this post was submitted on 06 Feb 2026
219 points (88.7% liked)

Selfhosted

56597 readers
711 users here now

A place to share alternatives to popular online services that can be self-hosted without giving up privacy or locking you into a service you don't control.

Rules:

  1. Be civil: we're here to support and learn from one another. Insults won't be tolerated. Flame wars are frowned upon.

  2. No spam posting.

  3. Posts have to be centered around self-hosting. There are other communities for discussing hardware or home computing. If it's not obvious why your post topic revolves around selfhosting, please include details to make it clear.

  4. Don't duplicate the full text of your blog or github here. Just post the link for folks to click.

  5. Submission headline should match the article title (don’t cherry-pick information from the title to fit your agenda).

  6. No trolling.

  7. No low-effort posts. This is subjective and will largely be determined by the community member reports.

Resources:

Any issues on the community? Report it using the report flag.

Questions? DM the mods!

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

I'm building OpenWatch, an open-source self-hosted video platform as an alternative to YouTube. It's designed for content creators who want to back up their content on their own infrastructure (in case of strikes) or for anyone who wants a personal video hosting solution.

The project is in early stages, but I've built out some core features:

  • Home feed
  • Video player with adaptive streaming
  • Playlists
  • Interactions (likes, comments, subscriptions)
  • Creator Studio (dashboard, content management, channel customization)

Tech stack: 

  • Next.js 16
  • Tailwind CSS v4
  • Drizzle ORM (PostgreSQL)
  • FFmpeg
  • HLS.js
  • Zustand
  • Docker

GitHub: https://github.com/openwatch-app/openwatch

Feedback would be helpful, especially around self-hosting considerations and features you'd find useful.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] squirrel@piefed.kobel.fyi 120 points 1 week ago (2 children)

put ActivityPub in it :)

But seriously, a PeerTube compatible software with a different approach than PeerTube could be good for the federated video ecosystem.

[–] ge0rg3e@thelemmy.club 37 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Thanks for the feedback :)

[–] Fmstrat@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

While many in fedi will say the above, a simple federated search model could increase adoption. I.E. don't bother going crazy with it, just add a discovery platform where you can search "your own" or "the network".

[–] ge0rg3e@thelemmy.club 2 points 1 week ago

I'm already working on this, thank you very much for the feedback

[–] hornedfiend@piefed.social 11 points 1 week ago

For sure, an ActivityPub video platform that is not TikTok like (i.e Loops) would be amazing.

[–] fum@lemmy.world 66 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Why would anyone use this non FOSS vibe coded thing instead of PeerTube? Copying YouTube's UX is not a good enough reason when better FOSS alternatives already exist.

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Wdym non FOSS? It's MIT. That's still FOSS even if it's not the flavor of FOSS you prefer

[–] fum@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)

They changed the licence to MIT after my post. So good on them. The original licence was non FOSS. You can see it in the git history if you're interested.

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 3 points 1 week ago

Ah fair enough

[–] mike_wooskey@lemmy.thewooskeys.com 5 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I don't care if AI was used in its creation. I do care if it's FOSS/libre.

And also, it's a bit weird to me that copying YouTube's UI is considered good. I havent used YouTube in a long time, but I recall there being some good aspects and some bad. Why not create your own vesion of a UI?

[–] ge0rg3e@thelemmy.club 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

And also, it’s a bit weird to me that copying YouTube’s UI is considered good. I havent used YouTube in a long time, but I recall there being some good aspects and some bad. Why not create your own vesion of a UI?

I completely understand your point of view. But I want to make something that's easier for YouTube users to migrate to.

[–] WarnikOdinson@lemmy.today 5 points 1 week ago

Makes it easier for people to move over, and more willing to.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] 5PACEBAR@piefed.ca 54 points 1 week ago (3 children)
[–] ge0rg3e@thelemmy.club 5 points 1 week ago

I'm working on this

[–] Auli@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Doesn't matter there we'll never be a replacement for YouTube the cost is to great. Think of the storage they barely remove videos they just stay up there.

[–] boogiebored@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Decentralized video streaming? Like torrenting but encrypted traffic from disparate nodes like Storj? Not that tech, but something in that vein.

Also how Tor works but that would be slow af.

🤔💭

[–] Liketearsinrain@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 week ago

That's how peertube works for streaming (not storage), with P2P

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] PM_ME_VINTAGE_30S@lemmy.sdf.org 47 points 1 week ago (1 children)

So what is the difference between this and PeerTube?

[–] ge0rg3e@thelemmy.club 29 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Hey, thanks for the question. I want to build an experience much more similar to YouTube, with a more similar design and flow.

[–] PM_ME_VINTAGE_30S@lemmy.sdf.org 42 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Do you think you could work towards ActivityPub integration so it would be able to talk to PeerTube instances? IMO diversity is strength but cooperation is a factor in success. Hope this project goes well and is fun 😁

[–] ge0rg3e@thelemmy.club 23 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Do you think you could work towards ActivityPub integration so it would be able to talk to PeerTube instances? IMO diversity is strength but cooperation is a factor in success. Hope this project goes well and is fun 😁

Sure, I'll add that to the list. Thanks for the feedback :)

[–] mesamunefire@piefed.social 12 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It would be a killer feature for us in the fedi. :)

Peertube is awesome, but more alternatives in the space would be welcome.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] jlow@discuss.tchncs.de 11 points 1 week ago

How is the design and flow of Peertube different from YT, can you give e few examples? For me they are super similar (there's a video feed, I click on one, I get a page with videos that has comments and related videos).

[–] Liketearsinrain@lemmy.ml 39 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Not federated, seemingly vibecoded, MIT. Peertube exists, not sure this makes a ton of sense as an alternative but good luck otherwise.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] bisserkr@lemmy.world 26 points 1 week ago (1 children)

That repo looks like someone vibe coded a YouTube clone

[–] ge0rg3e@thelemmy.club 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

I use AI but not entirely. Thanks for the feedback though, I'll try to improve

[–] Catoblepas@piefed.blahaj.zone 28 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Thank you for the warning.

[–] ge0rg3e@thelemmy.club 6 points 1 week ago

You're welcome :)

[–] ozoned@piefed.social 21 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Absolute best of luck to you! :) We need more diversity in software!

I hope AcitivityPub or some federation mechanism is being supported. :)

If you ever want to come on a podcast, Fireside Fedi, let me know. :)

Also if/when you're ever needing someone to test the software I'm starting another show called Works On My Machine Live where I install the software and talk to the dev during it.

[–] ge0rg3e@thelemmy.club 1 points 1 week ago

Thanks for the feedback :)

[–] mike_wooskey@lemmy.thewooskeys.com 14 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I agree that more options is a good thing, and that activitypub would be a plus. But FYI, I wont be using it because of the license. I use only FOSS whenevr possible.

[–] klangcola@reddthat.com 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Good catch, that licence does not look very Libre =\

[–] ge0rg3e@thelemmy.club 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Good catch, that licence does not look very Libre =\

Thanks for the feedback, it was already changed it

[–] SinningStromgald@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Okay, why this over peertube?

[–] ge0rg3e@thelemmy.club 2 points 1 week ago

Okay, why this over peertube?

I'd say because it feels more like YouTube. But everyone uses what they like :)

[–] Ash@piefed.social 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] ge0rg3e@thelemmy.club 4 points 1 week ago
[–] thoralf@discuss.familie-will.at 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

An alternative approach to PeerTube would be very welcome. ActivityPub-integration is a must for me, though.

[–] ge0rg3e@thelemmy.club 1 points 1 week ago

Thanks. It's already on the list.

[–] msokiovt@feddit.online 4 points 1 week ago (3 children)

I wonder if you have plans to implement YouTube mirroring like with Odysee. I'm sure my producer, Neigsendoig, would love that.

This is being done on a service using the Nostr protocol from what I've heard.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] pfr@piefed.social 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This looks cool. Good luck with it

[–] ge0rg3e@thelemmy.club 1 points 1 week ago
[–] ge0rg3e@thelemmy.club 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Update 02/07:

  • Changed license to MIT
  • Made first steps for implementing Federation, now you can search and view videos and channels from other platforms, more features in this direction coming in the future

Thank you for all the feedback received!

[–] zer0squar3d@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Mit license allows the use for commercial purposes without funding, which if it becomes popular and adopted you would have to support it without any kick backs. Please look into GPLv3

[–] ge0rg3e@thelemmy.club 3 points 1 week ago

Thanks for the feedback

load more comments
view more: next ›