This episode explores Baïkal, a self-hosted server designed to give users control over their digital autonomy, specifically for contacts and calendars. It highlights Baïkal as a beginner-friendly solution, simplifying the complex world of self-hosting. The core motivation for using Baïkal is privacy, as it prevents large tech companies from collecting sensitive metadata about users’ lives. Baïkal acts as a lightweight server that speaks CalDAV and CardDAV, the languages for calendar and contact synchronization, respectively. Its ease of use is emphasized through a graphical web interface for management, eliminating the need for command-line expertise. For installation, Baïkal is designed to be lightweight, requiring only a basic server with PHP, and offers a simple SQLite database option for beginners, which stores the entire database in a single file. While Baïkal lowers the complexity of self-hosting, users are still responsible for backups and security updates. The software boasts broad compatibility with iOS, macOS, Android (via DAVx⁵), and desktop applications like Thunderbird and Outlook, powered by the robust SabreDAV engine. Being free and open-source under a GPL license, Baïkal offers transparency and trust, allowing users to verify the code for hidden tracking. The project’s strength for newcomers lies in its community-driven, beginner-focused documentation and tutorials, such as those available for Raspberry Pi and Debian, which guide users through setup, configuration, and security. Ultimately, Baïkal provides a supported pathway for individuals to regain control of their personal data, serving as a potential entry point for further self-hosting endeavors.
