Storage.me

A personal file storage system with search and organization. Users upload files (docs, photos, videos), tag them, and retrieve via full-text search. Designed for users who want cloud storage but don't trust third parties; supports self-hosting or private cloud deployment.

Build StackNode.js, Express, MongoDB, Elasticsearch (search), AWS S3 (or self-hosted), Vue.js, JWT

Challenges

  • Fast full-text search across thousands of documents without overloading the server

  • Organizing files by tags, dates, and custom metadata without rigid folder hierarchies

  • Supporting large file uploads (videos) without timeout or memory issues

  • Keeping storage costs low while maintaining redundancy

Solutions

  • Elasticsearch for full-text search with fuzzy matching and filters

  • Flat file structure with rich metadata; multi-tag support per file

  • Chunked uploads (resumable) with virus scanning before storage

  • S3 lifecycle policies (archive old files to Glacier); cost tracking per user