fiche vs Ghostbin
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted pastebins & snippets options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | fiche | Ghostbin |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 16 · At risk | 7 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Pastebins & Snippets | Pastebins & Snippets |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | C | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,550 | ★ 188 |
| First released | 2015 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Pastebin.com, termbin | Pastebin.com, GitHub Gist |
What are fiche and Ghostbin?
fiche
fiche is a minimalist terminal pastebin server written in C that accepts pastes piped over netcat. Users upload text from the command line and receive a short URL with no client software needed.
- Netcat-based uploads
- No client needed
- Short URL output
- Tiny C server
Ghostbin
Ghostbin, whose engine is now called spectre, is a feature-rich, self-hosted pastebin offering syntax highlighting, paste expiration, and optional encryption. It is the open-source software that powered the public Ghostbin service.
- Syntax highlighting
- Optional encryption
- Paste expiration
- Self-hosted control
fiche vs Ghostbin: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Ghostbin's repository is archived and no longer developed, while fiche is actively maintained. Fiche is written in C, while Ghostbin is built with JavaScript. Fiche is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Ghostbin. Fiche has the considerably larger community, at 1,550 GitHub stars versus 188. Ghostbin lists first-class Docker deployment; fiche does not.
Why pick each one
Choose fiche if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.6k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
Choose Ghostbin if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in JavaScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is fiche or Ghostbin better?
fiche is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Ghostbin if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are fiche and Ghostbin free and open-source?
Yes. fiche is licensed under MIT and Ghostbin under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run fiche and Ghostbin with Docker?
fiche: check the project docs for container support. Ghostbin: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, fiche or Ghostbin?
fiche has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Ghostbin. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.