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10 top picks · 1 audience ranking

Best open source pastebins

The best open source pastebin is Karakeep, with 29,464 GitHub stars, the AGPL-3.0 license and a Docker image; SilverBullet and PrivateBin are strong alternatives. This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Karakeep leads for solo developers. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 21 apps in the pastebins category of the appsgit catalog.

Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed nightly

Top picks

  1. Rank 1:

    Karakeep

    karakeep-app/karakeep

    Bookmark-everything app with a touch of AI for the data hoarders out there.

    Bookmarks & Link SharingTypeScriptDocker

    AI-nativeKarakeep has 29,464 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 824 commits in the last year; it replaces Pocket.

  2. Rank 2:

    SilverBullet

    silverbulletmd/silverbullet

    Note-taking application optimized for people with a hacker mindset.

    Note-taking & EditorsTypeScriptDocker

    SilverBullet has 6,226 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,280 commits in the last year; it replaces Obsidian.

  3. Rank 3:

    PrivateBin

    PrivateBin/PrivateBin

    Minimalist pastebin/discussion board where the server has zero knowledge of hosted data.

    PastebinsPHP

    PrivateBin has 8,651 GitHub stars, uses the Zlib license and had 615 commits in the last year; it replaces Pastebin.

1 of 2 · 10 picks

Top picks

10 of the 21 apps in the pastebins category, ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    Karakeep

    Bookmark-everything app with a touch of AI for the data hoarders out there.

    AI-nativeKarakeep has 29,464 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 824 commits in the last year; it replaces Pocket.

  2. 2

    SilverBullet

    Note-taking application optimized for people with a hacker mindset.

    SilverBullet has 6,226 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,280 commits in the last year; it replaces Obsidian.

  3. 3

    PrivateBin

    Minimalist pastebin/discussion board where the server has zero knowledge of hosted data.

    PrivateBin has 8,651 GitHub stars, uses the Zlib license and had 615 commits in the last year; it replaces Pastebin.

  4. 4

    Password Pusher

    Dead-simple application to securely communicate passwords (or text) over the web. Passwords automatically expire after a certain number of views and/or time has passed.

    Password Pusher has 3,212 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,045 commits in the last year.

  5. 5

    Yopass

    Secure sharing of secrets, passwords and files.

    Yopass has 3,164 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,051 commits in the last year; it replaces Pastebin.

  6. 6

    Opengist

    Pastebin powered by Git.

    Opengist has 3,370 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 179 commits in the last year; it replaces Pastebin.

  7. 7

    ByteStash

    Pastebin and file storage service with a simple web interface. Supports syntax highlighting, optional user authentication and public sharing.

    ByteStash has 2,546 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 65 commits in the last year; it replaces Pastebin.

  8. 8

    Wastebin

    Lightweight, minimal and fast pastebin with an SQLite backend.

    Wastebin has 866 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 154 commits in the last year; it replaces Pastebin.

  9. 9

    paaster

    End-to-end encrypted pastebin built with the objective of simplicity.

    paaster has 566 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 400 commits in the last year.

  10. 10

    rustypaste

    Minimal file upload/pastebin service.

    rustypaste has 1,210 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 114 commits in the last year; it replaces Pastebin.

2 of 2 · 5 picks

Best for solo developers

Ranked for solo developers on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    Karakeep

    Bookmark-everything app with a touch of AI for the data hoarders out there.

    AI-nativeKarakeep has 29,464 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in TypeScript and had 824 commits in the last year; it replaces Pocket. For solo developers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    SilverBullet

    Note-taking application optimized for people with a hacker mindset.

    SilverBullet has 6,226 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image, is written in TypeScript and had 1,280 commits in the last year; it replaces Obsidian. For solo developers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    Password Pusher

    Dead-simple application to securely communicate passwords (or text) over the web. Passwords automatically expire after a certain number of views and/or time has passed.

    Password Pusher has 3,212 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in Ruby and had 1,045 commits in the last year. For solo developers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    Yopass

    Secure sharing of secrets, passwords and files.

    Yopass has 3,164 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in Go and had 1,051 commits in the last year; it replaces Pastebin. For solo developers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    PrivateBin

    Minimalist pastebin/discussion board where the server has zero knowledge of hosted data.

    PrivateBin has 8,651 GitHub stars, uses the Zlib license, is written in PHP and had 615 commits in the last year; it replaces Pastebin. For solo developers it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

FAQ

Questions and answers

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

What is the best open source pastebin?

The best open source pastebin is Karakeep, with 29,464 GitHub stars, the AGPL-3.0 license and a Docker image; SilverBullet and PrivateBin are strong alternatives. This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Karakeep leads for solo developers. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 21 apps in the pastebins category of the appsgit catalog.

Is Karakeep free?

Yes. Karakeep is open-source software released under the AGPL-3.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.

Which open source pastebin is best for a solo developer?

Karakeep ranks first for solo developers, with 29,464 GitHub stars, the AGPL-3.0 license and a Docker image; SilverBullet and Password Pusher follow. The solo developers ranking adds points for Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits on top of stars and activity.

Can I self-host these pastebins with Docker?

Yes, 8 of the 10 picks. Karakeep, SilverBullet and Password Pusher publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose. The others install from their own packages or source; follow each project's install guide.

Are all of these pastebins open source?

All 10 apps on this list are open source. You can self-host and modify each one under its license.

Which of these pastebins is the most actively developed?

SilverBullet, with 1,280 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, 2.11.1, from September 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.

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