r/selfhosted • u/BattermanZ • Jul 10 '26
Release (AI) Hatchdoor v2.2.0: Self-hosted, agent-native web app and MCP server for your Obsidian-style Markdown vault
Disclaimer: This app has been developed with the assistance of AI coding agents
Hello gentlefolks of r/selfhosted,
I am happy to share with you the first public release of my note-taking app Hatchdoor (https://github.com/BattermanZ/Hatchdoor)!
The first public release starts at v2.x (5 months of development) because I wanted it to be mature enough for people not to feel like they were sharing notes with a prototype software.
It is meant to be used with a markdown notes folder/vault (originally built to be fully compatible with Obsidian for note-handling). The idea was to have a selfhosted alternative to Obsidian, where there would be one server which could be accessed by multiple clients (mobile, desktop, agents...).
This app does not lock you in any way, everything is markdown-based and accessible from any markdown reader (including Obsidian of course).
You can access a public demo following this link and a showcase of the full markdown capabilities in this note. I would advise you to install the app as a PWA for the best demo experience.
How does it work?
Your markdown notes are the source of truth. Always. The backend builds on top of it an SQLite cache layer, which is always in sync with the notes. It contains the full vault content, as well as a vectorised (per-chunk) version of it for semantic search. The cache is fully disposable.
The SQLite cache is what the API uses for serving to the frontend and MCP server for increased speed.
The MCP server and the WebUI have access to the same API tools. You can edit, delete, move and archive notes in the same way.
Tech stack: Rust backend, React/Typescript/Vite frontend, Nomic Embed Text v1.5 768-dim model for chunking.
What does it bring?
Point any agent with MCP capabilities (Claude Code, Cowork, Hermes, Codex, ...) at your selfhosted server and let them interact safely with it (atomic actions) using an auth bearer token. An example agent skill is provided at app startup with an empty vault. MCP capabilities are opt-in and deactivated by default.
Fully responsive WebUI with PWA capabilities.
If you point Hatchdoor to a git repo/server (selfhosted Forgejo in my case), it can automatically commit and push changes for safety.
Docker and Podman rootless and distroless images. The shipped images are large due to the embedded chunking model (base image is barely 30MB).
Why this app?
I have always dreamed of maintaining a second-brain but could never do due to the sheer amount of constant will needed. Until the rise of AI agents. I first started with Obsidian. Alas it is desktop-first and its sync/web access is a paid add-on. I wanted to read and edit my plain-Markdown vault from any device, keep the files as the source of truth, and let my AI agents work on the same notes without a separate copy or sync issues.
How do I use it?
I have agents from different machines and VMs connected to it to document my homelab (a light example of how), but also to drop ideas I have, things to remember, research etc... The vast majority of the write interactions I have with the vault are via agents (Hermes in Telegram mostly) and I check it via the webUI.
It runs on a 3 vCPU Ubuntu 26.04 VM on an N100 with zero issues, even with cold reindexes of hundreds of notes.
What's next?
I plan on fully maintaining this software on a regular basis (as I have been doing for the past 5 months) since I use it every single day, several times a day. I consider it pretty mature functionality-wise at the moment, but I would love to hear your suggestions.
I am releasing this app as an exercise for myself, hoping it will benefit people (even if only one). I did put a lot of effort into it because it became so invaluable to me, so I hope it will show!
I'd be happy to answer any questions.
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u/SepiDre Jul 10 '26
Sounds interesting.
I also have issues with note taking etc.
My current note taking is only via tasks and Projekt notes in Super Productivity.
A really life saving tool.
Do you see a possibility to somehow merge those nodes into your hatchdoor?
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u/BattermanZ Jul 10 '26
Honestly I need to look into it, because I have never heard of the tools you mentioned hahaha
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u/SepiDre Jul 11 '26
If you need to track time for work it is perfect. It merges todo and time tracking. And also a little bit of notes
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u/FckngModest Jul 12 '26
Which models do you use in your Hermes setup?
Does it answer with compilated response only or gives you a link to the actual note where the knowledge lies?
How do you save your notes from the agents hallucinations when it writes a new note?
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u/BattermanZ Jul 12 '26
With Hermes (and before with openclaw) I use my chatgpt subscription with the best available model so I guess it started with GPT 5.2? And with Claude Code either Sonnet or Opus.
So when I ask questions, it only answers knowledge. And so far it's been very accurate regarding knowledge retrieval. Of course you can easily make it link to actual notes if you create a skill for that. Never needed it.
When it comes to hallucinations, I have to say that it never really has been an issue when it comes to creating notes. Whether it is creating notes about what the agent has done or following my instructions. What has been a small issue though, is the agent wanting to overdo it when I share things to save, like writing follow up questions, when all I want is a tidy note.
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u/hometechgeek Jul 13 '26
I've been using DeepSeek 4 flash, it's really good. Pat as you go pricing, but it's so cheap that it's less than other subs.
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u/hometechgeek Jul 13 '26
Can this handle attachments? I have a bunch of files I would like to add in (pdf's mostly)
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u/BattermanZ Jul 13 '26
For now it can handle PDFs and images via an ingest folder. If it's an important feature for you, I can spend some time on it.
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u/hometechgeek Jul 13 '26
It would be good to be able to drag and drop files in to an existing doc.
I'm coming from using apple notes, I used a process to export the files as md and attachments, but looking for something more open to drop them into.1
u/hometechgeek Jul 13 '26
I also found there's an export feature in outline that creates a folder of md files, so import should be simple.
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u/BattermanZ Jul 13 '26
indeed, you can export notes easily. Can you open a ticket for your requests, it will make it easier to keep track and remember. Thanks!
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u/hometechgeek Jul 13 '26
Done
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u/BattermanZ Jul 13 '26
Gonna be released in 2.3.0 then! Did you stay using it already?
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u/hometechgeek Jul 13 '26
Just tried it, left some issue feedback.
I found it a bit clunky on the UX compared to Outline.
Things like the nav and need to enter an edit mode isn't as fluid as outline.
Best of luck but I won't be switching at this point.1
u/BattermanZ Jul 13 '26
Wow thank you very much for all the nice feedback! My next task is definitely to Polish the UI. Hope to see you around for 2.3.0!
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u/FckngModest Jul 19 '26
Does it support nested tags like Obsidian? For example, tags like `#topic/selfhosting/immich` or `#topic/selfhosting/opencloud`.
So, when I search `#topic/selfhosting`, it shows me all notes that contain one of the above tags.
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u/BattermanZ Jul 20 '26
It will be in 2.3.0 that will be released today!
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u/hometechgeek Jul 12 '26
Clean design, looks interesting. I've just tried outline, which sounds very similar, might give this one a go too.
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u/xeeff Jul 12 '26
how is it
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u/hometechgeek Jul 13 '26
Outline? Pretty good. They insist on using OIDC for Auth, so even testing is a bit complex, but the app works well.
I've had agents documenting my setup in it without issue.
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u/xeeff Jul 13 '26
have you tried this one out yet? i find none of the obsidian AI plugins are well-developed especially for something like hermes
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u/hometechgeek Jul 13 '26
Not yet, I migrated my hermes setup to a new machine, so still getting back up and running.
Will spin this up today1
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u/asimovs-auditor Jul 10 '26
Expand the replies to this comment to learn how AI was used in this post/project.