Self-Hosted Weekly: Week 31, 2026. n8n AI Builder, Immich 3, Paperless-ngx 3.0.4
This was a patch-and-polish week across the self-hosted catalog. No dramatic launches, but two projects we care about shipped real upgrades, and a whole stack of tools you probably run pushed point releases worth taking. Here are the eight updates from the Elestio catalog that mattered this week, with a hot take on each so you know what to upgrade and what can wait.
1. n8n ships an AI builder, workflow review, and MCP support
The July 29 n8n release is the big one. It adds an AI workflow builder, a workflow review feature, native MCP support, expanded API capabilities, and stronger admin-managed credentials with better OAuth handling. MCP is the headline: n8n can now sit in the middle of your agent tooling instead of beside it.
Hot take: This is the release that turns n8n from "Zapier you host yourself" into a control plane for AI agents. Native MCP means your workflows become callable tools, and the AI builder drops the barrier for non-developers. If you run n8n, this is the upgrade to prioritize.
2. Immich 3 is here, and it's on F-Droid now
Immich crossed the 3.x line this month (v3.0.0 shipped July 1, with 3.0.x patches and 3.1.0 following), and the Android app started publishing to FUTO's official F-Droid repository. You can now install the client without going anywhere near the Play Store.
Hot take: Distribution is sovereignty too. A project whose entire pitch is getting your photos off Google has no business making you install its app through Google. The v3 line is the most polished Immich has ever been, and Immich remains the self-hosted photo app to beat.
3. Paperless-ngx 3.0.4 polishes OCR, search, and LLM workflows
Paperless-ngx pushed 3.0.4 (following 3.0.3) with fixes across OCR, search indexing, permissions, previews, email parsing, and its LLM workflows. Document handling is smoother, filtering is better, and live updates are more reliable.
Hot take: The LLM workflow fixes are the part to watch. Paperless is quietly turning your document pile into something an AI agent can query, which is a very different product than "a place to dump scans." If you run Paperless-ngx, 3.0.4 is a clean upgrade.
4. Uptime Kuma 2.4.0 keeps the status page honest
Uptime Kuma reached 2.4.0 this cycle. The 2.x line has settled into being the default self-hosted monitoring and status-page tool, and this is a low-risk maintenance bump.
Hot take: Uptime Kuma wins because it does one thing and never gets in your way. There is no reason to pay for a hosted status page when Uptime Kuma gives you the same thing on a tiny VM. Upgrade and forget about it.
5. Authentik 2026.5.3 lands as a safe update
The identity provider shipped 2026.5.3, flagged as a safe update. Authentik keeps closing the gap with the heavyweight SSO options while staying far easier to run.
Hot take: Your identity provider is the one service you never let fall behind on patches, because it is the front door to everything else. If Authentik is your SSO layer, take this update sooner rather than later.
6. Grafana 13.0.3 is a quiet, take-it-now point release
Grafana pushed 13.0.3, a maintenance release marked safe to update. Nothing flashy, which on your observability layer is exactly what you want.
Hot take: Boring point releases on the tool you stare at during an incident are a gift. There is no upside to running an old Grafana. Patch it during business hours and move on.
7. Valkey 9.1.1 keeps the Redis fork marching
Valkey, the community-run Redis fork that emerged after the Redis relicensing drama, shipped 9.1.1. It stays drop-in compatible while being governed in the open under a permissive license.
Hot take: Valkey is now the safe default for a Redis-compatible cache or queue. You get the same API with none of the license risk that pushed everyone to fork in the first place. If you are standing up something new, reach for Valkey instead of worrying about what Redis relicenses next.
8. Nextcloud 34.0.2 rounds out the productivity suite
Nextcloud shipped 34.0.2, the current supported release of the self-hosted file, calendar, and collaboration suite. It is a maintenance update on an already mature line.
Hot take: If you are running Nextcloud as a Google Workspace replacement, 34.x is the stable base you want under it. Nextcloud is not exciting anymore, and that is the whole point when it is holding your team's files.
What We're Watching Next Week
- Whether n8n's new MCP support kicks off a wave of agent-driven automation templates from the community.
- PostgreSQL 19, now in Beta 2, as it marches toward a GA later this year. It underpins half the catalog, so its release matters to everyone.
- Mattermost v10.11 ESR hits end of life on August 15, so if you are on it, plan the upgrade now rather than in two weeks.
The Bottom Line
Two real headliners this week: n8n turning into an agent control plane with native MCP, and Immich 3 landing with proper Google-free distribution. Everything else was the unglamorous heart of self-hosting, keeping the tools you already run current and patched. That maintenance work is boring right up until the day it is not.
The nice part about running these on Elestio is that the point releases land for you automatically, so patch week stops being your problem.
Thanks for reading ❤️ See you next week 👋