bin

bin is a minimal, self‑hosted paste service written entirely in Rust. The core idea is to deliver a single executable that can be dropped into any environment and started with zero external dependencies. Once running, it exposes a tiny HTTP API that accepts PUT requests for new pastes and serves them via simple GET URLs. The application keeps a rotating in‑memory buffer of the most recent pastes, discarding older entries automatically. This design eliminates the need for a database or persistent storage while still offering fast, low‑latency responses.

Key Features

• Zero‑dependency runtime – a single binary, no database, no external services.
• In‑memory rotation buffer – configurable size (--buffer-size) and paste limit (--max-paste-size).
• HTTP API – PUT to create, GET to retrieve; supports optional file‑extension query for syntax highlighting.
• Lightweight syntax highlighting – uses the syntect crate to render code blocks based on file extensions.
• Cross‑platform – compiled Rust binaries work on Linux, macOS, Windows; container images are also available.
• Extremely small footprint – ~300 lines of Rust, < 10 MB binary.

Technical Stack

Core Capabilities & APIs

• Create a paste

  curl -X PUT --data-binary @file.txt http://localhost:8820/
  

  Returns a short, unique URL (e.g., /a1b2c3).
• Retrieve a paste – simple GET to the returned URL.
• Syntax highlighting – append the file extension (e.g., /a1b2c3.rs) to trigger syntect.
• Health & metrics – no built‑in monitoring, but the lightweight nature allows easy integration with Prometheus or custom metrics via HTTP endpoints.

Deployment & Infrastructure

• Self‑hosting – Run ./bin or the Docker container; no privileged operations required.
• Scalability – The in‑memory buffer limits memory usage; for higher throughput, run multiple instances behind a load balancer.
• Containerization – Official Docker images are available; the binary is statically linked, so the image size stays below 30 MB.
• Resource profile – CPU: <10 % on a single core; Memory: ~1 MB per 1000 pastes (configurable).

Integration & Extensibility

While bin is intentionally minimal, its API makes it easy to embed into larger workflows:

• CI/CD pipelines – Store build logs or test outputs temporarily.
• Developer tools – Plug into IDEs to share snippets via the PUT endpoint.
• Webhooks – Trigger paste creation from external services (e.g., GitHub Actions).
• Custom front‑ends – The server only serves raw text; any UI can be built on top (e.g., a Vue or React app that consumes the API).

No plugin system is shipped, but the small codebase invites contributors to add features such as authentication or persistence.

Developer Experience

• Configuration – All options are exposed via command‑line flags; no configuration files.
• Documentation – The README is concise but covers usage, API examples, and build instructions.
• Community – The project is hosted on GitHub with an active issue tracker; contributions are welcomed.
• Licensing – MIT license, allowing unrestricted use in commercial or internal projects.

Use Cases

Advantages Over Alternatives

For developers who need a quick, reliable, and fully controllable paste service without the overhead of database migrations or third‑party integrations, bin offers an elegant