this post was submitted on 13 Jan 2026
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Self-host Reddit – 2.38B posts, works offline, yours forever (github.com)
submitted 4 days ago by 19_84@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world
123 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Reddit's API is effectively dead for archival. Third-party apps are gone. Reddit has threatened to cut off access to the Pushshift dataset multiple times. But 3.28TB of Reddit history exists as a torrent right now, and I built a tool to turn it into something you can browse on your own hardware.

The key point: This doesn't touch Reddit's servers. Ever. Download the Pushshift dataset, run my tool locally, get a fully browsable archive. Works on an air-gapped machine. Works on a Raspberry Pi serving your LAN. Works on a USB drive you hand to someone.

What it does: Takes compressed data dumps from Reddit (.zst), Voat (SQL), and Ruqqus (.7z) and generates static HTML. No JavaScript, no external requests, no tracking. Open index.html and browse. Want search? Run the optional Docker stack with PostgreSQL – still entirely on your machine.

API & AI Integration: Full REST API with 30+ endpoints – posts, comments, users, subreddits, full-text search, aggregations. Also ships with an MCP server (29 tools) so you can query your archive directly from AI tools.

Self-hosting options:

  • USB drive / local folder (just open the HTML files)
  • Home server on your LAN
  • Tor hidden service (2 commands, no port forwarding needed)
  • VPS with HTTPS
  • GitHub Pages for small archives

Why this matters: Once you have the data, you own it. No API keys, no rate limits, no ToS changes can take it away.

Scale: Tens of millions of posts per instance. PostgreSQL backend keeps memory constant regardless of dataset size. For the full 2.38B post dataset, run multiple instances by topic.

How I built it: Python, PostgreSQL, Jinja2 templates, Docker. Used Claude Code throughout as an experiment in AI-assisted development. Learned that the workflow is "trust but verify" – it accelerates the boring parts but you still own the architecture.

Live demo: https://online-archives.github.io/redd-archiver-example/ GitHub: https://github.com/19-84/redd-archiver (Public Domain)

Pushshift torrent: https://academictorrents.com/details/1614740ac8c94505e4ecb9d88be8bed7b6afddd4

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[–] offspec@lemmy.world 60 points 4 days ago (3 children)

It would be neat for someone to migrate this data set to a Lemmy instance

[–] TeddE@lemmy.world 26 points 3 days ago (2 children)

It would be inviting a lawsuit for sure. I like the essence of the idea, but it's probably more trouble than it's worth for all but the most fanatic.

[–] floquant@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (3 children)

Is it though? That is (or was, and should be again) publicly accessible information that was created over the years by random internet users. I refuse the notion that an American company can "own it" just because they ran the servers. Sure they can hold copyright for their frontend and backend code, name and whatever. But posts and comments, no way.

Of course it would be dumb for someone under US jurisdiction but we'll see how much an international DMCA claim is worth considering the current relations anyway.

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[–] Olgratin_Magmatoe@slrpnk.net 6 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (5 children)

Might be easiest to set up an instance in a country that doesn't give a fuck about western IP law, then others can federate to it.

So yeah, fanatic levels of effort.

[–] fennesz12@feddit.dk 6 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Brb, setting up a Lemmy server in Red Star OS

[–] MonkeMischief@lemmy.today 5 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

(The machine with the only Steam account active in North Korea ~~would like to~~ already knows your location)

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[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 5 points 3 days ago

Lemmit already existed and was annoying as hell. It was the first account I remember blocking.

[–] cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 12 points 4 days ago

Now this is a good idea.

[–] breakingcups@lemmy.world 127 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Just so you're aware, it is very noticeable that you also used AI to help write this post and its use of language can throw a lot of people off.

Not to detract from your project, which looks cool!

[–] 19_84@lemmy.dbzer0.com 145 points 4 days ago (18 children)

Yes I used AI, English is not my first language. Thank you for the kind words!

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[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 6 points 3 days ago (1 children)

What's the size difference when you remove the porn stuff from the torrent?

[–] spicehoarder@lemmy.zip 13 points 3 days ago

Willing to bet a 90% size reduction

[–] a1studmuffin@aussie.zone 56 points 4 days ago

This seems especially handy for anyone who wants a snapshot of Reddit from pre-enshittification and AI era, where content was more authentic and less driven by bots and commercial manipulation of opinion. Just choose the cutoff date you want and stick with that dataset.

[–] frongt@lemmy.zip 54 points 4 days ago (4 children)

And only a 3.28 TB database? Oh, because it's compressed. Includes comments too, though.

[–] 19_84@lemmy.dbzer0.com 34 points 4 days ago

Yes! Too many comments to count in a reasonable amount of time!

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[–] lautan@lemmy.ca 14 points 4 days ago

Thanks. This is great for mining data and urls.

[–] vane@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

How long it takes to download this 3TB torrent ?

[–] 19_84@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 3 days ago (2 children)

week(s)

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[–] Butterphinger@lemmy.zip 5 points 3 days ago

grabs external

[–] SteveCC@lemmy.world 39 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Wow, great idea. So much useful information and discussion that users have contributed. Looking forward to checking this out.

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[–] Tiger@sh.itjust.works 26 points 4 days ago (3 children)

What is the timing of the dataset, up through which date in time?

[–] 19_84@lemmy.dbzer0.com 45 points 4 days ago (1 children)

2005-06 to 2024-12

however the data from 2025-12 has been released already, it just needs to be split and reprocessed for 2025 by watchful1. once that happens then you can host archive up till end of 2025. i will probably add support for importing data from the arctic shift dumps instead so that archives can be updated monthly.

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[–] usernameusername@sh.itjust.works 19 points 4 days ago

so kinda like kiwix but for reddit. That is so cool

[–] tanisnikana@lemmy.world 31 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Reddit is hot stinky garbage but can be useful for stuff like technical support and home maintenance.

Voat and Ruqqus are straight-up misinformation and fascist propaganda, and if you excise them from your data set, your data will dramatically improve.

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[–] BigDiction@lemmy.world 17 points 4 days ago

You should be very proud of this project!! Thank you for sharing.

[–] 19_84@lemmy.dbzer0.com 26 points 4 days ago (2 children)

PLEASE SHARE ON REDDIT!!! I have never had a reddit account and they will NOT let me post about this!!

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[–] inspxtr@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago

Very cool! Do you know how your project may compare with arctic shift ? For those more interested in research with reddit data, is there benefit of one vs another?

[–] MedicPigBabySaver@lemmy.world 19 points 4 days ago (7 children)

Fuck Reddit and Fuck Spez.

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