A nonbloated, modern, and highly configurable file/screenshot vault server with support for ShareX, Flameshot, and Spectacle. Offers OCR search and more.
License: MIT. Built with: TypeScript, JavaScript, CSS, Dockerfile, Shell. Source: https://github.com/FlintSH/Flare.
version: '3.8' services: db: image: postgres:17-alpine # lightweight, recent version; 16 or 15 also fine container_name: flare-db restart: unless-stopped environment: POSTGRES_USER: flareuser # change if you want POSTGRES_PASSWORD: your-secure-password-here # ^f^p CHANGE THIS to something strong POSTGRES_DB: flaredb # database name Flare will use volumes: - ./postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data # persistent storage healthcheck: test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U flareuser -d flaredb"] interval: 10s timeout: 5s retries: 5 flare: image: flintsh/flare:latest container_name: flare-app restart: unless-stopped ports: - "3000:3000" # change left side if you want different host port environment: DATABASE_URL: postgresql://flareuser:your-secure-password-here@db:5432/flaredb?schema=public NEXTAUTH_SECRET: securestuffhere # generate with: openssl rand -base64 32 NEXTAUTH_URL: http://localhost:3000 # or https:// if using reverse proxy volumes: - ./uploads:/app/uploads # where files/screenshots/videos are stored depends_on: db: condition: service_healthy
Self-hosting gives you three things SaaS can’t: data ownership (the files live on disks you control), cost predictability (a one-time setup vs. recurring per-seat fees that grow with your household or team), and longevity (open-source means the app keeps working even if the maintainers move on, since you can pin a working version). The trade-off is that you take on the operational work of running a server, applying updates, and handling backups.
Most self-hosted apps run comfortably on modest hardware — a Raspberry Pi 4, a mini PC, a NAS with Docker support, or a small VPS is usually enough for personal or family use. CPU and RAM requirements scale with how many simultaneous users or how much data you push through Flare. Storage requirements depend on the kind of data you keep; check the README for guidance on data retention.
Last verified: 2026-04-21