Flare v1.7.1

Original documentation published with v1.7.1 on 2026-02-16. This release predates the handbook. Commands and external services reflect that release.

Icon designed by xNefas

Flare is a modern, self-hostable file sharing platform designed to work seamlessly with popular screenshot and sharing tools like ShareX, Flameshot, and KDE Spectacle. Built with Next.js and designed with simplicity in mind, it offers a complete solution for all your file sharing needs with a strong focus on performance, customizability, and user experience.

✨ Features

🚀 Universal Screenshot Integration
- ShareX, Flameshot, KDE Spectacle, and Bash Script upload support
- One-click configuration/script downloads
🔒 Secure & Private - Role-based permissions, private files, and password protection
💾 Flexible Storage - Local filesystem and S3-compatible storage support
🖼️ Universal Preview - Preview images, videos, PDFs, and code with syntax highlighting
🔍 Smart Search - Search by filename, OCR content, and date with filters
📱 Modern UI - Clean, responsive interface built with shadcn/ui - easily customizable
⚙️ Configurable
- User storage quotas, registration controls, and instance settings
- Theme customization with CSS variables and custom colors
- Advanced settings for custom CSS and HTML injection
📊 Admin Dashboard - Usage metrics, user management, and system configuration
👥 User Management - Role assignment, storage quotas, and content moderation
🔗 URL Shortener - Custom short URLs under your domain with click tracking
📝 Pastebin - Code and text sharing with syntax highlighting
🤖 OCR Processing - Automatic text extraction from images uploaded
🔌 Rich Embeds - Content embeds naturally on all your social media platforms.

🚀 Quick Start

Flare is quick to deploy—you only need a PostgreSQL server and Docker. Choose one of these options:

Railway (One-Click)

Click the button below to deploy Flare on Railway. Once deployed, just set your authentication secret and create your admin account.

Docker Deployment (Self-Hosted)

Set up a PostgreSQL server and create a database for Flare.

Create a .env file with the following required variables:

DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:pass@host:5432/dbname # (replace with your PostgreSQL connection string)
NEXTAUTH_SECRET=your-secure-secret-key # (generate with `openssl rand -base64 32`)
NEXTAUTH_URL=http://localhost:3000 # (or wherever you deploy Flare)

Run Flare using the pre-built Docker image:

docker run -d \
  --name flare \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  --env-file .env \
  -v ./uploads:/app/uploads \
  flintsh/flare:latest

Open http://localhost:3000 to complete the setup and create your admin account.

The official Docker image is available on Docker Hub and GitHub Container Registry as flintsh/flare.

💬 Support

Need help with your instance? Join my Discord for support, discussions, and updates!

📝 Configuration

Flare is built to be as configurable as possible. Head to /dashboard/settings to tweak different settings like:

Setting storage quotas and file size limits for users
Defining upload rules and restrictions
Configuring registration options and user permissions
Customizing the site's appearance and branding
Managing advanced settings like custom CSS and HTML

📜 License

Flare is licensed under the MIT License.