Shaarli

Free plan AndroidAPIExtensioniPhoneLinuxSelf-hosted+1

What Shaarli is

Shaarli is a free, self-hosted bookmark manager and link-sharing service for one user. You install it on your own server, shared hosting, or a dedicated or virtual server, using a release ZIP, source files, Docker, or Docker Compose. Saved items can contain a URL, title, description, tags, and public or private status. You can edit these fields, search text and tags, use hidden or sticky tags, and browse tag views. Leaving the URL blank creates a text-only post for notes, snippets, or blog articles. Shaarli provides RSS and Atom feeds, a daily digest, HTML import and export, and automatic removal of some tracking parameters. Links are stored in a file instead of a database. It offers a REST API with JWT bearer authentication, LDAP login, browser extensions, and community mobile apps. Documented protections include salted and hashed passwords, CSRF defenses, expiring sessions, and configurable IP bans. Third-party plugins add integrations such as Mastodon, Bluesky, webhooks, analytics, and custom themes.

Who it suits

Shaarli suits individuals who want a personal, self-hosted place for bookmarks, notes, link sharing, or related lists. Its single-user design also fits people comfortable installing and maintaining software on their own server.

What it does well

Free software with a free plan
Stores links in a file, without a database
RSS, Atom, digest, import, and export options
REST API, browser extensions, and mobile apps
Documented security and privacy controls

What to know first

Designed for a single user
Requires your own server or hosting
No free trial is listed

Verdict

Shaarli combines bookmarking, notes, feeds, and link sharing in a self-hosted single-user service. Its file storage, APIs, extensions, and documented security controls suit personal installations, but it is not intended as a multi-user service.

Facts from Shaarli's own pages

API: The REST API uses JWT bearer tokens, and the documentation lists Python and Node.js clients plus an Android client example. · shaarli.readthedocs.io, 11 Oct 2026
Audience and scope: The project describes Shaarli as personal and single-user, and its documentation covers shared hosting as well as dedicated and virtual servers. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Authentication: LDAP login is supported for the single-user installation, and API requests require a JWT bearer token. · shaarli.readthedocs.io, 4 Oct 2026
Bookmarks: Each saved item can include a URL, title, free-text description, tags, and public or private status. · shaarli.readthedocs.io, 11 Oct 2026
Capture: Users can save links through the Shaare button, a browser bookmarklet, apps and browser add-ons, or the REST API. · shaarli.readthedocs.io, 11 Oct 2026
Deployment: The project provides installation instructions for release ZIP files and Docker. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Extensions: The project documents third-party plugins for features including Mastodon and Bluesky posting, webhooks, analytics and custom themes. · shaarli.readthedocs.io, 4 Oct 2026
Feeds and cleanup: Shaarli provides filterable ATOM and RSS feeds, a daily digest and automatic removal of some tracking parameters from URLs. · shaarli.readthedocs.io, 4 Oct 2026
Feeds and export: Shaarli provides RSS and Atom feeds and lets users export and import bookmarks as HTML. · shaarli.readthedocs.io, 11 Oct 2026
Hosting: Shaarli can run on dedicated or virtual servers and shared hosting, with Debian GNU/Linux used for documentation examples. · shaarli.readthedocs.io, 11 Oct 2026
Installation: Shaarli can be installed from a release ZIP or source on a web server, or run with Docker and Docker Compose. · shaarli.readthedocs.io, 4 Oct 2026
License: The repository describes Shaarli as free software. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Limit: Shaarli is designed as a personal, single-user service; the docs describe it as an alternative to commercial bookmarking services. · shaarli.readthedocs.io, 4 Oct 2026
Mobile apps: The community page lists an iOS share extension and Android apps for sending links to Shaarli. · shaarli.readthedocs.io, 4 Oct 2026
Notes: Leaving the URL blank creates a text-only post that can be used for notes, snippets, or blog articles, with no character limit stated in the documentation. · shaarli.readthedocs.io, 11 Oct 2026
Organization: Users can edit link URLs, titles, descriptions, tags and public or private status, then search across fields and browse tag views. · shaarli.readthedocs.io, 4 Oct 2026
Organization and search: Shaarli supports tag autocomplete, tag and text searches, hidden tags, and sticky bookmarks. · shaarli.readthedocs.io, 11 Oct 2026
Other integrations: Documented related integrations include Tiny Tiny RSS, Cloudron, YunoHost, Debian packages and browser extensions for Firefox and Chrome. · shaarli.readthedocs.io, 4 Oct 2026
Plugins: Built-in plugins include integrations for Archive.org, Isso comments, Piwik tracking, QR codes, and Wallabag; third-party plugins can be installed separately. · shaarli.readthedocs.io, 11 Oct 2026
Privacy: The project says Shaarli does not send telemetry, metrics or private information to its developers. · shaarli.readthedocs.io, 4 Oct 2026
Product: Shaarli is a personal, single-user link-sharing and bookmarking service that users install on their own server. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Purpose: Shaarli is a personal, single-user bookmark manager and link-sharing service that you install on your own server. · shaarli.readthedocs.io, 4 Oct 2026
Security: The security policy says the latest release receives security support and asks users to report possible vulnerabilities through the repository security tab. · github.com, 11 Oct 2026
Storage: Links are stored in a file, so a database is not required and backups are straightforward. · shaarli.readthedocs.io, 4 Oct 2026

Where Shaarli stands on Freedom251

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