A self-hosted, email-first dead man's switch that delivers end-to-end encrypted messages to your loved ones if you stop checking in.
75829RubyMITUpdated 5 days ago
WardPearce/paaster
A self-hostable, end-to-end encrypted pastebin with paste history, one-time deletion, and cross-device transfer.
Open-source alternative to:Pastebin
- Stars
- 568
- Forks
- 28
- Open issues
- 3
- Last commit
- 2 days ago
What is it?
Paaster is a pastebin where the content is encrypted in the browser before it reaches the server. The encryption key is carried in the URI fragment and is never sent to the server, so only people who have the full link can read a paste.
Beyond basic sharing, it keeps a paste history stored in the browser's IndexedDB, lets you delete a paste after it is viewed or after a set time, and shares pastes via QR code. A "Send to device" feature moves a paste to another of your devices using a short-lived code and end-to-end encryption. A companion CLI tool is available as a separate project.
The cryptography uses libsodium primitives such as XChaCha20-Poly1305 secretstream and Argon2-based password hashing. The project is written in TypeScript and distributed as a Docker image for self-hosting.
Key features
- 01End-to-end encryption performed in the browser before upload
- 02Paste history stored locally in IndexedDB
- 03Delete a paste after viewing or after a set time
- 04Send a paste to another device with a short-lived code
- 05Share pastes via QR code and support file drag and drop
- 06Official CLI tool available as a separate project
Use cases
- Sharing sensitive code snippets or configs that should not be readable by the hosting provider
- Running a private, self-hosted pastebin for a team or personal use
- Moving a snippet from a phone to a desktop without manual copying
Things to know
- Licensed under AGPL-3.0, a strong copyleft license.
- The README gives no install commands; deployment details are on an external documentation site.
- Using an instance you do not host or trust is unsafe, since its operator could access your secret key.
In collections
Topics
FAQ
- What is paaster?
- A self-hostable, end-to-end encrypted pastebin with paste history, one-time deletion, and cross-device transfer. Paaster is a pastebin where the content is encrypted in the browser before it reaches the server. The encryption key is carried in the URI fragment and is never sent to the server, so only people who have the full link can read a paste.
- Is paaster free to use? What license does it have?
- paaster is open source under the AGPL-3.0 license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
- Is paaster still maintained?
- Actively maintained. The last commit to paaster was on Nov 5, 2026.
- What can I use paaster for?
- Sharing sensitive code snippets or configs that should not be readable by the hosting provider Running a private, self-hosted pastebin for a team or personal use Moving a snippet from a phone to a desktop without manual copying
- Where can I get paaster?
- The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/WardPearce/paaster
Summary generated by AI from the project's README. GitHub stats refresh daily.
Related projects
Official Electron desktop client for Anytype, a local-first, end-to-end encrypted personal knowledge base for macOS, Windows and Linux.
9.1K+29 this week606TypeScriptOtherUpdated 4 days ago
End-to-end encrypted location sharing app for Android and iOS, with private groups, location history, privacy zones and place alerts.
781KotlinAGPL-3.0Well maintainedUpdated 17 days ago
A minimalist self-hosted pastebin that encrypts pastes in the browser so the server never sees plaintext.
8.7K+14 this week1.1KPHPOtherUpdated yesterday
A end-to-end encrypted messaging app and network that uses no user identifiers, with iOS, Android, desktop and terminal clients.
19.7K+34 this week1.3KHaskellAGPL-3.0Updated 18 hours ago
A Django-based pastebin for sharing code snippets, runnable standalone or as an embeddable Django app.
642124PythonMITUpdated 7 days ago