Self-hosting linkding the easy way
Yulei Chenlinkding is a self-hosted bookmark manager designed to be minimal, fast, and easy to set up. Unlike cloud-based bookmark services that lock you into their ecosystem or charge monthly fees, linkding gives you full control over your bookmarks with a clean, no-nonsense interface. It supports tags, full-text search, bulk editing, and even automatic website snapshots.
Sliplane is a managed container platform that makes self-hosting painless. With one-click deployment, you can get linkding up and running in minutes - no server setup, no reverse proxy config, no infrastructure to maintain.
Prerequisites
Before deploying, ensure you have a Sliplane account (free trial available).
Quick start
Sliplane provides one-click deployment with presets.
Deploy linkding >- Click the deploy button above
- Select a project
- Select a server (If you just signed up you get a 48-hour free trial server)
- Click Deploy!
About the preset
The one-click deploy above uses Sliplane's linkding preset. Here's what it includes:
- The standard
sissbruecker/linkdingimage (version 1.45.0) - Persistent storage mounted to
/etc/linkding/dataso your bookmarks survive restarts and redeployments - A pre-configured superuser account with a randomly generated password
- Port 9090 configured automatically
Next steps
Once linkding is running on Sliplane, access it using the domain Sliplane provided (e.g. linkding-xxxx.sliplane.app).
Default credentials
The preset creates a superuser account for you. You can find the username and password in your service's environment variables on Sliplane:
- LD_SUPERUSER_NAME: your admin username
- LD_SUPERUSER_PASSWORD: your admin password
Use these to log in for the first time. You can change the password later in linkding's settings.
Adding bookmarks
After logging in, you can start adding bookmarks right away. linkding supports:
- Manual entry: click the "+" button and paste a URL
- Browser extension: install the linkding browser extension for Firefox or Chrome to save bookmarks with one click
- Bookmarklet: use the built-in bookmarklet from your linkding settings page
- REST API: automate bookmark management with the linkding API
Environment variables
You can customize linkding further by adding environment variables in your Sliplane service settings:
| Variable | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
LD_SUPERUSER_NAME | Admin username | Set by preset |
LD_SUPERUSER_PASSWORD | Admin password | Set by preset |
LD_DISABLE_BACKGROUND_TASKS | Disable background tasks like favicon fetching | False |
LD_DISABLE_URL_VALIDATION | Allow saving bookmarks with invalid URLs | False |
LD_ENABLE_AUTH_PROXY | Enable authentication proxy support | False |
LD_CSRF_TRUSTED_ORIGINS | Comma-separated list of trusted origins for CSRF | not set |
Check the linkding options docs for the full list of configuration options.
Logging
linkding logs to STDOUT by default, which works perfectly with Sliplane's built-in log viewer. For general Docker log tips, check out our post on how to use Docker logs.
Cost comparison
You can also self-host linkding with other cloud providers. Here is a pricing comparison for the most common ones:
FAQ
Can I import bookmarks from my browser or other services?
Yes. linkding supports importing bookmarks from Netscape HTML files, which is the standard export format for all major browsers. Go to Settings > Import and upload your file. You can also import from Instapaper or Pocket via the same format.
How do I set up the browser extension?
Install the linkding browser extension from the Firefox Add-ons or Chrome Web Store. Then open the extension settings, enter your linkding URL and an API token (generate one in linkding under Settings > Integrations). After that, you can save bookmarks with a single click.
How do I update linkding?
Change the image tag in your Sliplane service settings to the newer version and redeploy. Check Docker Hub for the latest stable version. Your bookmarks are stored in a persistent volume, so they won't be affected by updates.
Are there alternatives to linkding?
Yes, popular self-hosted bookmark managers include Shaarli (PHP-based, very lightweight), Wallabag (read-it-later focused), and Hoarder (AI-powered tagging). linkding stands out for its minimal footprint and fast performance.
Can I share bookmarks with other users?
linkding supports multiple user accounts. Each user gets their own bookmark collection. You can also create shared bookmark lists and enable a public sharing feature for individual bookmarks. Create additional users through the admin panel or by enabling user registration in the settings.
