Best Self Hosted Alternatives to GitHub Gist

PrivateBin is a minimalist pastebin designed for privacy: paste content is encrypted and decrypted in the browser so the server cannot read it (“zero knowledge”). It supports sharing sensitive text (and optional attachments) via a link, with controls for expiration and one-time reading.

Key Features

• Client-side end-to-end encryption (server stores only ciphertext)
• Optional password protection (in addition to E2EE)
• Expiration settings for pastes (time-based)
• “Burn after reading” / one-time view option
• Discussion mode with threaded comments on a paste
• Syntax highlighting for many languages
• File attachments (stored encrypted alongside the paste)
• Optional formatter support (e.g., Markdown) and configurable templates/themes
• No user accounts required; designed for simple, anonymous sharing

Use Cases

• Share secrets or configuration snippets with a team using expiring links
• Send one-time incident notes or credentials via “burn after reading”
• Publish encrypted snippets for support/debugging without exposing plaintext on the server

Limitations and Considerations

• If the decryption key embedded in the URL is leaked (e.g., via referrer logs or chat previews), confidentiality is lost; deployments should consider referrer policy and HTTPS.

PrivateBin is well-suited for organizations and individuals who want a lightweight, auditable paste service where the host cannot access paste contents. Its focus on client-side encryption and practical sharing controls makes it a common replacement for hosted paste and “secure note” services.

Opengist is a lightweight, self-hosted gist service for publishing and collaborating on code snippets and text pastes. It is designed as an alternative to GitHub Gist, with content stored in Git repositories for versioning and portability.

Key Features

• Git-backed storage for gists (history/versioning via commits)
• Public and private gists with sharing links
• Syntax highlighting for many languages
• Markdown rendering for README-style snippets
• Revisions and diff/history browsing
• User accounts with administration capabilities
• Import/migration support from GitHub Gist (via tooling/workflows provided by the project)
• HTTP(S) deployment support with reverse proxies (common Docker-based deployment patterns)

Use Cases

• Internal “team gist” for reusable snippets, runbooks, and config examples
• Personal pastebin for sharing logs, commands, and short notes
• Lightweight snippet hosting for projects that don’t want full Git forge overhead

Limitations and Considerations

• Focused specifically on gists/snippets; it is not a full Git hosting platform (no full PR/issue workflows)

Opengist fits teams and individuals who want gist-like sharing with Git-native versioning, simple governance, and easy portability. It is especially useful when you need a minimal snippet service that stays under your control while remaining compatible with common Git-based workflows.

ByteStash is a self-hosted web application for storing and organizing code snippets (and small notes) in one place. It focuses on a fast, simple UI for capturing snippets, tagging them, and finding them later.

Key Features

• Create, edit, and browse a personal snippet library from a web UI
• Tagging and organization features for grouping related snippets
• Syntax highlighting for many common programming languages
• Search and filtering to quickly find saved snippets
• Docker-based deployment for straightforward installation/updates

Use Cases

• Maintain a personal “code cookbook” of reusable functions and configs
• Share a small internal snippet library within a team/network
• Store operational runbooks: commands, one-liners, and configuration blocks

ByteStash is a lightweight choice for developers who want a simple, self-managed snippet repository with a modern interface and quick retrieval via tags and search.

Rustypaste is a small, fast pastebin and file upload service written in Rust. It provides a simple HTTP interface for uploading files (including text pastes) and serving them back via shareable URLs, with configuration aimed at safe and convenient personal or team use.

Key Features

• HTTP endpoints for uploading and downloading shared files/pastes
• Configurable storage backend on disk with directory layout controls
• Optional expiry/retention settings for uploaded content
• Limits and controls (e.g., maximum upload size) to reduce abuse
• Optional authentication/token-based protection for uploads (configurable)
• Simple configuration file and environment-based configuration support
• Designed to be lightweight and easy to run behind a reverse proxy

Use Cases

• Host a private pastebin for sharing logs/snippets within a team
• Temporary file drop for sharing artifacts (screenshots, binaries) via URL
• Lightweight “share this file quickly” endpoint for scripts and automation

Limitations and Considerations

• Not intended as a full collaboration platform (no rich editor, comments, or versioning)
• Feature set is intentionally minimal; advanced moderation/anti-abuse features may require a reverse proxy/WAF

Rustypaste fits users who want a minimal, performant paste/file sharing endpoint with straightforward configuration and predictable behavior. It is especially suitable when you want a simple URL-based sharing workflow without the complexity of larger file-sharing suites.