# OpenGist — Self-Hosted Pastebin Powered by Git

> OpenGist is a self-hosted pastebin alternative that stores snippets as Git repositories, enabling versioning, forking, and search across all your pastes.

## Install

Save in your project root:

# OpenGist — Self-Hosted Pastebin Powered by Git

## Quick Use
```bash
docker run -d --name opengist -p 6157:6157 -p 6156:6156 
  -v $HOME/.opengist:/opengist ghcr.io/thomiceli/opengist:1
# Open http://localhost:6157
```

## Introduction
OpenGist is a self-hosted, open-source pastebin service that uses Git under the hood. Every gist is a full Git repository, so you get version history, diffs, and the ability to clone or push snippets from the command line.

## What OpenGist Does
- Hosts code snippets and text pastes with syntax highlighting for 250+ languages
- Stores each gist as a Git repository with full version history
- Supports public, unlisted, and private visibility levels
- Provides a search engine across all gists with full-text indexing
- Enables user accounts with SSH key authentication for Git push/pull

## Architecture Overview
OpenGist is a single Go binary that embeds a web server, a Git backend, and a SQLite or PostgreSQL database for metadata. The web frontend is built with server-side rendered templates. Each gist maps to a bare Git repository on disk, and the application exposes both HTTP and SSH endpoints for Git operations.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Deploy via Docker or download the single binary for Linux, macOS, or Windows
- Configure with environment variables or a YAML config file
- Set `OG_EXTERNAL_URL` to your public domain for correct link generation
- Use SQLite for small deployments or PostgreSQL for larger instances
- Place behind a reverse proxy with TLS for production use

## Key Features
- Git-native storage means every paste supports branching, cloning, and history
- Syntax highlighting via Chroma covers 250+ languages and formats
- Embeddable gists with JavaScript or iframe snippets
- OAuth login support for GitHub, Gitea, and OpenID Connect providers
- Lightweight single binary with minimal resource requirements

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **GitHub Gist** — cloud-hosted, proprietary; OpenGist is fully self-hosted
- **PrivateBin** — encrypted pastes but no Git versioning; OpenGist tracks history
- **Hastebin** — simple paste server; lacks user accounts and Git integration
- **Gitea Gists** — built into Gitea; OpenGist is standalone and lighter
- **dpaste** — minimal Python pastebin; OpenGist offers richer features

## FAQ
**Q: Can I migrate existing GitHub Gists to OpenGist?**
A: Yes. OpenGist can clone gists from GitHub since each gist is a standard Git repo.

**Q: Does OpenGist support private pastes?**
A: Yes. Gists can be set to public, unlisted, or private per user preference.

**Q: What database backends are supported?**
A: SQLite (default, zero-config) and PostgreSQL for larger deployments.

**Q: How do I push a gist from the command line?**
A: Add your SSH key in settings, then use `git push` to the gist SSH URL shown on each gist page.

## Sources
- https://github.com/thomiceli/opengist
- https://opengist.thomice.li

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Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/asset-6420941d
Author: AI Open Source