Ghostbin vs sprunge
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted pastebins & snippets options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Ghostbin | sprunge |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 7 · At risk | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Pastebins & Snippets | Pastebins & Snippets |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 188 | ★ 721 |
| First released | 2014 | 2010 |
| Replaces | Pastebin.com, GitHub Gist | Pastebin.com, termbin |
What are Ghostbin and sprunge?
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
sprunge
sprunge is a minimalist, command-line oriented pastebin server designed for piping text directly from the terminal. It returns a short URL for any uploaded content with almost no configuration.
- Terminal pipe uploads
- No database required
- Short URL output
- Tiny footprint
Ghostbin vs sprunge: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Ghostbin's repository is archived and no longer developed, while sprunge is actively maintained. Ghostbin is written in JavaScript, while sprunge is built with Python. Sprunge is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Ghostbin. Sprunge is the more established project (first released 2010), while Ghostbin arrived in 2014. Sprunge has the considerably larger community, at 721 GitHub stars versus 188. Ghostbin lists first-class Docker deployment; sprunge does not.
Why pick each one
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
Choose sprunge if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Ghostbin or sprunge better?
sprunge 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 Ghostbin and sprunge free and open-source?
Yes. Ghostbin is licensed under MIT and sprunge under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ghostbin and sprunge with Docker?
Ghostbin: yes. sprunge: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Ghostbin or sprunge?
sprunge 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.