10 Open‑Source Projects That Actually Make Your Life Easier

#opensource #productivity #selfhosted #security

Open source isn’t just for devs — it’s a cheat-code for saving time, staying secure, and automating the boring stuff.

Below are 10 practical projects you can start using today. Each one is free, widely used, and solves a real problem.

1) pompelmi — Malware scanning for file uploads (ZIP‑aware, YARA‑friendly)

If you accept uploads (web apps, SaaS, internal tools), you eventually need a reliable way to scan files before storing/processing them. pompelmi focuses on practical upload security, including deep archive handling.

Why it simplifies your life

Catch suspicious uploads early (before they become incidents)
Works great as a drop‑in layer in Node backends / upload pipelines
Designed to be extended (e.g., YARA rules, policies, adapters)

Repo: https://github.com/pompelmi/pompelmi

Quick start (example)

npm i pompelmi

2) Bitwarden — Password manager you can self‑host

Stop reusing passwords. Bitwarden gives you strong password generation, secure vaults, sharing, and cross‑device access — and you can self‑host if you want.

Repo: https://github.com/bitwarden

3) Logseq — Local‑first knowledge base & note‑taking

If you want notes that don’t trap you in one platform, Logseq is a great local‑first choice. It’s perfect for students, builders, and “too many tabs” people.

Repo: https://github.com/logseq/logseq

4) Home Assistant — One dashboard to automate your home

Home Assistant connects your devices into a single system: lights, thermostats, sensors, routines, and more — without handing your entire life to random clouds.

Repo: https://github.com/home-assistant/core

5) Uptime Kuma — Monitoring for anything (services, websites, APIs)

Uptime Kuma is the “set it and forget it” monitoring dashboard. It pings endpoints, checks TCP ports, monitors APIs, and alerts you when something breaks.

Repo: https://github.com/louislam/uptime-kuma

6) Pi-hole — Network‑wide ad/tracker blocking

Pi-hole blocks ads and trackers for every device on your network, including smart TVs and phones. Your browsing gets faster and quieter.

Repo: https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole

7) Syncthing — Private file sync without “cloud lock‑in”

Sync folders between laptops, desktops, home servers, and phones — peer‑to‑peer. Great for backups, project folders, and “I need this on all devices”.

Repo: https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing

8) yt-dlp — Download videos for offline use (and archives)

yt-dlp is a powerhouse for downloading content (when you have the right to). Ideal for offline study, archiving your own content, or grabbing lectures.

Repo: https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp