Self-hosting Readeck the easy way

Self-hosting Readeck the easy way

Yulei Chen - Content-Engineerin bei sliplane.ioYulei Chen
3 min

Readeck is a simple, self-hosted read-it-later app. Think of it as your own Pocket or Instapaper, but without subscription fees, tracking, or feature limitations. You save articles, Readeck extracts the readable content, and you can read them anytime - even offline.

Sliplane is a managed container platform that makes self-hosting painless. With one-click deployment, you can get Readeck 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.

SliplaneDeploy Readeck >
  1. Click the deploy button above
  2. Select a project
  3. Select a server (If you just signed up you get a 48-hour free trial server)
  4. Click Deploy!

About the preset

The one-click deploy above uses Sliplane's Readeck preset. Here's what's included:

  • Official Readeck image (codeberg.org/readeck/readeck) pinned to version 0.22.3
  • Persistent storage mounted to /readeck for your bookmarks database and configuration
  • READECK_USE_X_FORWARDED set to true so Readeck works correctly behind Sliplane's reverse proxy
  • Listens on port 8000 by default

Readeck uses an embedded SQLite database, so there's no need to set up a separate database service. Everything runs in a single container.

Next steps

Once Readeck is running, open the domain Sliplane assigned (e.g. readeck-xxxx.sliplane.app). On first launch, Readeck will ask you to create an admin account. Pick a strong password - this is the only account that can manage your instance.

Saving articles

You can save articles in several ways:

  • Browser extension: Readeck provides browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox
  • Bookmarklet: Drag the bookmarklet from the settings page to your browser toolbar
  • API: Use the REST API to integrate with automation tools like n8n

Environment variables

You can customize Readeck's behavior through environment variables. Here are some useful ones:

VariableDefaultDescription
READECK_SERVER_PORT8000Port the server listens on
READECK_USE_X_FORWARDEDtrueTrust reverse proxy headers
READECK_LOG_LEVELinfoLog verbosity (debug, info, warn, error)

Check the Readeck documentation for the full list of configuration options.

Logging

Readeck logs to stdout by default, which works well with Sliplane's built-in log viewer. If you need more detail for debugging, set READECK_LOG_LEVEL to debug in your service environment variables and redeploy. For general Docker logging tips, check out our post on how to use Docker logs.

Cost comparison

You can also self-host Readeck with other cloud providers. Here is a pricing comparison for the most common ones:

FAQ

What can I use Readeck for?

Readeck is a read-it-later app. Save articles, blog posts, or documentation pages, and Readeck will extract the readable content for you. You can read saved content offline, organize it with labels, and search through your archive. It's great for research, keeping up with newsletters, or just saving interesting reads for the weekend.

Can I import bookmarks from Pocket or other services?

Yes. Readeck supports importing bookmarks from Pocket, Wallabag, and other services via standard export formats. Check the Readeck settings page after logging in for the import options.

How do I update Readeck?

Change the image tag in your Sliplane service settings to the newer version and redeploy. You can find the latest version on the Readeck releases page. Your data is stored in a persistent volume, so updates won't affect your saved articles.

Are there alternatives to Readeck?

Yes, popular read-it-later alternatives include Wallabag (more mature, PHP-based), Omnivore (open-source, now archived), and Hoarder (AI-powered bookmarking). Commercial options like Pocket and Instapaper are also available but come with subscription costs and privacy trade-offs.

Does Readeck support multiple users?

Yes. After creating your admin account, you can invite additional users from the admin panel. Each user gets their own separate library of saved articles, so Readeck works well for families or small teams.

Self-host Readeck now - It's easy!

Sliplane gives you everything you need to run Readeck without server hassle.