What is flare?

Flare is a personal bookmark navigation application designed for self-hosting. Written in Go with vanilla JavaScript, it uses the Echo HTTP framework and stores bookmarks in simple YAML text files without requiring a database. The tool emphasizes performance (sub-10MB Docker image, ~30MB memory usage, handles thousands of concurrent requests), data portability (plain text files), and privacy (offline mode available). Features include a built-in guide (/guide), online editor (/editor), Material Design Icons integration (6000+ icons), weather display using IPIP.net geolocation, and optional login authentication for public deployments. It runs as a single executable with Docker support, defaulting to port 5005. Configuration is via environment variables (FLARE_* prefix) or command-line flags.

Should you self-host flare?

flare scores 44/100 on selfhost.directory (how scoring works) and ranks #33 of 46 in Bookmarks & Link Sharing. It has 173 GitHub stars.

It shipped 10 stable releases in the past year. The latest, 0.6.11, came out on 28 October 2026.

Setup is easy: most people get it running in one sitting. An official Docker image is available. It is AGPL-3.0-licensed and written mostly in Go.

Its closest alternative on selfhost.directory is docker-flare (55/100, 2 147 stars). It scores higher overall, so compare the two before you pick. See flare vs docker-flare side by side.