The latest articles on DEV Community by Florian (@florianheysen). https://dev.to/florianheysen https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F800172%2F534bba30-c3e8-40aa-8f0b-4c131bedff35.png https://dev.to/florianheysen en Florian Sun, 21 Dec 2025 13:06:10 +0000 https://dev.to/florianheysen/openinary-the-self-hosted-cloudinary-alternative-nobody-built-before-25po https://dev.to/florianheysen/openinary-the-self-hosted-cloudinary-alternative-nobody-built-before-25po <p>I spent the last <strong>6 months</strong> building <strong>Openinary</strong>, and I believe it fills a real gap in the self-hosted ecosystem.</p> <h2> The Problem </h2> <p>You know what’s wild?</p> <ul> <li>There’s <strong>Nextcloud</strong> for file storage</li> <li>There’s <strong>Immich</strong> for photos</li> <li>But there was <strong>nothing</strong> for <strong>image processing and delivery at scale</strong>, fully self-hosted</li> </ul> <p>Most SaaS image platforms follow the same pattern:</p> <ul> <li>A great API</li> <li>Strong lock-in</li> <li>A bill that keeps growing</li> </ul> <p><strong>Cloudinary</strong> gates your media.<br> <strong>Uploadcare</strong> does the same.</p> <p>I was paying <strong>$90/month</strong> for Cloudinary.</p> <p>For what?</p> <ul> <li>Resizing images</li> <li>Processing a demo video</li> <li>Adding watermarks</li> <li>Optimizing formats</li> </ul> <h2> The Solution </h2> <p><strong>Openinary</strong> is what I built.</p> <p>A <strong>self-hosted, open-source alternative to Cloudinary</strong>, focused on <strong>simplicity and control</strong>.</p> <h3> What it does </h3> <ul> <li>Self-hosted, runs on your own infrastructure via <strong>Docker</strong> </li> <li> <p>Simple URL-based API</p> <ul> <li>Example: <code>/w_1500,h_500,f_avif/sample.jpg</code> </li> </ul> </li> <li><p>Smart caching with invalidation</p></li> <li><p><strong>S3-compatible storage</strong></p></li> <li><p>Works with <strong>AWS S3</strong>, <strong>Cloudflare R2</strong>, <strong>MinIO</strong></p></li> <li> <p>Automatic format optimization</p> <ul> <li>WebP, AVIF, best format per browser</li> </ul> </li> <li><p><strong>Open source</strong>, <strong>AGPL-3.0</strong> license</p></li> </ul> <h2> Why It Matters </h2> <p>The <strong>self-hosted movement is real</strong>.</p> <p>People are moving away from SaaS lock-in, especially for <strong>core infrastructure</strong>.</p> <p>Until now, one piece was missing:</p> <blockquote> <p>You couldn’t process and deliver media at scale on your own infrastructure.</p> </blockquote> <p><strong>Openinary aims to fill that gap.</strong></p> <h2> Current Status </h2> <ul> <li>⭐ <strong>83 GitHub stars</strong> </li> <li>🔥 Featured on <strong>GitHub Trending</strong> (Dec 9)</li> <li>🎥 <strong>8,000+ views</strong> on the feature video</li> <li>🎯 Goal: <strong>100 stars by Dec 31</strong> (yes, I’m chasing this 😅)</li> </ul> <h2> Tech Stack </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>Runtime:</strong> Node.js</li> <li> <strong>Deployment:</strong> Docker, one command</li> <li> <strong>Storage:</strong> S3-compatible (AWS, Cloudflare R2, MinIO)</li> <li> <strong>License:</strong> AGPL-3.0</li> </ul> <h2> Try It </h2> <ul> <li><p><strong>GitHub:</strong><br> <a href="https://github.com/openinary/openinary" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://github.com/openinary/openinary</a></p></li> <li> <p><strong>Deploy guides:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://docs.openinary.dev/guides/coolify-deployment" rel="noopener noreferrer">Deploy on Coolify</a></li> <li><a href="https://docs.openinary.dev/guides/dokploy-deployment" rel="noopener noreferrer">Deploy on Dokploy</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> <h2> Looking For </h2> <ul> <li>Early feedback, especially from <strong>Cloudinary users</strong> </li> <li>Ideas on what to build next</li> <li>Help spreading the word before the end of the year</li> </ul> <p>If you’ve hit the wall with expensive image services, or wanted to self-host but couldn’t find a solid solution, I’d love to hear from you.</p> <h2> Questions? </h2> <p>Drop them in the comments.<br> Happy to discuss the <strong>architecture</strong>, <strong>use cases</strong>, or <strong>why I built this instead of using existing solutions</strong>.</p> opensource selfhosted devops docker