OmNi: The Self-Hosted File Sharer for Simplicity and Privacy

Source: Dev.to

What I Built

OmNi is a self‑hosted, local‑network file‑sharing app. No cloud, no internet, no subscriptions—just fast, private sharing across your home Wi‑Fi with a UI that actually looks premium.

Pitch Video

I built OmNi because I was tired of fighting my own devices. For a long time I used an iPhone 6, and getting a simple file from that phone to my Windows PC was absolute hell. iTunes is clunky, and every “file sender” app I tried was either filled with ads, didn’t work, or forced me to upload my private stuff to their cloud just to move it two feet away to my computer.

I just wanted a single‑file solution that ran locally on my router. After searching YouTube for how to build my own, I decided to make exactly what I needed.

Two Weeks of “Going Overboard”

I started with a simple idea: a basic script with a config file for passwords. But once I got into it, I couldn’t stop. I spent two weeks straight learning and testing.

I had never used SQLAlchemy or Bcrypt before, but I wanted this to feel like a real product—something secure enough to actually sell. I taught myself how to hash passwords and manage a database from scratch, ending up with a far more professional backend than I originally planned.

Technical Highlights

The Liquid Glass Challenge

I’ve always loved Apple’s design language. I wanted to replicate that “Liquid Glass” look using only vanilla CSS. I pushed CSS to its absolute limit—layering backdrop-filter, transparency, and shadows to achieve a frosted, high‑end feel without any heavy frameworks.

Under the Hood

• Backend: Flask and SQLAlchemy – structured a real database while building the app.
• Security: Production‑grade Bcrypt hashing. Even though it’s local, your data is locked down.
• Performance: 100 % vanilla JS/CSS. No bloat, just direct LAN speeds limited only by your router.

Demo & Source

• Source Code: (MIT‑licensed)