Today's Deep-Dive: Shaarli
Ep. 174

Today's Deep-Dive: Shaarli

Episode description

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.

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Download transcript (.srt)
0:00

Welcome to the deep dive and right off the bat, a big thank you to our sponsor,

0:05

safe

0:05

server.

0:06

Absolutely.

0:07

They handle hosting for software, well, exactly like the kind we're looking at

0:11

today, and

0:11

they can really help with your digital transformation.

0:14

Find out more at www.safeserver.de.

0:19

Thanks again, safe server.

0:20

Great stuff.

0:21

All right.

0:22

So we've got this really interesting set of sources today sent in by you, the

0:25

listener.

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It's all about something called Charlie.

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Charlie.

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Yeah.

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Sounds intriguing.

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It does.

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And the very first line in the docs on GitHub, it just says, the personal

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minimalist super

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fast database-free bookmarking service.

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Wow.

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Okay.

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That's quite a description.

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Lots packed in there.

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Right.

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So our mission for this deep dive is to unpack that.

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We'll look at the documentation, the development info, and figure out what Charlie

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is.

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How it works, basically.

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Exactly.

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Yeah.

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And maybe more importantly, maybe someone new to this whole idea of managing your

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own

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online tools, why they might want to check it out.

1:00

Yeah, because those words, personal, minimalist, database-free, they definitely

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signal something

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different, don't they?

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Maybe less intimidating.

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That's a good way to put it.

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Yeah.

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So okay.

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Let's start super simple.

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Yeah.

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If someone just uses the browser bookmark star, how do we explain Charlie?

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Okay.

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Think of it as your own private library for links you find online, like advanced

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bookmarks.

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Advanced bookmarks.

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The really key difference, and the sources hit this hard right away, is that you

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install

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it.

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You run it.

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Ah.

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So not on Google servers or some big company's cloud.

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Exactly.

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It lives on your server space, maybe just a small slice you control, and it's built

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just

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for you, a single user.

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The whole idea is simplicity and speed.

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Okay.

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That self-hosted angle.

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Mm-hmm.

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Why does that matter so much according to these sources?

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What's the big deal about running it yourself?

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Control.

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Plain and simple.

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Docs literally say the data is yours.

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Right.

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Think about those older services like Delicious or even some current ones, your

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saved links,

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your notes.

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They live on someone else's computer.

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With Sharlee, it's all yours.

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And they make a point of saying no tracking, no telemetry sent back.

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It's also free and open source software.

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Meaning you could actually look under the hood if you wanted to.

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Precisely.

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You can check the code.

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It's really about independence, keeping your digital footprint yours.

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That data ownership is definitely a big thing these days.

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Okay, what about those other words?

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Minimalist and database free.

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To a beginner, that might sound like, I don't know, more work.

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Yeah, it's funny how that sounds, but the sources frame them as benefits, making it

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easier.

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How so?

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Well, minimalist usually means a cleaner interface.

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Fewer buttons, fewer options to get lost in when you're just starting.

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It focuses on the main job, saving and finding your links.

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Less clutter.

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Makes sense.

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And database free.

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It's known for simplicity.

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See, most web apps need a separate database like MySQL or something similar.

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Right.

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And setting those up can be a whole thing.

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Exactly.

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It can be daunting.

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Sharlay just skips that.

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It stores everything, all your saved links, which they call shares in one simple

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file.

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Just a file.

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Like a text file.

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Pretty much, yeah.

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A structured file.

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And the documentation says, this makes installation dead simple.

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You literally just copy the Sharlay files to your server space.

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Wow.

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Okay.

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And backups.

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Just a simple file.

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Plus, this file approaches why it's super fast.

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Reading from one file is really quick for the server, even with tons of links.

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Dead simple installation.

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No database headaches.

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Right.

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Okay.

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I can see how that appeals to someone starting out.

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So it's running on my little server space.

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What can I actually do with it?

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What kind of everyday uses do the sources mention?

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Oh, lots, actually.

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It's pretty versatile.

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Of course, saving interesting links with comments.

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Bookmarking sites you use often so you can get to them from anywhere.

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Standard stuff.

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Yeah, but also things like using it as a read-it-later list.

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You find an article, share it, maybe add a tag, and come back later.

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Simple.

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Like pocket or instapaper, but self-hosted.

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Kinda, yeah, but much more minimal.

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The sources also suggest using it as like a personal knowledge base.

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How would that work?

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Well, say you're researching something.

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You save links, add notes, tag them.

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Because it's fast and searchable, you can quickly find that specific bit of info

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you

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saved, instead of digging through browser history or notes somewhere else.

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I like that.

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Centralizing your own finds.

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Exactly.

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They even mention using it for drafting quick notes or blog posts, almost like a

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minimal

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micro blog, or keeping code snippets.

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Even using it as a shared clipboard between your own devices.

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A clipboard.

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Interesting.

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Yeah, or a playlist manager for online videos or music you find.

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Lots of little organizational uses stemming from that core link saving function.

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Okay, so it's flexible.

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Now, once I've saved a bunch of these shares, how do I manage them?

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What features help keep things organized?

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You get full control over each share.

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You can edit the link itself, the title it pulls in, add your own description, and

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crucially,

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add tags.

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Tags seem pretty central here.

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They really are.

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That's your main organization tool.

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You can tag things multiple ways, build your own system, then there's search.

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Yeah, you can search across everything, titles, descriptions, the tags you added,

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even the

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URLs themselves, full text search of your stuff.

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Nice.

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What about viewing them?

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Is it just a big list?

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No, you get options.

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There's the standard list view, sure, but also tag clouds, tag lists, and even a

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picture

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wall or thumbnail view.

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Oh, thumbnails could be good for visual stuff.

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Definitely.

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And each link gets its own permanent link, a permalink, which is handy for

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referencing.

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Any integration with other tools?

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Yes.

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It generates feeds, ATEM and RSS feeds for your links, and even a daily digest feed.

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So you could pipe your saved links into a feed reader.

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Exactly.

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Or use tools like IFTTT or Zapier potentially.

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Oh, and one neat little feature they mentioned is automatic URL cleanup.

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What's that?

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It strips out all those extra tracking parameters, like up-source and stuff from

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URLs you save.

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It keeps things cleaner and a bit more private.

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That is neat.

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Okay, so someone's listening.

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They're intrigued.

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But the idea of installing on a server, even if simple, feels like a hurdle.

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Is there a way to just try it?

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Absolutely.

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The docs are great on this for beginners.

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They do have install guides configuring your server using Docker containers, the

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file drop

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method we talked about.

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But crucially, they point to a public demo instance.

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A demo.

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Perfect.

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So you can just play with it online?

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Yep.

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Zero install needed.

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According to the docs, you just go to their demo site and the login is demo and the

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password

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is demo.

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Login dot demo, password dot demo.

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Got it.

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You can click around, save some fake links, test the search, see the tags,

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everything.

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That's the ideal way to see if it clicks for you before you commit to setting it up.

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That's a fantastic tip.

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It takes away the initial barrier.

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Now quickly, what's the story behind Charlie?

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Is it new?

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Old?

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It's got a bit of history.

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The source has mentioned it's actually a fork.

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The original version was started by someone named Sebastian Sauvage, but he stopped

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maintaining

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it.

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Ah, happens a lot in open source.

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It does.

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But in this case, the community picked it up and kept it going.

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So the Charlie you get now is actively developed, supported, bugs fixed, new things

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added.

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So it's alive and well, thanks to the community.

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Very much so.

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There's documentation, community support channels if you need help, and yeah, it's

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clearly under

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a free software license, reinforcing that openness.

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Good to know.

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And just super briefly, any mention of the tech it uses, just for context.

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Yeah, they mentioned PHP is the main language, but honestly, for someone just

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thinking about

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using it, that's probably not the important part.

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Alright, the focus is on the experience.

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Exactly, the simplicity, the speed, that feeling of controlling your own little

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corner of the

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web, that's the hook.

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Okay, so let's try and wrap this up.

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If we boil down everything from these sources, Charlie's core appeal is what?

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It's your personal, fast, no-frills link manager that you control because you host

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it yourself.

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And that database-free part makes it surprisingly simple under the hood.

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And specifically for someone maybe just starting to explore self-hosting or wanting

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more data

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control.

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Those features, minimalist, super-fast, database-free, they aren't just buzzwords.

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They translate directly into being easier to set up, faster to use, and generally

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less

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complex than you might expect.

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It lowers the entry barrier.

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It's definitely making a case for simple personal tools.

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Which leads to maybe a final thought for you, the listener, to chew on.

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We're also used to the convenience, the slick corporate bookmark tools, the browser

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defaults.

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They're easy, but you trade away control, maybe privacy.

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Yeah, there's always a trade-off.

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So what's the hidden value, maybe, in deliberately picking something like Sharlie,

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something

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where you own the data, you control the experience, even if it takes a tiny bit

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more effort initially?

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How could choosing simple self-hosted tools actually change how you interact with

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all

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the information flying at you online?

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That's a great question.

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Something to ponder.

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Definitely something to mull over.

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And on that note, that brings us to the end of this Deep Dive on Sharlie.

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That was a good one.

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Yeah.

9:08

And thanks again to Safe Server for sponsoring this exploration.

9:11

Remember, hosting, digital transformation, help check them out at www.safeserver.de.

9:17

Thanks Safe Server.

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And thank you for sending in the sources.

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We'll catch you on the next Deep Dive.

9:19

We'll catch you on the next Deep Dive.