How ɳFamily works
A private family social network running on infrastructure you own. No middlemen.
Your data, your server
ɳFamily runs entirely on a VPS you control. Posts, photos, messages, and the family tree live in Postgres on your machine. ɳSelf Inc. has zero access.
Technical detail
When you install the ɳFamily bundle with `nself plugin install social photos activity-feed ...`, every piece of data is written to your own Postgres instance — not a shared cloud.
No algorithm, no ads
The activity feed is chronological. There is no ad auction, no engagement scoring, and no sponsored content. Your family's moments appear in the order they happened.
Technical detail
The `activity-feed` plugin stores each event in a `nf_events` table and serves them sorted by created_at DESC. That is the entire algorithm.
Invite-only access
Your family social network is invite-only by design. The server operator generates time-limited invite codes with `nself nfamily invite`.
Technical detail
Invite codes are single-use, time-limited, and tied to the family server's domain. Strangers cannot join without a code from someone you trust.
Private photo albums
Full-resolution photos stored in MinIO on your server. No compression. No Facebook, no Google Photos, no third-party CDN holding your memories.
Technical detail
The `photos` plugin stores originals in MinIO and generates thumbnails on demand. Access is gated by Hasura JWT roles — only family members can view.
Family tree builder
Build your family tree with generational relationship linking. Coming in v1.3.0 with the mobile app launch.
Technical detail
Relationships are modelled as a graph in Postgres. You can view any member's ancestors and descendants up to any number of generations.
Events and RSVP
Create family events, send invitations to members, and track who is attending — all inside your private server.
Technical detail
The `calendar` plugin handles event scheduling and RSVP tracking. Events sync to the activity feed automatically.
How it's built
nSelf CLI
Installs, configures, and manages all ɳFamily plugins on your VPS.
Postgres + Hasura
All family data in Postgres. Hasura GraphQL API with JWT auth and row-level security.
MinIO
S3-compatible object storage on your server for full-resolution photos and media.
Ready to get started?
The ɳFamily backend bundle is available now at $0.99/mo. Install on your ɳSelf server and invite your family.