Building on our theme of taking control of your tools, let's look at another powerful open-source platform: AFFiNE. This all-in-one workspace aims to be a next-generation knowledge base, and its self-hosting capabilities give you complete control over your data.

Self-Hosting AFFiNE: A Docker Guide

Like n8n, the most straightforward way to self-host AFFiNE is with Docker and Docker Compose.2 This method bundles the application and all its dependencies into containers, making it easy to deploy on any server.

Step 1: Prepare Your Server

This part is identical to our n8n guide. You'll need a server (like an Oracle Cloud free-tier VM or an AWS EC2 instance) with:

• A public IP address (or a domain name pointing to your server's IP).3

• Docker and Docker Compose installed.4

• The necessary firewall ports open (like 80 for HTTP and 443 for HTTPS, and the default AFFiNE port, which is often 3010).

Step 2: Configure Your Docker Compose File

AFFiNE requires several components to run, including a database. A docker-compose.yml file simplifies the setup by defining all these services in one place.5

1. Create a directory for your project and navigate into it:

   mkdir affine && cd affine

2. Create your docker-compose.yml file:

   nano docker-compose.yml

3. Paste in a basic configuration. This will set up the main AFFiNE application, a PostgreSQL database, and a Redis instance for caching.6 This is a robust setup for a production-ready instance.

   YAML

   version: '3.7'
   services:
     affine:
       image: ghcr.io/toeverything/affine-self-hosted:latest
       restart: always
       ports:
         - "3010:3010" # Default port, you can change the first number if needed
       environment:
         - NODE_ENV=production
         - AFFINE_CONFIG_PATH=/root/.affine/config
         - [email protected]
         - AFFINE_ADMIN_PASSWORD=your_secure_password
         - DATABASE_URL=postgres://affineuser:your_secure_password@postgres:5432/affine
         - REDIS_SERVER_HOST=redis
       volumes:
         - ./storage:/root/.affine/storage
         - ./config:/root/.affine/config
     postgres:
       image: postgres:14
       restart: always
       environment:
         - POSTGRES_USER=affineuser
         - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=your_secure_password
         - POSTGRES_DB=affine
       volumes:
         - ./db:/var/lib/postgresql/data
     redis:
       image: redis:7
       restart: always
   
   

   Crucial: Replace [email protected] and your_secure_password with your own details. This will create your administrator account on the first launch. Remember to use a strong password!

Step 3: Launch AFFiNE

1. Save the file (Ctrl+X, Y, Enter in nano).

2. Start the containers with a single command:

   docker compose up -d

3. The containers will now download and start in the background. After a few minutes, you can access your new AFFiNE instance by navigating to your server's public IP address on the specified port: http://<your_server_ip>:3010.

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AFFiNE vs. Docmost: A Brief Comparison

Both AFFiNE and Docmost are open-source, self-hostable alternatives to proprietary tools like Notion and Confluence, but they have different philosophies and target users.

[table]

Bottom Line:

If you're a creative, visual thinker or someone who wants a versatile, all-in-one tool and you're willing to handle a few kinks, AFFiNE is the exciting, innovative choice.

If your primary need is a stable, reliable, and user-friendly platform for team documentation and knowledge management, Docmost is likely the safer, more mature option.7