Background in biology and insurance - major career transition but yes, I love self-hosting! Have about 37 services running!

Check out WhatsupDocker. I use the same to inform me of updates. It is self-hostable as well. I then use the WUD widget for homepage to let me know that there’s an update available on my dashboard

You can deploy the Joplin sync server using docker on a VPS or any other computer always on. I’ve been using it for about a year now, without issues, though I’m now transitioning to Notesnook now.

I had a lot of false starts with having to upload and tag >3000 documents initially. Finally made the leap and did it in December. I now use it regularly, but am still getting used to the new dynamic, but that’s a transitional thing. Overall, enjoy it and look forward to more features!

The mobile app is a separate project, and is meant as a companion app rather than full fledged, which I understand. Though, it is still lacking.