Promnesia vs Shaarli
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted bookmarks & read-it-later options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Shaarli
Personal, minimalist link-sharing bookmark app
| Feature | Promnesia | Shaarli |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 83 · Excellent | 88 · Excellent |
| Category | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later | Bookmarks & Read-It-Later |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,900 | ★ 3,899 |
| First released | 2019 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Pocket, Raindrop.io | Pocket, Delicious |
What are Promnesia and Shaarli?
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
Shaarli
Shaarli is a personal, minimalist, database-free bookmarking application that can also act as a microblog of links. It targets individuals wanting a lightweight link log. It is deployed via Docker or a PHP stack.
- No database, flat-file storage
- Public and private links
- Tagging and RSS feed
- Plugin support
Promnesia vs Shaarli: key differences
Promnesia is written in Python, while Shaarli is built with PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for Promnesia versus GPL-3.0 for Shaarli. Shaarli is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Promnesia. Shaarli is the more established project (first released 2013), while Promnesia arrived in 2019. Shaarli has the considerably larger community, at 3,899 GitHub stars versus 1,900. Shaarli lists first-class Docker deployment; Promnesia does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Promnesia if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (1.9k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose Shaarli if…
- Extremely lightweight
- Easy to back up
- Can be public or private
Watch out for
- Dated default theme
- Single-user only
Frequently asked questions
Is Promnesia or Shaarli better?
Shaarli is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Promnesia if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Promnesia and Shaarli free and open-source?
Yes. Promnesia is licensed under MIT and Shaarli under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Promnesia and Shaarli with Docker?
Promnesia: check the project docs for container support. Shaarli: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Promnesia or Shaarli?
Shaarli has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Promnesia. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.