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Productivitydocker-readypermissive-license100% FOSS🟡 Standard · ~1GB

wallabag: Open Source alternative to Pocket in 2026

wallabag extracts and saves articles to read later offline, free of ads and distractions, with text-to-speech and an annotatable reading mode, as a mature and free alternative to Pocket.

Alternative to Pocket
License MIT13k starsWebsite GitHub Repository

Audit Snapshot

View notes →

  • License — Matches GitHub

  • GitHub — Active

  • Latest release — 2.6.14 · 1 year ago

  • Docker Compose — Not verified

  • Production — Not production-tested by AltFreeStack

wallabag vs. Pocket

Pros

  • Very permissive MIT license
  • Mature project with over 10 years of active development

Things to consider

  • Interface feels somewhat dated compared to newer alternatives
  • Media archiving is more limited than Linkwarden's

Quick Docker installation guide

Copy this docker-compose.yml, adjust the example passwords and run docker compose up -d on your server. See the full step-by-step guide →

💡 Official SaaS or self-hosted with AltFreeStack?

  • On the official cloud: a recurring monthly fee and usage limits on Pocket.
  • On your own VPS: 100% free software on your own server, with no artificial row, project or user limits.
docker-compose.yml
services:
  wallabag:
    image: wallabag/wallabag
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8080:80"
    environment:
      SYMFONY__ENV__DATABASE_DRIVER: pdo_mysql
      SYMFONY__ENV__DATABASE_HOST: wallabag-db
      SYMFONY__ENV__DATABASE_NAME: wallabag
      SYMFONY__ENV__DATABASE_USER: wallabag
      SYMFONY__ENV__DATABASE_PASSWORD: change-me-mysql-password # REQUIRED: generate a random secret before first run
      SYMFONY__ENV__DOMAIN_NAME: http://localhost:8080 # CHANGE THIS TO YOUR DOMAIN
      SYMFONY__ENV__SECRET: change-me-super-secret # REQUIRED: generate a random secret before first run
    depends_on:
      - wallabag-db
  wallabag-db:
    image: mysql:8
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      MYSQL_DATABASE: wallabag
      MYSQL_USER: wallabag
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: change-me-mysql-password # must match SYMFONY__ENV__DATABASE_PASSWORD above
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: change-me-mysql-root-password # REQUIRED: generate a random secret before first run
    volumes:
      - wallabag_db_data:/var/lib/mysql
volumes:
  wallabag_db_data:

🚀 Deploy in 1 command

Recommended for beginners

Copy this single command and paste it into your freshly created VPS's console (Vultr, DigitalOcean...). It downloads the script, prints it to your screen so you can see exactly what it's about to do (never a blind direct pipe), and only then installs Docker if needed, writes the files with secrets already generated, and starts everything — no nano, no pasting code blocks.

curl -sSL ".../api/deploy?stack=wallabag" -o deploy.sh && cat deploy.sh && bash deploy.sh
See what this script does →

This docker-compose corresponds to an actively maintained project — last commit today.

This docker-compose not working for you? Report it on GitHub →

Technical profile

License
MIT
Category
Productivity
Replaces
Pocket
Tech stack
PHPSymfonyMySQL

Under the hood

Database

MySQL / PostgreSQL / SQLite

Language

PHP (Symfony)

Platforms

Web · Mobile (iOS/Android) · Desktop (browser extension)

Key features

  • Save articles to read later, offline
  • Extracts clean content, no ads or distractions
  • Text-to-speech and annotatable reading mode

Preview

wallabag interface preview

Public image provided by wallabag on its own website.

💾 Backups in 3 steps (Day 2)

As long as the ./data folder (the "volume" mapped into the container) exists on your server, your data survives any restart or container update — that's the only thing you need to back up.

1. Create a compressed backup on the server

tar -czvf backup-$(date +%F).tar.gz ./data

2. Download it to your computer

From your computer's terminal (not your server's):

scp root@YOUR_IP:~/app/backup-*.tar.gz ./

3. Restore in case of emergency

tar -xzvf backup-file.tar.gz
🌐 Connect your domain with free SSL

Step 1 — Set up the DNS

In your domain registrar's dashboard (Cloudflare, Namecheap, GoDaddy...), create a record:

Type
A
Name/Host
@ (root domain) or a subdomain, e.g. app
Content/Value
Your server's public IP

Wait 5 to 15 minutes for the record to propagate across the internet.

Step 2 — Automatic reverse proxy with Caddy

One single file, no Nginx config or manual certificates — Caddy issues and renews Let's Encrypt HTTPS on its own.

Create a file called Caddyfile:

yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:8080
}

Start Caddy with this command (pulls the image and runs it in the background):

docker run -d -p 80:80 -p 443:443 --name caddy --restart always -v $PWD/Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile -v caddy_data:/data caddy