I'm wondering how to effectively keep track of the data I hoard. I'm almost at 80TB and currently use very basic folders structure to keep track of my data. I'm looking for something like a full text index maybe even a like a search engine for local data? Is there such a tool?
To answer your question, I search my (albeit smaller) amount of data with Kiwix if it's a zim file, if not, the search function in Nautilus allows me to search the contents of text files.
I do this too, and avoid as much as possible having folders within folders, eg;
me-photos
me-music
me-documents
john-photos
john-music
work-documents
work-letter-templates
Use some kind of hierarchical folder-structure like the Usenet does.
Something like: unix.desktop.theming for all your desktop ricing/theming stuff, unix.lx.debian.doc for debian documentation, win.win10.winget for everything related to winget on windows 10, rl.bureau.finances for your finances, accounting, etc. ...
You can use the Browser Extension "QuickCut" to save your bookmarks in folders. Its really helpful when you work on a bigger project and have all the documentation weblinks at hand.