Linka vs Promnesia
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted bookmarks & read-it-later options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Linka | Promnesia |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 0 · At risk | 83 · Excellent |
| Category | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 33 | ★ 1,900 |
| First released | 2021 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Raindrop.io | Pocket, Raindrop.io |
What are Linka and Promnesia?
Linka
Linka is a self-hosted bookmark manager focused on speed and quick capture, with fast tag-based filtering and keyboard search. It offers a lightweight web UI and import support for browser bookmark exports.
- Tag-based filtering
- Fast keyboard search
- Browser bookmark import
- Lightweight UI
Promnesia
Promnesia is a browser extension and backend that helps you remember which pages you have visited and how. It connects your browsing history with bookmarks, notes, and other tools.
- Annotates pages you have visited
- Connects history with notes
- Local data ownership
Linka vs Promnesia: key differences
Linka is written in TypeScript, while Promnesia is built with Python. Promnesia is the more established project (first released 2019), while Linka arrived in 2021. Promnesia has the considerably larger community, at 1,900 GitHub stars versus 33. Linka lists first-class Docker deployment; Promnesia does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Linka if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in TypeScript
Watch out for
- Basic feature set
- No mobile app
Choose Promnesia if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (1.9k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Linka or Promnesia better?
Neither is universally better. Promnesia has the larger community, while Linka is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Linka and Promnesia free and open-source?
Yes. Linka is licensed under MIT and Promnesia under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Linka and Promnesia with Docker?
Linka: yes. Promnesia: check the project docs for container support.