Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Oku

Karakeep (previously Hoarder) is a self-hostable “bookmark everything” service for saving links, notes, images, PDFs, and archived pages in one searchable library. It adds automation features like content fetching, OCR, and optional AI-based tagging and summarization.

Key Features

• Save links, notes, images, and PDFs in a unified library
• Automatic fetching of page titles, descriptions, and preview images
• Full-text search across stored content
• AI-based automatic tagging and summarization (including support for local models via Ollama)
• OCR to extract text from images
• Lists/collections with optional collaboration
• RSS feed ingestion for automatic saving
• Full-page archival to reduce link rot, plus optional video archiving
• Rule-based automation engine for customized management
• REST API and multiple clients, including mobile apps and browser extensions
• SSO support

Use Cases

• Personal read-it-later and knowledge capture with fast search and tagging
• Team collections for shared research, references, and highlights
• Long-term archiving of important web pages and media to mitigate link rot

Limitations and Considerations

• The project is under heavy development, so features and behavior may change

Karakeep is a good fit for individuals and teams who want a private, searchable repository for mixed web content. Its combination of archiving, OCR, automation rules, and optional AI enrichment makes it especially useful for large, continuously growing bookmark libraries.

Linkwarden is a self-hosted, open-source bookmark manager focused on organizing, reading, and preserving web content. It combines a read-it-later experience with collaborative collections and built-in archival formats so saved knowledge remains accessible over time.

Key Features

• Save links into collections and sub-collections with names, descriptions, and tags
• Automatic preservation of webpages as screenshot, PDF, and a single-file HTML snapshot
• Reader view with text highlighting and annotations
• Collaboration features for shared collections, including configurable member permissions
• Full-text search with filtering, sorting, and advanced search operators
• Sharing options to publish links and preserved formats for others to view
• RSS feed subscription within collections to track updates like regular saved pages
• Import and export tools for migrating bookmarks
• API access via access tokens (API keys)
• Optional integrations such as sending snapshots to the Wayback Machine and local AI-based tagging

Use Cases

• Build a personal or team knowledge library of articles, references, and research
• Preserve important web pages to protect against link rot or content changes
• Curate and share collections of resources publicly or within an organization

Linkwarden is a strong fit for individuals and teams that need reliable bookmarking plus long-term preservation, with modern search and a comfortable reading and annotation workflow.

Shiori is a simple bookmark manager written in Go, designed as a lightweight alternative to read-it-later services like Pocket. It can run as a web application or be used from the command line, and is distributed as a portable single binary.

Key Features

• Create, edit, delete, and search bookmarks
• Web interface and command-line interface
• Import and export using Netscape Bookmark files
• Import bookmarks from Pocket
• Parses readable content and, where possible, creates an offline archive of saved webpages
• Supports multiple databases: SQLite, PostgreSQL, MySQL, and MariaDB
• Optional browser extension support (Firefox/Chrome)

Use Cases

• Personal read-it-later and bookmark organization with offline access
• Self-hosted bookmarking for teams or small groups with a simple web UI
• Migrating bookmarks from Pocket or browser exports into a searchable library

Limitations and Considerations

• Offline archiving and readable-content extraction depend on website structure and may not work consistently for all pages
• Browser extension support is marked as beta in the project

Shiori is a practical choice if you want a fast, minimal bookmarking service with both CLI and web access, plus the convenience of offline snapshots. Its single-binary deployment and broad database support make it easy to run in many environments.

linkding is a self-hosted bookmarking service focused on being minimal, fast, and low maintenance. It helps you save, organize, and retrieve links with a clean interface and automation for metadata and archiving.

Key Features

• Clean, readability-focused UI
• Tag-based organization with search
• Markdown notes, bulk editing, and read-it-later workflows
• Automatic metadata fetching (title, description, icons, preview images)
• Website archiving as local HTML snapshots or via the Internet Archive
• Multi-user support with sharing to other users or guests
• Import/export using Netscape HTML bookmark format
• Browser extensions (Firefox/Chrome), plus a bookmarklet
• REST API for scripts and third-party apps
• Optional SSO via OIDC or authentication proxies; admin panel for user self-service

Use Cases

• Personal or team bookmark collection with tags, notes, and sharing
• “Read it later” list with searchable, organized link storage
• Building an archived research library of important web pages

Limitations and Considerations

• Default setup uses SQLite, which may be a constraint for larger deployments or high concurrency compared to a dedicated database

linkding is a strong fit when you want a straightforward bookmarking app that stays out of the way, while still offering practical features like metadata enrichment, archiving, sharing, and an API for integrations.

Buku is a command-line bookmark manager and lightweight personal textual mini‑web. It stores bookmarks in a portable SQLite database, can auto-fetch title/tags/description for URLs, and exposes an optional browsable web UI (Bukuserver) for users who prefer a GUI.

Key Features

• CLI-first bookmark management with editor integration and shell completion
• Portable, mergeable SQLite database for easy syncing between machines
• Auto-fetch of page title, description and tags; manual encryption support for DB files
• Powerful search options: regex, substring, markers and deep-scan modes
• Import/export support for multiple formats (HTML, XBEL, Markdown, RSS/Atom, Org)
• Smart tag management and utilities for tag manipulation and reorganization
• Bukuserver: optional Flask-based web UI with JSON HTTP API and admin-style views
• Tools for checking broken links (Wayback Machine integration) and bulk DB refresh

Use Cases

• Maintain a portable, searchable personal bookmark collection across systems
• Quickly capture and tag articles from the terminal, then refine entries with a text editor
• Provide a local browsable UI for bookmarks on a single machine via the optional web server

Limitations and Considerations

• The web UI (Bukuserver) is intended for local/personal use and is not designed to be exposed publicly without a reverse proxy and external access controls
• Encryption is manual and limited; there is no built-in automated cloud sync or hosted backend
• Some optional features require additional Python dependencies and extras to be installed

Buku is a pragmatic, privacy-conscious tool for users who prefer terminal-driven workflows but want an optional lightweight web frontend. It emphasizes portability, fast search, and minimal telemetry.

Grimoire is a self-hosted, web-based bookmark manager designed to help you save and organize links into a personal knowledge library. It supports multiple user accounts and enriches bookmarks by fetching page metadata and extracting readable content.

Key Features

• Save and organize bookmarks with tags and categories
• Multi-user support with separate libraries per account
• Fuzzy search across saved bookmarks
• Website metadata fetching (title, description, images) with local storage and refresh
• Content extraction to turn saved pages into readable snippets
• Personal notes on bookmarks
• Integration API for adding bookmarks from external tools
• Dark mode support

Use Cases

• Personal “read later” and reference library for articles, tools, and documentation
• Team or household bookmarking with separate user accounts
• Research workflows where pages are saved with extracted content and notes

Limitations and Considerations

• Import/export features and bookmark sharing are not yet available (planned on the roadmap)

Grimoire is a good fit if you want a straightforward, locally hosted bookmarking app with strong organization features and automated page enrichment. It is lightweight to deploy and can be integrated into other workflows via its API.

Ephemera is a lightweight self-hosted web application for collecting and organizing links you want to keep. It focuses on simple link capture and retrieval, making it useful as a personal link archive or a small team knowledge stash.

Key Features

• Save and manage bookmarks/links in a web UI
• Tagging and basic organization for quick retrieval
• Search across saved items to find previously stored links
• Designed to be simple to deploy and run for personal use

Use Cases

• Maintain a personal “read later” and reference link library
• Keep a searchable archive of project-related resources and documentation links
• Share and curate a small collection of links within a team

Ephemera is a good fit if you want a minimal, self-hosted way to store and find important links without the overhead of a larger knowledge base system.

Espial is an open-source web application for saving, organizing, and searching bookmarks in a self-hosted environment. It supports multiple user accounts and stores data in a SQLite database to keep deployment and maintenance simple.

Key Features

• Multi-user bookmarking with per-account collections
• Bookmarklet for fast saving from a browser while logged in
• SQLite-backed storage for straightforward setup and backups
• Import tools for Pinboard-compatible JSON exports
• Import tools for Firefox bookmark exports
• Web UI for browsing and managing saved links

Use Cases

• Personal bookmark server to replace hosted “read later” and bookmarking services
• Small team knowledge collection for links, references, and research
• Migrating and consolidating bookmarks from Pinboard or Firefox into one instance

Limitations and Considerations

• SSL/TLS is expected to be handled via a reverse proxy
• Configuration changes in the embedded settings file require rebuilding the executable

Espial is a practical choice for users who want a lightweight bookmarking web app with a simple SQLite datastore and easy bookmark capture via a bookmarklet. It is especially well-suited to individuals or small groups looking for a maintainable, self-managed bookmarking workflow.

Servas is a self-hosted web application for organizing and managing bookmarks. It focuses on fast saving and structured organization using tags and groups, with a modern responsive interface.

Key Features

• Tag-based organization for bookmarks
• Groups with nesting for hierarchical collections
• Smart Groups that auto-collect bookmarks based on tags
• Multi-user accounts with optional registration control
• Import and export of bookmarks (JSON and HTML)
• Dark and light themes with responsive UI
• Two-factor authentication (2FA)
• Companion browser extensions for Firefox and Chrome for one-click saving

Use Cases

• Personal or homelab replacement for cloud bookmark services
• Team-shared bookmark collections with separate user accounts
• Migrating browser bookmarks into a searchable, tag-based library

Limitations and Considerations

• Requires a PHP/Laravel runtime and initial setup (app key, migrations)
• Browser extensions are provided as a separate project and deployed separately

Servas is a solid choice if you want a clean, self-managed bookmark library with flexible organization features like nested groups and smart group rules. It can run with SQLite for simple deployments or MySQL/MariaDB for more traditional setups.

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.

Readeck is an open-source, self-hosted read-it-later and bookmark manager that archives readable content (articles, images, videos) for long-term access. It extracts main content from pages, provides a reader view, and exposes an API used by browser extensions and third-party clients. (selfhostblog.com)

Key Features

• Full-text extraction and reader view for saved pages (article parsing and metadata extraction).
• Bookmark organization: labels/tags, favorites, archive, collections and highlights/annotations.
• Export options including e-book export for long-term archival.
• Multiple persistence backends supported: embedded SQLite for single-user installs or PostgreSQL for larger/multi-user setups. (selfhostblog.com)
• Official Docker container images and a simple docker-compose setup for quick deployment. (awesome-docker-compose.com)
• First-party browser extensions (Chrome/Firefox) and ecosystem clients (Python client library, Raycast, mobile/F-Droid clients) using the Readeck API. (chromewebstore.google.com)

Use Cases

• Personal knowledge management: save articles, highlights and build a searchable archive of reading material.
• Research and curation: create collections and share curated reading lists across devices (via API/clients).
• Offline archival: preserve readable content and export as e-books for long-term storage or portability. (selfhostblog.com)

Limitations and Considerations

• Source and container images are primarily published via Codeberg; some users report regional access or mirror availability issues which can affect obtaining releases or images. (reddit.com)
• Third-party clients and mobile apps require a running Readeck instance and API token; additional configuration (reverse proxy, TLS) may be needed for secure remote access. (selfhostblog.com)

Readeck provides a focused, privacy-oriented read-it-later experience with extraction, highlights, and export capabilities. It is suitable for individuals and small teams that want full control over saved web content and prefer self-hosted deployment options.