I still remember the first time I used Pocket, and it felt like magic. In addition to keeping a good-enough read-later list, Pocket also offered a reader-friendly version of everything I saved. However, as fate would have it, Pocket no longer exists. Finding a viable alternative to Pocket is not a difficult task per se, but we must not forget the larger lesson Mozilla’s decision to shut down Pocket taught us.
That a company gets to decide what happens to the years of links you had kept is truly frustrating. Sure, Mozilla gave us an option to export the data, but that period was also short. All these concerns led me to a self-hostable read-it-later application that gives me more control over everything: Karakeep.
This tiny app replaces Google Drive entirely.
Setting up my own server instead of signing up for another one
Pocket made this decision easy
As I said, I could have chosen between multiple read-later and bookmarking apps when I needed a Pocket alternative. For what it’s worth, options like Instapaper have fared well in the past years. However, there was a valid reason to go for Karakeep: its self-hostable nature. I was done relying on third-party providers to store my bookmarks and read-later entries. I didn’t want a scenario where they could decide to stop the service. With Karakeep, I don’t have to worry about this since I opted for the self-hosted version.
As someone completely new to Docker, I had to spend quite a bit of time researching how to self-host Karakeep. Docker was one option, but I also tried self-hosting it with PikaPods. However, with the right instructions, I completed the setup process in just a few minutes and had the entire system running on my Mac. The only problem was that AI-based tagging did not work, and it could have been an issue with my setup.
However, since AI-powered tagging is optional, I was ready to start using Karakeep as my Pocket alternative. Just to be clear, the PikaPods installation of Karakeep handled AI-powered tagging quite well.
Searching the full text of everything I’ve saved
I found articles I’d forgotten existed
To be fair, I would have been happy with Karakeep if it did the basics I used Pocket for. However, after spending a week with this tool, I love Karakeep for a few features that Pocket never offered. These features have also changed how I store and manage a library of read-later content.
I love how simple Karakeep is to manage, but it still offers a lot of control over how things happen. You use the simple sidebar for overall navigation and choose between multiple viewing options, including Grid, List, and Masonry. Karakeep maintains a separate page where you can see your AI-made tags to organize a large library of bookmarked content. Features like bulk editing and a drag-and-drop tag manager make Karakeep a suitable option for tracking a diverse set of resources.
However, the unique aspect of Karakeep is its ability to understand the content you store. Instead of storing only the title and URL, Karakeep will store the entire article text. This way, it’s easy to search for something based on its content, even if you don’t remember the title. For instance, there may be an article about Zen Browser that doesn’t mention its name in the title or URL. Some websites may also have random URLs. In all these cases, Karakeep makes it easy to understand and search for the content.
I must also appreciate how easy it is to share things with your Karakeep collection, even with a self-hosted option. You can use a Google Chrome extension to set everything up, or use mobile apps, depending on your setup. When you add something, Karakeep also lets you attach notes and additional tags as you wish. It feels more than what Pocket could do, even when it was alive.
Saving notes and images, not just links
Tags and lists, working side by side
On top of all this, you should consider what you can store on Karakeep. With Pocket, you were limited to links, but Karakeep takes it a little further. You can use Karakeep to store notes, images, and PDF documents. You may want to scribble notes or save a PDF for later access. This way, Karakeep has become more of a general-purpose inventory app, capable of replacing Google Keep and other note-taking apps. Of course, I don’t get any advanced note-management features here.
However, Karakeep still processes the content of PDF documents and tags it properly. It has created a situation where I can search for a specific word mentioned in the document, and Karakeep will show that option. Now, when it comes to images, Karakeep can use OCR to extract text, which helps me a lot when dealing with important screenshots. You would also enjoy multi-language support for the entire system. Depending on your preferred organizational mode, Karakeep lets you enable features such as auto-hoarding and custom rules.
Overall, I feel Karakeep is a better option for people who want an easy system for storing their links and documents, as well as those who need maximum control over their organization.
It may not be for everyone
While Karakeep undoubtedly offers more than you could expect from Pocket, there are some obvious downsides. It is completely free to use, but you need Docker installed, and the process might take some time and a lot of computing resources. Even with the right instructions, some features did not work, including AI-based tagging. You should have a technical knowledge base to use Karakeep. Yet, when you consider the benefits, including privacy and the control you have over the entire process, this is worth doing for most people.
- OS
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Docker, iOS, Android
- Individual pricing
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Free, open source
- Developer(s)
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Localhost Labs Ltd
Karakeep is a self-hosted app that stores images, links, and PDFs for later access.
