Pastebin

A minimal self-hosted paste sharing app built with Go, PostgreSQL, and a lightweight web UI.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Tech Stack
• Project Structure
• Screenshots
• Getting Started
• Run with Docker (Recommended)
• Run Locally
• Environment Variables
• API Reference
• Makefile Commands
• Troubleshooting
• Contributing

Features

• Create sharable paste links with short IDs
• Fetch existing pastes by ID
• Stores paste content in PostgreSQL
• Serves frontend and API from one Go service
• Dockerized app + database setup
• Makefile-based developer workflow

Tech Stack

• Backend: Go 1.22
• Router: gorilla/mux
• Database: PostgreSQL
• Frontend: HTML, JavaScript, Tailwind CSS, highlight.js
• Containerization: Docker, Docker Compose

Project Structure

.
├── cmd/                # App entrypoint and HTTP server
├── service/            # Route handlers and DB store
├── generator/          # Short ID generation logic
├── templates/          # Frontend static assets
├── Dockerfile
├── docker-compose.yml
├── Makefile
└── .env.example

Screenshots

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Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Go 1.22+
• Docker + Docker Compose (for containerized run)
• Make

Run with Docker (Recommended)

1. Copy environment template:

cp .env.example .env

2. Start services:

make docker-up

3. Open app in browser:

http://localhost:5001

4. Watch logs:

make docker-logs

5. Stop services:

make docker-down

Custom app port

make docker-up APP_PORT=8080

Then open:

http://localhost:8080

Run Locally

1. Start PostgreSQL locally (or keep DB running in Docker).
2. Copy and edit environment file:

cp .env.example .env

3. Install dependencies and run:

make deps
make run

Default local address:

http://localhost:5000

Environment Variables

Variable	Default	Description
SERVER_ADDR	:5000	Server bind address inside app
DB_HOST	localhost	PostgreSQL host (use db in Docker network)
DB_PORT	5432	PostgreSQL port
DB_USER	pastebin	PostgreSQL username
DB_PASSWORD	pastebin	PostgreSQL password
DB_NAME	pastebin	PostgreSQL database name
APP_PORT	5001	Host port mapped to container port 5000 (Docker only)

API Reference

Base path:

/api/v1

Create paste

POST /api/v1/

Request body:

{
  "content": "package main\nfunc main(){}"
}

Response:

{
  "id": "abc123"
}

Get paste by ID

GET /api/v1/{id}

Response:

{
  "id": 1,
  "uid": "abc123",
  "content": "package main\nfunc main(){}"
}

Quick curl examples

curl -X POST http://localhost:5001/api/v1/ \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"content":"hello from pastebin"}'

curl http://localhost:5001/api/v1/<PASTE_ID>

Makefile Commands

make help          # List all targets
make deps          # Download Go modules
make build         # Build binary in ./bin
make run           # Run app locally
make test          # Run tests
make fmt           # Format Go files
make vet           # Run go vet
make clean         # Remove local build artifacts
make docker-build  # Build Docker images
make docker-up     # Start app + db (detached)
make docker-down   # Stop and remove compose services
make docker-logs   # Tail container logs
make docker-ps     # Show compose container status
make docker-restart# Restart services

Troubleshooting

Port already in use

If startup fails due to port conflicts, run with a different host port:

make docker-up APP_PORT=8080

Could not connect to database

• Ensure db service is healthy:

make docker-ps

• Check logs:

make docker-logs

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Commit your changes
4. Open a pull request

If you want, I can also add a LICENSE, CI workflow, and badges to make this repo even more open-source ready.