Overview
The ByteStash snippet dashboard
The ByteStash web UI dashboard listing saved code snippets with syntax highlighting, tags, categories and full-text search, served in the browser over TLS behind nginx with a per-instance admin login.
The ByteStash snippet dashboard
Snippet detail with syntax highlighting
Create a new snippet
This is a repackaged open source software product wherein additional charges apply for cloudimg support services.
Overview
ByteStash is a free and open source, self-hosted code-snippet manager for developers and teams. Store, organise, search, tag and share reusable code snippets with syntax highlighting for dozens of languages, Markdown and Mermaid rendering, multi-file snippets, snippet sharing with optional expiry, an embed API and a remote MCP endpoint for AI clients - a private snippet library you run and control in your own AWS account. It is delivered fully built from source, hardened and reverse-proxied behind nginx over TLS, so your snippet library is operational within minutes of launch with no manual package installation.
Why This Image vs a Manual Install
This image eliminates the manual work of building the Node.js server and React client from source, compiling native dependencies, authoring systemd units, configuring a TLS reverse proxy and hardening credentials. ByteStash's registration can be open by default; this image never ships an open-registration or default-credential instance. What typically takes many steps across package management, service configuration and security hardening is completed for you at image build time. Launch the instance, read your unique credential, and start saving snippets.
Application Stack
The ByteStash server runs under systemd as an unprivileged system user and binds to the loopback interface only. It is fronted by an nginx reverse proxy on port 443 with a self-signed certificate generated per instance (ready to be replaced with your own domain certificate); port 80 redirects to 443. The embedded SQLite datastore lives on a dedicated data volume, independently resizable and separate from the OS disk. systemd starts the service and the web server on boot and restarts them on failure.
Security Hardening
This image follows a defence-in-depth approach:
- Network isolation: the application binds exclusively to the loopback interface; only the nginx TLS reverse proxy is exposed, and the security group opens only SSH and HTTPS
- No default or shared credentials: a cryptographically random administrator password and a per-instance JWT signing secret are generated on each instance's first boot; the password is written only to a root-only file
- Open registration disabled: self-registration is turned off, so no world-open signup window is ever exposed - the seeded administrator is the only account until you create more
- Least privilege: the service runs as an unprivileged system user under a systemd unit
- Dedicated data volume: the SQLite datastore lives on its own disk, surviving OS-disk changes and resizable independently
- Encrypted transport: the web interface is served over TLS by default
Buyers requiring formal compliance documentation should contact cloudimg to discuss specific requirements.
Concrete Use Cases
- Team snippet library: an engineering team keeping vetted, syntax-highlighted code snippets, config fragments and runbook commands in one searchable private store instead of scattered gists
- Personal knowledge base for developers: an individual developer cataloguing reusable functions, one-liners and boilerplate with tags, full-text search and Markdown notes
- Shareable reference snippets: creating public share links with optional expiry for onboarding docs, support answers or teaching material, without exposing a whole account
AWS Integration
Deploy on any EC2 instance type. Terminate TLS at the instance or place the instance behind an Application Load Balancer with your own certificate. Back up your snippet library using EBS snapshots or AWS Backup, and resize the dedicated data volume independently of the OS disk as your library grows.
Getting Started
Read your credential from the root-only file, open the web interface in your browser over HTTPS, sign in, and start creating snippets - organise them with tags, search across everything, and share individual snippets with a link.
cloudimg Support
24/7 technical support by email and chat. Help with deployment, replacing the self-signed certificate with your own domain and certificate, OIDC single sign-on configuration, and backup planning for your snippet library.
Highlights
- Prebuilt and secure in minutes: unlike a manual install that requires building the Node.js server and React client from source, compiling native dependencies, authoring systemd units, configuring a TLS reverse proxy and hardening credentials, this image completes every build and hardening step at image creation time. Launch an instance and reach a working, authenticated web UI over HTTPS without editing a single configuration file.
- Secure by default with unique credentials: every instance generates its own cryptographically random admin password and JWT signing secret on first boot, and open self-registration is disabled, so no two deployments share a credential and no world-open signup window is exposed. The application binds exclusively to the loopback interface and is reachable only through the nginx TLS reverse proxy.
- Full featured snippet manager with dedicated storage and 24/7 support: store, organise, tag and full-text search reusable code snippets with syntax highlighting, Markdown and Mermaid rendering, multi-file snippets and shareable links. The SQLite datastore lives on a dedicated independently resizable data volume. Backed by 24/7 cloudimg technical support via email and chat.
Details
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Dimension | Description | Cost/hour |
|---|---|---|
m5.large Recommended | m5.large | $0.08 |
t2.micro | t2.micro instance type | $0.04 |
t3.micro | t3.micro instance type | $0.04 |
c5a.12xlarge | c5a.12xlarge instance type | $0.24 |
c5a.16xlarge | c5a.16xlarge instance type | $0.24 |
c5a.24xlarge | c5a.24xlarge instance type | $0.24 |
c5a.2xlarge | c5a.2xlarge instance type | $0.24 |
c5a.4xlarge | c5a.4xlarge instance type | $0.24 |
c5a.8xlarge | c5a.8xlarge instance type | $0.24 |
c5a.large | c5a.large instance type | $0.08 |
Vendor refund policy
Refunds available on request.
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Delivery details
64-bit (x86) Amazon Machine Image (AMI)
Amazon Machine Image (AMI)
An AMI is a virtual image that provides the information required to launch an instance. Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) instances are virtual servers on which you can run your applications and workloads, offering varying combinations of CPU, memory, storage, and networking resources. You can launch as many instances from as many different AMIs as you need.
Version release notes
Initial release of ByteStash as a ready-to-use self-hosted code-snippet manager, built from source and served over TLS behind nginx, secured with a unique admin credential and JWT signing secret generated on each instance's first boot, open self-registration disabled, and a dedicated data volume for the SQLite snippet library.
Additional details
Usage instructions
Connect via SSH on port 22 as the default login user for your operating system variant (for the Ubuntu 24.04 variant the user is ubuntu). Read the per-instance admin credential with: sudo cat /root/bytestash-credentials.txt. Open the web interface in a browser at https://<instance-public-ip>/ (the certificate is self-signed per instance, so your browser will warn on first visit; replace it with your own certificate for production) and sign in with the admin username and password from that file. The instance security group opens ports 22 and 443 only; the application binds to loopback and is reachable only through the nginx TLS proxy. The SQLite datastore lives on the dedicated data volume mounted at /var/lib/bytestash. The services run under systemd: systemctl status bytestash nginx.
Resources
Vendor resources
Support
Vendor support
cloudimg Support
cloudimg provides 24/7 technical support for this product by email and live chat.
Contact: support@cloudimg.co.uk
What we help with:
- Deployment and initial configuration
- Replacing the self-signed certificate with your own domain and TLS certificate
- OIDC single sign-on configuration
- Web UI usage, tags, search and snippet sharing
- Backup planning for your snippet library using EBS snapshots or AWS Backup
- Updates and security patching guidance
Refunds: For refund requests, contact support@cloudimg.co.uk with your AWS account ID and subscription details.
AWS infrastructure support
AWS Support is a one-on-one, fast-response support channel that is staffed 24x7x365 with experienced and technical support engineers. The service helps customers of all sizes and technical abilities to successfully utilize the products and features provided by Amazon Web Services.