Haven

Haven is a privacy-first, self-hosted private blog application designed for sharing with a limited audience. It is implemented as a Ruby on Rails web application and provides a web interface for writing, user management, and reading feeds.

Key Features

• Markdown editor with live preview and built-in image upload handling
• Private RSS feeds with unique secure links per user
• Built-in RSS reader (personal feed) to follow other Havens without ads or algorithms
• Multi-user roles (subscribers and publishers) so multiple people can publish without sharing credentials
• Low-bandwidth optimizations: image downscaling and compact page output; minimal client-side JavaScript

Use Cases

• Private family or friends blog where the owner controls accounts and access
• Small community or group site with multiple authorized publishers (e.g., clubs, classrooms)
• Personal micro-journal with private RSS access and an aggregated personal feed

Limitations and Considerations

• Not designed for public, SEO-driven blogs or large public audiences (no public signup option by design)
• Demo environment is limited: demo accounts and some administrative/customization features are restricted and demo accounts may be purged periodically

Haven can be deployed via Docker and Docker Compose and commonly uses a PostgreSQL database in production; the project provides a Dockerfile and a docker-compose setup demonstrating a Rails service plus Postgres. Managed hosting and deployment scripts (AWS/Heroku notes) are also mentioned in the project resources.