Slink on Render

Self-hosted image hosting and sharing. Upload images, share them with private or short links, organize them into collections, and upload from ShareX. This repo is the Blueprint. The app runs from the official Slink image.

What This Template Shows

This repository does not contain the Slink source. The service pulls the official image from Docker Hub at a pinned version. To upgrade, change the tag in render.yaml and push.

Piece	Role
Slink	Web app, API, image processing, and a built-in Redis queue in one container.
slink (Web Service)	The app.
slink-data (Persistent disk)	SQLite databases, signing keys, and uploaded images, all under /app.

Architecture

flowchart LR
  user["Browser / ShareX"] --> app["slink"]
  app --> disk[("slink-data")]
  hub["Docker Hub: anirdev/slink:v1.14.6"] --> app

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How It Works

1. Click Deploy to Render. The flow copies this repo into your GitHub account and applies render.yaml.
2. On Apply, enter ADMIN_EMAIL. Render creates the disk and generates ADMIN_PASSWORD.
3. On first boot, Slink generates its signing keys, creates its databases on the disk, and creates the admin account.
4. Sign in and upload.

Resource	Type	Plan	Notes
slink	Web, image	Starter	Disk at /app, 5 GB. Health: /api/health. Single instance.

Default region: Oregon.

Render-specific settings

Setting	Why
Disk at /app	Slink stores data in two fixed folders, /app/var/data and /app/slink/images. A Render service has one disk, and /app holds both.
Start command	The image gives the frankenphp binary a file capability so it can bind low ports. Render containers don't allow it, and the API fails with Operation not permitted. The start command replaces the binary with a plain copy, then runs Slink's normal entrypoint. Slink only binds port 8080, so nothing else changes.
PORT=3000	The web app listens on PORT. The API stays internal on 8080.
ORIGIN	The service's public URL. The web app rejects sign-ins and uploads from any other origin.

Quick Start

1. Click Deploy to Render above and enter ADMIN_EMAIL.
2. Wait until slink is Live.
3. Copy ADMIN_PASSWORD from the service's Environment page and sign in with ADMIN_EMAIL.
4. Upload an image and share it.

curl -fsS "https://<slink>.onrender.com/api/health"

Configuration

Variable	Source	Description
ADMIN_EMAIL	Required	Admin email. The account is created on first boot.
ADMIN_PASSWORD	Generated	Admin password for the first sign-in. Change it in the UI afterward.
ADMIN_USERNAME	Blueprint	admin.
ORIGIN	Wired	The service's RENDER_EXTERNAL_URL. Update it after you add a custom domain.
PORT	Blueprint	3000.
Others	Optional	Registration, upload limits, S3 storage, and OIDC SSO. See .env.example.

Slink's defaults allow public sign-ups, but new accounts need admin approval. Anyone can browse public images on Explore. To change either, set USER_ALLOW_REGISTRATION or USER_ALLOW_UNAUTHENTICATED_ACCESS to false.

Cost

Prices from Render's pricing page.

Resource	Approx. monthly
slink (Starter)	$7
5 GB disk	$1.25
Total	~$8.25

Slink used about 300 MB of memory in testing. If you upload many large images at once, watch memory and move to Standard if it nears 512 MB. To store more images, increase the disk size, or set STORAGE_PROVIDER=s3.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
Logs repeat unable to exec frankenphp: Operation not permitted	The start command is missing. Restore the dockerCommand in render.yaml.
Sign-in or upload fails with a cross-site or forbidden error	ORIGIN must be the URL in your browser. Update it after you add a custom domain.
Images or accounts disappear after a deploy	Confirm the disk is mounted at /app.
Deploy takes about a minute of downtime	Expected. A service with a disk stops the old instance before it starts the new one.

Project Structure

render.yaml       Blueprint. One image-backed web service with a disk.
README.md         This file
LICENSE           Wrapper license
.env.example      Value the deploy form asks for, and optional extras

Learn More

• Blueprint spec
• Slink docs
• Slink on GitHub

License

MIT for this wrapper.

Slink is licensed under AGPL-3.0. If you modify Slink and let others use it over a network, you must make your modified source available to them.