Building Cumulus: My Document Management Side Hustle (and a DANI Update!)

Hello, fellow tech enthusiasts and brave small business owners!

You know how it is. You've got your main gig, your passion projects, and then... there's that one idea that just won't leave your head. For me, that's "Cumulus" – my very own attempt to bring SharePoint-like magic to the budget-conscious, self-hosting small business world. Think of it as a digital decluttering service, but with more encryption and fewer Marie Kondo-style questions about whether your spreadsheets spark joy.

While my DANI project is humming along (literally, sometimes, but nothing quite ready for a grand reveal just yet – stay tuned!), my "out-of-hours" brain has been deeply immersed in the fascinating world of document management. And let me tell you, it's not all paper clips and filing cabinets anymore.

So, What Exactly is Cumulus?

Imagine a world where your small business documents aren't scattered across email attachments, random cloud drives, and that one dusty old server in the corner. Cumulus aims to be your digital Fort Knox, a self-hosted document management system that gives you back control.

We're talking:

• Document Versioning: Because "Final_Report_V3_really_final_this_time_I_promise.docx" is a universal pain, Cumulus handles versions automatically. No more guessing which one is the latest!
• Smart Locking: When you're editing a document, it's locked. No accidental overwrites from Brenda in Accounts. If a lock gets stuck (because, let's face it, computers have feelings too), the editor or folder owner can release it. Plus, if I forget to log out after a late-night coding session, Cumulus is smart enough to release my locks when it logs me out for inactivity. Phew!
• Granular Access Control: You decide who sees what. Owners, Contributors, Viewers – it's like a digital bouncer for your sensitive files.
• Applets (My Favourite Bit!): This is where it gets really fun. We're not just storing static files. You can upload "Applets" (HTML or Markdown files) that turn your folders into interactive dashboards, custom forms, or even a Kanban board to track tasks. And the best part? These Applets can have their own little backend services running right within Cumulus, letting them do clever things like email questionnaire results or store custom data. It's like having a mini-app store just for your business!
• No Deleting (Seriously): Documents are never truly deleted by users. Admins can purge them, but otherwise, everything's archived. Great for audit trails, less great for hiding that embarrassing typo from 2018.

The Techy Bits (for the curious)

To keep costs down for small businesses (and my own wallet!), Cumulus is built entirely on open-source tech:

• Backend & Web Server: Go, powered by the super-fast Fiber framework. And yes, I'm even using my own custom ORM, "Mud" (because why buy a perfectly good shovel when you can forge your own, right?).
• Databases: MariaDB for all the structured metadata, and MongoDB for the more flexible, unstructured data.
• Frontend: HTMx. It's like magic – dynamic web pages without drowning in JavaScript frameworks. My sanity thanks it daily.

The (Slightly Humbling) Timeline

Now, for the big question: "When can I get my hands on this digital wonder?"

Well, as a solo developer tackling this outside of my regular working hours, it's a marathon, not a sprint. We're talking an estimated 18 to 30 months for a robust MVP. Yes, that's a long time to wait for digital joy, but good things come to those who... code tirelessly after dinner.

And About Those Robots...

You might be wondering about my other passion, DANI. I'm still working hard on my DANI project, tinkering away in the background. But for now, Cumulus is taking centre stage in my "out-of-hours" development reports. Rest assured, when there's something truly exciting to share from the world of whirring gears and blinking lights, you'll be the first to know!

Thanks for following along on this journey. Wish me luck (and maybe send coffee)!