Karakeep

Karakeep is a self-hostable, open-source bookmark-everything app that captures links, notes, images and PDFs and lets an LLM (OpenAI or your own Ollama model) tag and summarize them automatically. We rate it 84/100 — the most credible successor to the now-defunct Pocket in 2026 if you are comfortable running a Docker container, with a new paid cloud beta that finally gives non-technical users a sensible way in.

What is Karakeep?

Karakeep is an AGPL-3.0 bookmark manager created by Mohamed Bassem and maintained by Localhost Labs Ltd. The project lives at github.com/karakeep-app/karakeep, has crossed 24,800+ GitHub stars, 1,200 forks, and 192 contributors, and ships a real paid cloud service at cloud.karakeep.app. It was launched as Hoarder in January 2023, rebranded to Karakeep in 2025 to avoid the baggage of that earlier name, and the latest stable release at time of writing is v0.31.0, published on February 22, 2026.

The pitch is specific: one Docker Compose file, one browser extension, and every link, screenshot, PDF and Twitter thread you throw at it is archived, OCR'd, full-text indexed in Meilisearch, and automatically tagged. For anyone burned by Pocket shutting down in 2025, it is the most direct open-source replacement on the market.

Key Features of Karakeep

• AI auto-tagging and summaries: Works with OpenAI's API or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, including local Ollama models. Reviewers consistently report that tags are "eerily accurate" — context-aware rather than keyword-matched — and that auto-tagging 25,000+ bookmarks saved them weeks of manual triage.
• Bookmark everything: Links, free-form notes, images and PDFs share one inbox. OCR is built in, so text inside screenshots and receipts becomes searchable alongside article bodies.
• Full-text search powered by Meilisearch: Sub-100ms search across the entire archive, including OCR'd image text, PDFs and page content.
• Page archival with monolith: Optionally saves a complete self-contained HTML snapshot of each page so content survives link-rot.
• Apps everywhere: Official iOS and Android apps, Chrome and Firefox extensions, a CLI, a REST API and webhooks — plus a community MCP server for agent workflows.
• RSS feeds, collaborative lists and rule-based automations: Auto-ingest feeds, share collections with a team, and run "if URL contains X then tag Y" rules.

What Users Say About Karakeep

On Hacker News, the top-voted self-hosted-bookmarking thread of 2025 (item 44064701) repeatedly singles out Karakeep as "the one I actually stuck with," praising its one-click browser extension and Notion-esque UI. A XDA Developers review highlights that it is the rare self-hosted tool that makes use of local LLMs out of the box.

The recurring complaints are also consistent: a "dealbreaker cookie problem" where some logged-in pages don't archive cleanly, the fact that clicking a saved item opens the live source URL rather than the local archive by default, and an initial Docker setup that non-technical users still find intimidating despite the official Compose files. Linkwarden fans tend to prefer that project's screenshot-and-PDF-first archival model; Karakeep fans tend to prefer Karakeep's speed, metadata quality and AI pipeline.

Karakeep Pricing

Karakeep is free forever if you self-host. The cloud service launched in public beta in 2026 with three paid tiers; a 7-day money-back guarantee and 30-day export window after cancellation apply.

Plan	Price	Key Limits
Free (Cloud)	$0/month	10 bookmarks, 20MB storage — trial only
Pro (Cloud)	$4/month, billed monthly (17% off annual)	50,000 bookmarks, 50GB storage, AI tagging, full-text search
Self-Hosted	$0 forever	Unlimited everything — you supply the server and OpenAI/Ollama key
Corporate	Custom per-seat	SSO, user management, priority support, custom deployment

Who Should Use Karakeep?

Best for: developers, researchers, students and "digital hoarders" who save 50+ items a week and refuse to feed that stream to Pocket's successor du jour. The self-hosted tier is especially compelling for anyone who already runs a home server, NAS or single-node VPS and wants an AI-powered archive with zero per-seat cost.

Not ideal for: non-technical users who want a one-tap mobile experience without any setup — in that case the $4/month cloud Pro plan is the better fit, and even then Raindrop.io or the remaining freemium bookmark apps may feel more polished.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Genuinely useful AI tagging that works with free local Ollama models, not just paid OpenAI APIs.
• Real native iOS, Android, Chrome and Firefox clients — not just a PWA wrapper.
• Meilisearch-backed full-text search handles tens of thousands of items without visible lag.
• AGPL-3.0 license and clean Docker Compose packaging mean you actually can leave any day.
• Active development: 1,900+ commits, 192 contributors, monthly point releases.

Cons:

• Default link click behavior opens the live source, not the local snapshot — annoying when sites die.
• Archive can fail on sites that require login cookies; this is a known and repeatedly reported issue.
• Initial setup still expects Docker Compose, a reverse proxy and an LLM key — not a one-click NAS install for most users.
• The cloud Free tier (10 bookmarks) is a trial, not a usable free plan; Raindrop and Linkding are more generous at $0.

Alternatives to Karakeep

Linkwarden — also self-hostable and open-source, with first-class screenshot and PDF archiving; better if your priority is surviving link-rot, weaker on AI. Linkding — the minimalist option; no AI, no archival, but a 40MB Docker image that never breaks. Raindrop.io — the polished hosted alternative if you do not want to self-host anything and are happy with a closed-source app. See our review of the similar self-hostable note system Obsidian for a local-first knowledge-base pairing.

Verdict: Is Karakeep Worth It?

Yes — with one caveat. If you are comfortable running a Docker container and have (or want) an Ollama setup, Karakeep is the bookmark manager to beat in 2026: fast, private, actively maintained, and genuinely smart about tagging. If you are not, the new $4/month cloud Pro plan is a reasonable Pocket replacement, but you should also seriously consider Raindrop.io before committing. 84/100 reflects a project that is already excellent at its job and only loses points on setup friction and a handful of known archival rough edges that the team is actively working through.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Karakeep free?

Yes — Karakeep is completely free and unlimited when you self-host it under the AGPL-3.0 license. The managed cloud service has a paid Pro plan at $4/month (50,000 bookmarks, 50GB storage) and a trial-only free tier of 10 bookmarks.

Is Karakeep open source?

Yes. The full source code is on GitHub under the AGPL-3.0 license, with 24,800+ stars and 192 contributors as of April 2026.

What platforms does Karakeep support?

Web app, official iOS and Android apps, Chrome and Firefox extensions, a CLI, and a REST API plus webhooks. The backend ships as a Docker image and runs on any Linux host, including Raspberry Pi, Synology/TrueNAS, and single-node VPS.

How does Karakeep compare to Linkwarden?

Both are self-hostable AGPL bookmark managers. Karakeep is faster, has better AI tagging with local-LLM support, and nicer apps. Linkwarden is stronger on archival: it automatically saves PDFs and screenshots of every page, so your bookmarks survive even if the source site disappears.

Does Karakeep work with local LLMs?

Yes — Karakeep natively supports Ollama and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, so you can keep your entire pipeline on-device for free and without sending data to a third party.

What was Karakeep called before?

Karakeep was originally released as Hoarder in January 2023 and rebranded to Karakeep in 2025. The GitHub repository, Docker image name and documentation all reflect the new name.