Glossary

A quick reference for the words this project (and self-hosting generally) throws around.

API key

A secret string that lets one service talk to another (e.g. Kin → Immich, or Kin → OpenAI). Treat it like a password — don't share it or commit it.

Container

A self-contained bundle of an app and everything it needs to run. Docker runs these. Kin is one container.

Docker

The tool that runs containers. "Running Kin in Docker" just means Kin runs inside a container on your machine.

Docker volume

A named chunk of persistent storage that survives container restarts. Kin keeps its database in one (/data).

Household

A group of people sharing one Kin. A household of one is an individual account; several members share the same people, journal, and config.

Immich

A popular self-hosted photo library that Kin can optionally integrate with for faces, photos, and "on this day" memories.

Instance

A single running copy of Kin (one container, one database). "Instance owner" means the admin of that copy.

Instance owner

The administrator of a Kin instance — can add/remove anyone, manage any household, and toggle the config lock.

Household owner

Someone who manages a specific household's members and config. Multiple people can be owners.

Journal

Kin's quick-capture log of who you saw and what happened.

Markdown

A simple way to write formatted text with plain characters (# heading, **bold**). These docs are written in it.

Reverse proxy

A server that sits in front of Kin and handles HTTPS + nice hostnames (e.g. Nginx Proxy Manager, Caddy). Optional — Kin works fine on plain HTTP locally.

SQLite

Kin's database — a single file (app.db) rather than a separate database server. That's why backing up one file backs up everything.

TTS (text-to-speech)

Turning written text into spoken audio. Kin uses it (via Piper or OpenAI) so the support chat can speak its replies.

Whisper

OpenAI's speech-to-text model — Kin uses it (or a local equivalent) to transcribe voice notes.