Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Kutt

Chhoto URL is a simple, self-hosted URL shortener designed to be fast and minimal, avoiding unnecessary features. It provides a small web app and CLI-oriented workflows for creating and managing short links.

Key Features

• Create shortened links with optional random slug generation
• Web application for basic URL shortening workflows
• CLI usage support for automation and scripting
• Designed for high performance with a small footprint
• Container-friendly deployment (commonly used with Docker/Compose)

Use Cases

• Running a private link shortener for a homelab or organization
• Creating short links for internal documentation and tools
• Automating short-link creation in scripts or simple workflows

Limitations and Considerations

• Uses a database-backed store; enabling SQLite WAL mode is recommended for better reliability/performance
• For large numbers of links, longer UID-style slugs are recommended to avoid collisions and creation failures
• For mission-critical use, regular versioned database backups are advised

Chhoto URL is a good fit when you want a no-frills URL shortener that is easy to deploy, fast, and focused on the core feature set. Its minimalist approach makes it especially suitable for private deployments and straightforward link management.

Anchr is a compact, self-hosted toolbox for light-weight internet tasks, focusing on bookmark collections, a URL shortener, and encrypted image uploads, with an optional hosted service at Anchr.io. It emphasizes privacy, simple workflows, and easy deployment.

Key Features

• Link shortening with safety checks and easy sharing, leveraging Safe Browsing to guard against malicious URLs
• Searchable bookmarks collections with tagging and quick retrieval
• Client-side encrypted image uploads using CryptoJS for privacy
• Self-hosted and open-source core, plus a hosted Anchr.io service, plus OAuth 2 authentication and a Telegram bot for automation and access
• Prometheus metrics for monitoring and integration with ShareX for quick sharing

Use Cases

• Personal bookmark management: save, categorize and search links across devices
• Quick, private image hosting: upload images with client-side encryption for secure sharing
• Short links for chat/docs: generate compact URLs with built-in safety checks
• Optional hosted deployment: run your own instance or use the hosted service for collaboration

Conclusion

Anchr provides a focused, privacy-conscious toolkit for bookmarks, short links, and image hosting, with both self-hosted and hosted options to fit different needs. Built on a Node.js/MongoDB stack, it emphasizes observability with Prometheus and secure authentication via OAuth 2.