Self-host MicroBin
updated Oct 2026deployed by usprices checked · Jul 2026Install verified on Ubuntu 26.04 · Oct 2026 · how we test
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A small, self-contained pastebin and file-sharing server: paste text or upload a file, get a short link, optionally with an expiry, a password, client-side end-to-end encryption or a burn-after-reading limit. A single Rust binary with a built-in admin page.
Key facts
CategoryPastebin
LicenseBSD-3-Clause
StackRust
Min RAM64 MB
Official imageyes
Measured idle RAM5 MB
Last commitSeptember 8, 2026
Last releasev2.1.0, January 10, 2026
CheckedGitHub, October 25, 2026
Difficulty
Runs on a VPS from $4/mo (Kamatera 1GB, 1 GB RAM) · prices checked Sep 2026
Our recommendation
Pick MicroBin when you want a pastebin you can drop onto the smallest VPS: the README calls it self-contained and says it only requires a few megabytes of memory and disk. You paste text or upload files and get a link such as `/file/pig-dog-cat` (identifiers are animal names), with private or public, editable or read-only, expiring or never-expiring uploads, server-side and client-side end-to-end encryption, QR codes, URL shortening, raw text serving and multiple attachments. It is BSD-3-Clause Rust with an SQLite or JSON database. Our snippet is the Docker Hub image as a Compose file, pinned to a release tag, with the admin password generated into `.env`. We did not find an upstream RAM minimum, so our 64 MB floor is an estimate. The catalog's PrivateBin encrypts everything in the browser and is the stricter zero-knowledge choice; Opengist stores snippets as Git repositories.
What you need
- Any VPS with at least 64 MB of RAM
- A domain you control — most self-hosted setups need HTTPS in front of them
- Under an hour if you've used Docker before
Where to host itaffiliate disclosure
Hetzner Cloudrun it on
From $23.59/mo · 2 vCPU / 4 GB / 80 GB · EU + USKamaterafree trial
From $4/mo · 1 vCPU / 1 GB / 20 GB · US + EU + AsiaDigitalOceanalso works on
From $6/mo · 1 vCPU / 1 GB / 25 GB · US + EU + AsiaPaid link — we earn a commission if you shop through it.
Install
Run these commands on your server:
# MicroBin — pastebin and file sharing — based on the project's Docker image, pinned to 2.1.4
echo "MICROBIN_ADMIN_PASSWORD=$(openssl rand -hex 12)" > .env
cat > docker-compose.yml <<'EOF'
services:
microbin:
image: danielszabo99/microbin:2.1.4
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- 8080:8080
environment:
MICROBIN_ADMIN_USERNAME: admin
MICROBIN_ADMIN_PASSWORD: ${MICROBIN_ADMIN_PASSWORD}
volumes:
- microbin_data:/app/microbin_data
volumes:
microbin_data:
EOF
docker compose up -d
timeout 120 bash -c 'until curl -fsS http://localhost:8080/ >/dev/null; do sleep 3; done'
# → http://SERVER_IP:8080 (admin page at /admin/, password in .env)What you take on
MicroBin's configuration file flags these before you open it to other people:
non-negotiableWithout extra settings anyone who can reach the page can upload, and the /pastalist page lists public uploads; MICROBIN_NO_LISTING hides the list and MICROBIN_READONLY with MICROBIN_UPLOADER_PASSWORD locks uploading behind a password. MICROBIN_BASIC_AUTH_USERNAME and MICROBIN_BASIC_AUTH_PASSWORD put HTTP basic auth in front of the whole site.
non-negotiableThe admin page at /admin/ is enabled with MICROBIN_ADMIN_USERNAME and MICROBIN_ADMIN_PASSWORD. The project's sample .env ships the default password m1cr0b1n, so our snippet generates a random one instead; unset the variables if you do not want the page at all.
non-negotiableData lives in /app/microbin_data (SQLite by default), which our microbin_data volume holds; back it up. The image is a distroless one that runs as a non-root user, so a bind mount needs matching ownership.
non-negotiablePort 8080 is plain HTTP, so put a TLS reverse proxy in front. The README's quick setup is a script piped to bash from microbin.eu; we use the published image instead and pin 2.1.4.
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