Screenshots and "Right-Click > Save As" are a Lifestyle.
The story behind HobbyBoard
Why HobbyBoard?
I’m a hobbyist woodworker. I got tired of collecting inspiration in Apple Notes, Photos.app, or random folders, only to scroll hopelessly later trying to find "that one image of those nice tapered table legs" I knew I stashed somewhere a while ago.
HobbyBoard was built to make sense of all the collected inspiration without much effort and actually finding it again when you need it.
Who is this for?
- Woodworkers / Makers: "I saw a joinery technique once..."
- Designers: "I need that specific shade of corporate blue..."
- Hobbyists: "Anything that may be."
The Stack
Rust (Axum, Tokio)
HTML, CSS & Vanilla JS
SQLite (Metadata) + Qdrant (Vectors)
fastembed-rs for local embedding, plus vision capable models.
Core Principles
Self-hosting & Privacy
One binary, a database, and a local model. Your data doesn't leave your machine unless you explicitly tell it to.
Minimal Resource Footprint
There are enough Electron apps and bloated websites. HobbyBoard is built for speed and efficiency.
2026 UI/UX
Fast, responsive, and easy on the eyes. It works like it’s from the future, even on 2018 hardware.
Clean Economy
No Ads. No Subscriptions. No Targeting. Just your files, indexed by a robot.
The Little Things (I Hope You Notice)
It's not just #000 and #FFF. It's Warm Stone and Deep Obsidian Ink.
Symbolizes a masonry grid. It morphs on hover. Does it serve a function? No. Is it cool? Yes.
That top bar blur? It floats over the board like frosted glass.
Click outside the image to close. It just works.
Upload media like it's 2026. Rescan from the UI if you wish.
Auto tags are nice, but your manual tags and notes are weighed higher for search.
Share a board/image using your OS's native tools.
Download a ZIP of your original assets and metadata.
Something broke? Check the web UI logs directly.
It expands. It has a gradient. It was "Variant Z" and it was the right choice.
Failures trigger automatic rollbacks to keep your database 100% consistent.