Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Are.na

Briefkasten is an open-source, self-hosted bookmarking application that stores bookmarks in any Prisma-compatible database. It provides a modern web UI and tools to save, organize and search bookmarks while supporting OAuth and email magic-link authentication.

Key Features

• Save bookmarks via a browser extension, drag-and-drop, or REST API
• Automatic title and description extraction when saving URLs
• Organize bookmarks by categories and tags with multiple list/views
• Import and export bookmarks in standard HTML format
• Background job to fetch bookmark images and enrich metadata
• Keyboard shortcuts and multiple UI views for fast navigation
• Full-text search across saved bookmarks
• OAuth and email magic link authentication support
• Works with any Prisma-compatible database (Postgres, MySQL, SQLite)
• Docker and docker-compose support for easy local deployment

Use Cases

• Personal bookmark vault for managing links, articles and resources across devices
• Team or small-group shared collection of reference links and documentation
• Migrating and consolidating bookmarks from browser exports into a searchable database

Limitations and Considerations

• The project provides a v2 beta; the maintainer has warned that beta database instances may be reset during migration from v1 to v2
• Image storage is not built into the database; an external object store (S3-compatible or provider SDK) is recommended for bookmark images
• OAuth requires configuring provider credentials; initial setup requires a Prisma-compatible database and appropriate environment variables

Briefkasten is a straightforward, developer-friendly bookmarking solution focused on portability, searchability and extensibility. It is suitable for individuals and small teams who prefer a self-hosted bookmark manager with integrations for modern deployment workflows.

Postmarks is a single-user bookmarking website you host yourself, designed to connect to the Fediverse via ActivityPub. It lets you curate and publish bookmarks from your own instance while interacting with other Postmarks instances and compatible text-based ActivityPub platforms.

Key Features

• Single-user bookmark manager with add, edit, and delete functionality
• ActivityPub server features for federation with Mastodon and similar platforms
• Admin area protected by an instance login key
• Bookmark import and a browser bookmarklet for quick saving
• Configurable actor profile (username, display name, bio, avatar) via local configuration
• Optional Mastodon profile verification link via environment configuration

Use Cases

• Maintain a personal, self-owned bookmarking site that can be followed from the Fediverse
• Share and discover bookmarks through federation with other ActivityPub instances
• Publish a curated set of links as a lightweight personal linklog

Limitations and Considerations

• Designed for a single owner account rather than multi-user teams
• Federation is focused on text-based ActivityPub platforms and interoperability may vary by server

Postmarks is a good fit if you want a simple, self-controlled bookmarking workflow with Fediverse-native publishing. It combines a traditional bookmark manager with ActivityPub federation to make your saved links more social and discoverable.

Minne is a self-hosted, graph-powered personal knowledge management solution that stores content, reveals connections, and enables AI-assisted discovery. It combines a fast Rust backend with server-side rendering and HTMX for snappy interactions, a visual knowledge graph for exploring relationships, and hybrid retrieval that combines vector similarity with full-text search.

Key Features

• Fast Rust backend with server-side rendering and HTMX for snappy interactions
• Search and chat AI for content discovery
• Knowledge graph with automatic and manual relationship curation
• Hybrid retrieval: vector similarity and full-text search
• Multi-format ingestion: text, URLs, PDFs, audio, and images
• Self-hosted: your data on your server and compatible with OpenAI-like APIs
• Live demo available

Use Cases

• Personal knowledge management and research notes with AI-assisted discovery
• Read-it-later style collection with semantic linking
• Ingest documents (PDFs, URLs) and media for later retrieval

Conclusion Minne provides a privacy-first, self-hosted platform for organizing knowledge with AI-assisted discovery and visual exploration. It is well suited for personal knowledge management, research notes, and data-rich reading collections.

Sticky is a visual sticky-note application for capturing ideas, planning, and collaborating on shared boards. It provides a simple board interface where users create, arrange, and customize notes and work together in real time.

Key Features

• Create, edit, colorize, and resize digital sticky notes on a free-form board
• Real-time collaboration and synchronization across devices using a hosted backend
• Drag-and-drop interface for arranging notes, with intuitive board interactions
• Account-based access and user authentication integrated via an external identity provider
• Cloud sync and analytics integration options for persistent boards and usage tracking
• Built with a TypeScript frontend and modern tooling for easy customization and local builds

Use Cases

• Brainstorming sessions and idea capture for individuals or teams
• Lightweight project planning, task organization, and visual to-do boards
• Remote collaboration for workshops, retrospectives, and creative planning

Limitations and Considerations

• Default deployment relies on third-party hosted services for backend and authentication, which may require accounts or paid plans for production use
• Limited built-in features for file attachments, rich text formatting, or offline-first operation
• Scaling and usage costs depend on the chosen backend provider and plan

Sticky is a focused, lightweight board for quick idea capture and team collaboration. It is suitable for small teams and individuals who want an intuitive visual workspace and are comfortable configuring external backend and auth services for production use.

Betula is a single-user, self-hosted bookmark manager that supports federation with the Fediverse. It stores the whole collection as a single SQLite file, provides a simple web interface, and can publish and receive bookmarks from other instances.

Key Features

• Federated publishing and timeline features enabling following, liking, and reposting across Fediverse-compatible instances
• Single-file storage using SQLite for the entire bookmark collection
• Create bookmarks with optional title and rich-text notes (Mycomarkup), tagging, and public/private visibility
• Built-in web archiving to save copies of linked pages
• Local search across your collection and the ability to search mutuals' instances
• RSS feed support and integration with feed readers (Miniflux integration available)
• Lightweight, minimal-JavaScript UI with bookmarklet and built-in documentation
• Distributed-friendly behavior: can be followed by Mastodon and other Fediverse software

Use Cases

• Personal bookmarking with optional public sharing and Fediverse distribution
• Maintaining an archived, searchable collection of links for research or long-term reference
• Following and aggregating bookmarks from a small network of mutuals or other Betula instances

Limitations and Considerations

• Single-user design: not intended for multi-user or multi-tenant deployments
• Single-file SQLite backend may not scale well for very large collections or multi-user needs
• Federation compatibility can vary; interactions with other Fediverse software may be partial depending on implementations

Betula is suited for users who want a simple, privacy-oriented bookmark manager that can publish and federate links. It emphasizes minimal setup, local storage, and integration with the Fediverse for sharing and discovery.