Ah, if only the saying "three weeks is all it takes to build a habit" was true in every case. I've struggled with time management all my life, which is partly why I've heavily relied on habit trackers and other tools. However, many of the tools I've used along the way have been sunsetted, leaving me without my data and scrambling to find a good replacement.

That's why I've decided I'm not going to rely on other company servers to host my knowledge management tools. I'd been looking for an open-source, self-hosted alternative to tools like Notion, and while I haven't found one as fully-featured, I have found one that does what I need, while being easy to set up and use. It's called Docmost, and it comes in a nicely packaged Docker container, so all you need to get started is changing a few lines in a YAML configuration file.

Self-hosting my knowledge management system is the way forward

Docmost lets me control who has access to my data

I've been looking for the right personal knowledge management (PKM) system for many years. While there are many out there, they either have too many features, which overwhelms me, or they don't let me control my data, or both. I don't like the idea of my innermost ideas being on someone else's server, even if they're encrypted. I also know that I won't use tools if they have too many features, because I spend all the time learning those features instead of using the tool.

Which is why I was drawn to Docmost when I first saw it. It's simple to spin up a Docker container on your own machine, and the interface is minimalist while having just enough additional features. Sure, it's missing some app integrations that I would have liked to see, but I can create Spaces for work and personal use and create Wiki content to spare my terrible short-term memory from having to do anything.

I can also add as much interactive content as I need. I don't need or want to embed everything in one document because I like to compartmentalize my thoughts to some degree. I only need to be able to make hyperlinks and embed YouTube videos for future reference because the "Watch Later" list on my YouTube account will never be used.

Why I'm sticking with Docmost

My data, my devices, my choices—it's that simple

I must admit when I first started using Docmost, I thought I'd miss having a mobile app for input. However, I realized that I prefer entering data on the desktop, and I only really use the mobile app of any tool to read existing entries. But having the service self-hosted, I could set up a reverse proxy so I can access Docmost from my trusted devices, as if I had a webapp.

I'm okay with this, especially since I rarely do substantive work outside my house. To be honest, I don't really need the reverse proxy, but I set it up anyway because I have other services I want to access easily and self-host more of my data without the cloud. I could use S3 containers to store my Docmost data so that I always have access to it everywhere, but that's a decision for when I build my backup system.

I also like that it doesn't need an internet connection to work, that there are no AI features, and that the search box actually searches my own data. These are the simple pleasures of a time before everything became cloud-based and full of AI assistants, for sure, but they make me feel more at home. Much of my computing history was before the internet was pervasive, and I like having local control.

Docmost has most of the features I want from a knowledge repository and

The biggest draw to Docmost for me is the ability to self-host, which makes my data and knowledge mine on hardware that I control. I've lost data to several other services from them closing down, and I either missed the notification to export my data or there was no viable export. Even if Docmost development ends, I can still keep my data, and I've already checked out the export functionality. Plus, I like that I can add other people to collaborate, as we use digital tools to organize our household, so I'll likely build out a Space for all the important home information.