Pocket Space Explore the project

A SELF-HOSTED STORAGE PROJECT

A home for files you control.

Pocket Space brings a familiar file workspace to a drive or S3 bucket you choose. Built to explore a simpler way to keep personal files accessible, private, and under your own roof.

Explore the workspace Read the setup guide

A portfolio project by Akshay Rajput · React + ASP.NET Core

pocketspace / files● PRIVATE WORKSPACE
Pocket Space file explorer showing folders, files, search, and sorting
↗Access anywhere
you host it
◉Your storage
your choice
01 / THE IDEASCROLL TO EXPLORE
THE PROBLEM01 / 04

Storage is easy.
Ownership is harder.

A personal drive should feel like yours. Yet the usual path often adds another monthly plan, another place to trust with your files, and less say over where the bytes actually live.

Pocket Space is my answer to that tension: a small, self-hostable file app that puts a usable browser interface in front of storage you manage. It can use a local or network mounted directory, or an AWS S3 bucket when that fits better.

01Use capacity you already have
02Choose where your files live
03Keep access within your setup
↙

Lower recurring overhead

Run on an existing drive or network share instead of making a hosted storage subscription the default. Your hardware, electricity, backups, and any S3 usage still have costs.

◎

Storage on your terms

Set a filesystem path or your own bucket in the server environment. Switching providers does not silently migrate or delete files.

⌁

A more private setup

Accounts have isolated file roots and authenticated access. The server and whoever administers its storage can still access data; this is not end-to-end encryption.

INSIDE THE APP02 / 04

THE EVERYDAY WORKSPACE

All the small things a drive should do.

Browse and organize files without thinking about which backend holds them. Pocket Space keeps the common tasks close and makes storage visible.

01

Find what matters

Browse folders, sort files, search names within a folder, and keep favorites and recent activity on Home.

02

Move with confidence

Upload and download, rename, create folders, preview common formats, and restore items from seven-day Trash.

03

Know your limits

See per-user usage and quotas. Admin controls include account approval, quota increases, and an optional total storage cap.

PRODUCT VIEWSCAPTURED FROM A LOCAL DEMO

A look around Pocket Space.

Real screenshots of the running app, populated with sample files in an isolated local workspace.

01 / FILESBrowse & organize
Pocket Space Files page with sample folders, files, search and sorting controls
One place to upload, browse, search, and open a preview.
02 / HOMEFavorites & recent
Pocket Space Home page showing a favorite and recent sample files
Frequently used files stay within reach.
03 / STORAGE INFOUsage & quota
Pocket Space Storage Info page showing quota and filesystem backend details
A clear view of the space available to an account.
04 / PREVIEWOpen without downloading
Pocket Space file preview drawer displaying sample Markdown text
Text, images, PDFs, and other supported formats open in a protected preview.
UNDER THE HOOD03 / 04

THE ENGINEERING

One experience.
Two places to store.

The React client talks to an ASP.NET Core API. The API owns authentication, file operations, quotas, and metadata in SQLite, then sends file bytes to the selected storage backend.

The same interface can sit over a filesystem directory or an S3 bucket. That separation made it possible to add a second backend without rebuilding the file experience.

See storage setup

WHY I BUILT IT

Useful software, close to the metal.

Pocket Space started with a practical question: can a personal cloud feel approachable while staying flexible about where data lives? Building it meant working through file isolation, storage adapters, metadata, quotas, cleanup jobs, and the everyday details of a file manager.

Akshay Rajput — creator of Pocket Space

TRY THE PROJECT04 / 04

Make some room of your own.

Get the client and API from GitHub, point the server at a directory, and run both locally. The full guide includes an S3 option and a few important deployment notes.

Open the setup guide Client repository Server repository