Lesma is a lightweight, self-hostable paste service for sharing text snippets and small files via web browser or command line using simple file-based storage.

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🚀 Overview

Lesma is a minimalistic pastebin alternative designed for quick and easy sharing of text, code snippets, logs, or small binary files without the overhead of databases or complex setups. It addresses the need for a privacy-focused, self-hostable tool that works seamlessly from both graphical web interfaces and terminal environments, avoiding ads, tracking, or mandatory accounts found in many online paste services.

The project is built for developers, system administrators, and hobbyists who prefer lightweight tools. It was created by Óscar García Amor to provide a simple, efficient paste app leveraging Rust's performance, with file storage for reliability and deduplication to save space.

What problem does it solve? Easy, ephemeral sharing without bloat. Who for? CLI enthusiasts and self-hosters. Why built? For simplicity and control over your data.

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✨ Key Features

• Browser-friendly web interface with textarea for text and drag-and-drop for files
• Command-line posting using just curl: e.g., command | curl -F 'lesma=<-' https://lesma.eu
• File-based storage backend: no database required, pastes saved directly to disk
• Deduplication: identical pastes are stored only once, with unique links generated
• Configurable expiration times (default 30 days, max 30 days) and download/view limits
• Supports text pastes up to 1MB and binary files up to 10MB (configurable)
• Optional: Docker deployment and systemd integration for easy self-hosting

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🛠 Tech Stack

• Backend: Rust (Rocket web framework)
• Frontend: Static HTML, CSS, JavaScript templates
• Database: None (filesystem storage)
• Deployment: Docker (ogarcia/lesma), Cargo build, systemd service
• Config: TOML files or environment variables
• Auth: None (public pastes)
• Hosting: Self-hosted (e.g., any server with port 8000)

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👥 Who Is This For?

This project is useful for:

• Developers who want to quickly share code or output from the terminal
• Teams looking for a private, self-hosted pastebin without accounts
• Indie makers building lightweight tools or needing ephemeral file sharing

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📸 Screenshots / Demo

• Live demo: https://lesma.eu
• GitLab: https://gitlab.com/ogarcia/lesma
• Sourcehut: https://git.sr.ht/~ogarcia/lesma
• Docker Hub: https://hub.docker.com/r/ogarcia/lesma
• GitHub (Python version, archived): https://github.com/ogarcia/lesma

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🔥 Project Status

• 🟢 Actively building

Last updated: 2026-03-24

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❓ FAQ

Is this project free?

Yes / Open Source (Fully free, self-hostable, no costs or subscriptions.)

Is the source code available?

Yes — https://gitlab.com/ogarcia/lesma, https://git.sr.ht/~ogarcia/lesma

Can I contribute?

Yes, report issues or bugs at https://gitlab.com/ogarcia/lesma/-/issues. Patches welcome via merge requests on GitLab or sourcehut. Feedback via Twitter/X @amhairghin.

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📬 Contact & Links

• Website: https://lesma.eu
• GitLab: https://gitlab.com/ogarcia
• Sourcehut: https://git.sr.ht/~ogarcia
• Twitter/X: https://x.com/amhairghin

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