Wallabag
A read-it-later app that saves clean copies of articles to read offline
Alternative toInstapaper
Wallabag saves articles from the web, strips them down to the text and images, and lets you read them later in the browser, on a phone app or on an e-reader. It is MIT licensed, built with PHP and Symfony, and also offered as a paid hosted service.
Best for when
- you save long articles to read later without distractions
- you read on an e-reader and want articles sent there
- you want annotations and tags on what you read
Watch out for
- article extraction fails or is partial on some sites, especially paywalled ones
- the interface feels dated next to newer read-later apps
- PHP and database upgrades occasionally need manual migration steps
Read later, without the clutter
You send an article to Wallabag from a browser extension or the share menu on your phone, and it extracts the readable content. You can then read, tag, annotate and archive articles, and export them as EPUB or PDF for an e-reader.
It suits people who collect long reads during the day and read them later in a calm format. Several e-reader apps and readers can sync with Wallabag directly, which is one of its strengths.
What running it costs
It is a PHP application with a database, SQLite, MySQL or PostgreSQL, and optionally Redis for background imports. RAM use is low. Back up the database and the images folder for saved articles.
The app needs to be reachable from your devices for the extensions and mobile apps to work, so put it on a VPN or behind HTTPS with a login. Extraction depends on site parsers, so some sites, especially paywalled ones, come through incomplete.
