Papermark

Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Papermark

A curated collection of the 3 best self hosted alternatives to Papermark.

Papermark is a cloud document-sharing and data-room service for securely sending PDFs and pitch decks via branded links, with access controls, viewer tracking, download restrictions, and analytics to monitor recipient engagement.

Alternatives List

#1
Cryptgeon

Cryptgeon

Self-hosted, client-side encrypted note and file sharing service inspired by PrivNote, with view/time limits and an optional CLI client.

Cryptgeon screenshot

Cryptgeon is a secure note and file sharing service inspired by PrivNote. Notes are encrypted in the browser before upload, so the server stores only ciphertext and cannot decrypt the content.

Key Features

  • Client-side encryption using AES-GCM; encryption keys are not sent to the server
  • Share both text notes and files
  • Expiration controls via maximum views and time-based expiry
  • In-memory storage with Redis, designed to avoid disk persistence
  • Web UI plus a CLI client for creating and sharing secrets
  • Health endpoint for basic service monitoring

Use Cases

  • Share one-time secrets (passwords, tokens) with a view limit
  • Send sensitive notes with an expiration time for temporary access
  • Share files securely without the server being able to read them

Limitations and Considerations

  • View-count enforcement can be imperfect in multi-instance deployments due to race conditions
  • HTTPS is required for browser cryptography features
  • In-memory storage means data can be evicted depending on Redis memory policies

Cryptgeon is a practical option for teams and individuals who need simple, temporary secret sharing with strong privacy properties. Its minimal server trust model and expiring links make it well-suited for operational workflows and ad-hoc secure exchanges.

1.3kstars
134forks
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#2
OTS

OTS

Self-hosted one-time secret sharing service that encrypts secrets in the browser with AES-256 and deletes them after the first read.

OTS screenshot

OTS is a one-time secret sharing platform designed to keep the server from learning the plaintext. Secrets are encrypted client-side using symmetric AES-256, then stored server-side only in encrypted form and deleted after the first successful read.

Key Features

  • Client-side AES-256 encryption; the decryption password is never sent to the server
  • Secrets are deleted immediately after the first read
  • Optional secret expiry (TTL) configuration
  • Multiple storage backends, including in-memory and Redis
  • Simple HTTP API for creating secrets and retrieving them
  • Optional CLI tool for creating and fetching secrets (useful for scripts)

Use Cases

  • Sharing passwords, tokens, or recovery codes securely with a single recipient
  • Sending sensitive information via chat/email without long-lived exposure
  • Automation and scripting workflows to distribute short-lived secrets

Limitations and Considerations

  • In-memory storage backend loses secrets on service restart
  • Security relies on clients handling the generated URL (containing secret ID and password in the fragment) safely

OTS provides a minimal, practical workflow for one-time sharing while reducing trust in the server by keeping encryption and decryption on the client. It is well-suited for teams and homelabs that need a lightweight, self-hosted alternative for sharing sensitive strings and small payloads.

717stars
93forks
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#3
015

015

Self-hosted temporary file and text sharing platform with chunked uploads, frontend hash-based instant transfers, image processing, previews, JWT download tokens, and Redis-backed queueing.

015 screenshot

015 is a self-hosted temporary file and text sharing platform designed for one-time and short-lived uploads. It combines a modern Vue/Nuxt frontend with a Go backend and supports chunked uploads, frontend file-hash detection for instant transfer, and background processing for file tasks.

Key Features

  • Chunked, high-performance uploads with frontend hashing and instant-transfer detection to avoid duplicate uploads
  • Concurrent processing using frontend web workers and a backend worker queue for asynchronous tasks
  • Image processing including automatic compression and preview support for images, video, audio, and documents
  • Share management with configurable password protection, download count limits, expiration times, and pickup codes
  • Download access control using JWT-based tokens and Redis for caching share metadata
  • Responsive UI built with Vue 3, Nuxt 3, TypeScript and Tailwind CSS; backend written in Go with an Asynq-based worker system

Use Cases

  • Quickly share large files or snippets as one-time or temporary links with expiration and access limits
  • Public or private file drops with password or pickup-code protection for ad-hoc collaboration
  • Automatic image compression and preview for sending media without manual processing

Limitations and Considerations

  • Default storage uses the local filesystem; cloud object storage adapters are not provided out of the box
  • Resume-upload behavior has partial support; backend-side resumed-part enumeration is listed as a planned improvement

015 is suitable for teams and individuals needing ephemeral, controlled file sharing without a third‑party service. It emphasizes fast uploads, access controls, and simple lifecycle management for temporary content.

299stars
28forks
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Why choose an open source alternative?

  • •Data ownership: Keep your data on your own servers
  • •No vendor lock-in: Freedom to switch or modify at any time
  • •Cost savings: Reduce or eliminate subscription fees
  • •Transparency: Audit the code and know exactly what's running