Seafile. It’s super fast and lightweight. There are some caveats though:

• Data is stored in git-like chunks on the server side. There is Seafuse and Sea drive functions that you can leverage to “assemble” the data on server side for backups. I personally use rclone mount, then backup.

• Paywall hiding some features. The community edition is free but is missing some features that pro has. Pro edition is free for 3 or less users.

• Documentation isn’t great. The forum is active so that’s helpful, but some of the docs take some time to understand

• Chinese owned. As far as I can tell, there is no call home for a self hosted server, so I don’t think it’s a worry in that case.

All that said, I like it much better than Syncthing for it’s selective sync. All files on each client are synced to the server. But unlike Syncthing, it doesn’t sync all data with each client. This is vital for me with some devices with small storage drives, so I would t want all files to sync. Yet I can still reach to the server from any client and pull data from any other client. Syncthing has an ignore flag, but that seemed way more trouble to setup than just sticking with Seafile.

Seafile is great…with caveats that seem to bother people away from it:

1. Files are stored as git-like chunks on the server

2. Features behind a paywall for more than 3 users (Pro vs Comminity versions)

3. Documentation can be very confusing at times

Item 1 can be mitigated by utilizing tools like Rclone to mount the files on the server, reassembling the chunks, then back up and unmount when done. Item 2 isn’t a deal breaker for me.

It is super fast and reliable in my experience. I specify wanted the selective sync because my stupid MacBook has a tiny SSD, but I still wanted access to files from other device libraries.

I’ve tried 'em all. And I am always on the lookout for new apps that can do what I want. So far, Obsidian is the best.

• Joplin: adds meta data to your text files making it nearly impossible to find anything outside of Joplin unless you export

• Logseq: the closest substitute to Obsidian. The android app is almost unusable in my testing. And it’s an outlined based note app, so it requires a different mindset

• Silverbullet: such a neat project. The PWA runs great on every device I’ve tried it on. That said, I find it hard to navigate and will require more learning to take full advantage of its features

• Nextcloud Notes: decent if you already have an instance running. Not worth it just for Notes though. It’s very spartan, feature-wise

• Quillpad: the closest Google Keep alternative I’ve found so far. Does require Nextcloud insurance to sync though. At least currently.

• Acreom: very cool project. Similar to Obsidian and Logseq. Local first…unless you’re on mobile, then you are required to have an account and use their sync.

• Notesnook: has great features but does not store the notes on plain text (due to encryption), which is a deal breaker for my use case

• Memos: very easy to selfhost. Think of it like a personal twitter feed. Stores entries in a db file, so it’s out for me

I tested others, and many didnt last long enough in my testing to even be worth writing about. I find Obsidian’s folder hierarchy easier to fit around how my brain works. And the plain text files in folders, maintaining the hierarchy, is a killer feature for me. Lots of folks self host a sync solution. And I want to but am currently paying for their basic sync plan of $5/mo.

Something to think about, if it’s important to you. I went through this same journey. I had been using Day one, which is a beautiful app. But I began considering what would happen to those entries when I’m dead and gone. It’s important that my wife and kids can read through the years if the desire. That lead me in a search for something that has the most “future proof” journaling approach. Something that would still be easily readable without a bunch of exporting or conversion should the company go out of business.

Obsidian is one of many apps that at its core, is simple text files in folders on your local machine(s). As others have said you can self host rather than paying for their home grown sync solution. I’ve tried Joplin, Logseq, Trillium, Memos, and I’m sure there are others I’m forgetting. They have all had some level of dealbreaker for me. Like Logseq has a horrible android app. Memos stores entries inside a database, so not easily retrievable. And Joplin adds meta data to the contents of your text files as well as screwing up the file/folder names to something that isn’t human readable. So I’ve stuck with Obsidian. It’s not open source, but the file format is platform agnostic and can be read by just about any computer or mobile device made in decades.

That said, you won’t get the calendar features with dates/locations of photos like you mentioned unless someone has made a plugin for it.

Miniflux is great. I use Wallabag as my read it later app and selfhost both on a cheap VPS. They’re tightly integrated but Miniflux supports several other integrations