Ep. 174
The deep dive focuses on Shaarli, a personal, minimalist, and database-free bookmarking service. It allows users to create a private library for links, emphasizing control and ownership of data since it is self-hosted rather than stored on external servers. The simplicity of Shaarli is highlighted by its lack of a traditional database, which makes installation and management straightforward—users can set it up by copying files to their server space. Shaarli is versatile, serving as a bookmarking tool, a read-it-later list, a personal knowledge base, and more, with features such as tagging and full-text search to organize saved links. Users can also generate RSS feeds for their links and utilize automatic URL cleanup for privacy. For those hesitant about installation, a public demo instance is available for hands-on exploration. The origins of Shaarli trace back to a fork from an original project, now actively maintained by the community. The core appeal of Shaarli lies in its ability to provide a fast and user-controlled experience, making it an attractive option for those seeking more autonomy over their digital tools. Ultimately, it challenges users to consider the value of self-hosted solutions in an age of convenience offered by corporate tools.