if using a folder like MM-Event in the respective year folder.

      I’m just putting my thoughts down because I don’t often see this part of people’s photo organizing.

      • ShimitarEnglish
        2•9 months ago

        I create folders with name like: /gallery/2024/03 - Trail Del Marchesato/

        And put there all the photos related to that event.

        Or more generic like: /gallery/2024/Winter To collect generic photos of that period.

        So I divide by year and reason/event. Inside each use moves his own photos for that event, or they create their folders.

        Tags do the rest.

        Homegallery let’s you view them by similar or tags, while pigallery2 let’s you view them by the folder. Both together fits the bill