filite vs Pinnwand
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted pastebins & snippets options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | filite | Pinnwand |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 6 · At risk | 73 · Good |
| Category | Pastebins & Snippets | Pastebins & Snippets |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Rust | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 189 | ★ 228 |
| First released | 2019 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Imgur, Pastebin.com | Pastebin.com |
What are filite and Pinnwand?
filite
filite is a lightweight, self-hosted alternative to file sharing and pastebin services, written in Rust. It stores uploaded files, shortened links, and code pastes in a single SQLite database and serves them over a minimal HTTP interface.
- Files, links and pastes in one tool
- Single SQLite database
- Rust single-binary server
- Simple HTTP API
Pinnwand
Pinnwand is a straightforward pastebin written in Python that supports multi-file pastes and expiration. It pairs with the steck command-line tool for posting pastes directly from the terminal.
- Multi-file pastes
- Command-line client
- Expiration support
- Simple deployment
filite vs Pinnwand: key differences
Filite is written in Rust, while Pinnwand is built with Python. Licensing differs — MIT for filite versus BSD-3-Clause for Pinnwand. Filite is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Pinnwand.
Why pick each one
Choose filite if…
- Very low resource usage
- Combines several sharing tools
Watch out for
- Minimal web interface
- Limited recent activity
Choose Pinnwand if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is filite or Pinnwand better?
Neither is universally better. Pinnwand has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are filite and Pinnwand free and open-source?
Yes. filite is licensed under MIT and Pinnwand under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run filite and Pinnwand with Docker?
filite: yes. Pinnwand: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, filite or Pinnwand?
filite has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Pinnwand. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.