>The only on-par open source solution is https://workadventu.re/, but it is impossible to self-host to the point that one would think they're doing it on purpose so that you pay them for hosting.

is there a name for this? I've seen it all over recently. Ente products are like that; it's self-hostable but you've gotta really want it.

One trademark of this : the first steps of install are easy, but then it progresses into this quagmire of no-docs/old-docs/presets that favor the company somehow.

one of these things, (maybe ente photos/auth?) were self-hostable but there was a secret button on the mobile app that had to be known about to input a server URI outside of the cloud host to connect the app to the server backend that's self-hosted. Why would you go to that extent if not to add friction?