When Pocket shut down without warning, thousands of carefully curated articles vanished into a CSV export. I needed a replacement fast, but this forced migration became an opportunity to build something better.
The Search for Alternatives
I started where most developers do: the app stores. After testing 15 applications with ratings above 4.3 stars, none stood out. Outdated interfaces, missing features, and clunky implementations were the norm.
Next, I consulted the AI trinity—ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini—all recommending the same solution: Raindrop.io.
Raindrop.io: Beautiful but Limited
Raindrop delivered on the basics with a clean interface, cross-platform apps, and solid organization through tags and categories. For casual use, it's excellent.
The problems emerged when I tried to automate. While browsing tech articles, I discovered Fabric's AI-powered summaries feature—daily, weekly, or monthly digests of saved content. I wanted to build something similar using Raindrop's API.
That's when the limitations became clear: no bulk data retrieval except CSV exports, no date-based filtering, and an "all or nothing" approach by category or tag. The API felt like an afterthought rather than a core feature.
Fabric: Premium Price, Single Feature
Fabric offered exactly what I wanted: AI-generated summaries of saved content. The catch? €4.67 per month for essentially one feature I needed.
It's not that the price is unreasonable—it's the subscription accumulation. Each service adds to the monthly rent, and I wasn't getting the flexibility I wanted. The idea of automated summaries stuck with me, though. I just needed another way to implement it.
Wallabag: The Open Source Solution
Wallabag didn't impress at first glance. Minimalist interface, bare-bones website. But two words caught my attention: open source and self-hosting.
Beneath that simple exterior lies surprising depth:
- Complete content preservation: Full articles, images, offline access
- Advanced organization: Tags, favorites, annotations, highlighting
- Cross-platform ecosystem: Native apps for iOS, Android, browser extensions, desktop applications
- Robust API with webhooks: Built for automation, not as an afterthought
- Self-hosting control: Total ownership of your data and infrastructure
- Seamless Pocket import: Near-transparent migration preserving metadata
Ironically, Wallabag was originally named "Poche" but had to rebrand in 2014 due to a conflict with... Pocket.
Building the Stack
I deployed Wallabag using Docker alongside n8n for automation, Traefik as reverse proxy, and PostgreSQL for databases. The entire stack runs on a €5.99/month VPS that also hosts Nextcloud and other services.
The setup provides HTTPS with automatic Let's Encrypt certificates, persistent data storage, and complete isolation through containerization.
My Current Workflow
With Wallabag and n8n working together, I've built a system that surpasses what Pocket offered:
- Saving: Browser extension or mobile sharing
- Organization: Automatic domain-based tags plus manual project tags
- Automation: Weekly AI-generated summaries via n8n workflows
- Cost: €5.99/month VPS plus ~5 cents per month for AI analysis through OpenRouter
The interface might look dated, but it's functional and clear. Search and filtering work excellently, and annotation capabilities rival premium solutions.
Choosing Your Tool
Your ideal solution depends on your needs:
Raindrop.io: Perfect for simple usage without automation requirements. Beautiful interface, solid native apps.
Fabric: Best if you want turnkey AI summaries and don't mind the subscription.
Wallabag + n8n: Choose this for advanced automation, complete data control, and self-hosting capabilities.
The Real Lesson
Pocket's closure forced exploration that led to a more robust, flexible solution. Wallabag proves that open source alternatives can not only replace proprietary services but exceed them in functionality and control.
Sometimes the best solutions emerge from necessity. Service shutdowns feel like setbacks, but they push us toward tools that better serve our actual needs—tools we own, control, and can adapt infinitely.
In our subscription-heavy digital landscape, self-hosted open source solutions offer more than cost savings. They provide genuine ownership of our workflows and data. That's worth far more than convenience alone.
Total cost: €5.99/month for unlimited services vs. multiple subscriptions
Setup time: ~2 hours including Docker configuration
Data ownership: 100%
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