𝙒𝞖𝞓𝞣 𝞣𝞖𝞢 𝙇𝞘𝞟𝞙¯_(ツ)_/¯

Demo

intro.mp4

Why another bookmarking tool?

Have you ever used WhatsApp as your personal bookmarking tool? I did. I'd send myself links — articles, products, posts — right in a private group chat. But finding them later? A nightmare. Endless scrolling, lost links, no way to search.

That's why I built What The Link. It's a self-hosted bookmarking tool that plugs directly into WhatsApp. Scan the QR, link your group, and every link you send is automatically saved with metadata, organized, and searchable. Tag links with hashtags right in the chat. Ask later — "show me all GitHub bookmarks" — and they appear instantly.

No more scrolling. No more lost links. Just your bookmarks, right where you want them.

Features

• WhatsApp integration — Send a link in your chat; it's saved automatically
• Metadata — Title, description, and image fetched from Open Graph
• Tagging — Add #hashtags alongside your links to organize them
• Web UI — Search, filter by tags/domain, keyboard shortcuts
• Single user — Password-protected; no OAuth
• Self-hosted — Runs on any VPS with Docker

Tech Stack

• Frontend: TanStack Start (React), Tailwind, shadcn-style UI
• Backend: Hono
• Database: SQLite (Turso / libsql), Drizzle ORM
• WhatsApp: Baileys (unofficial Web API)

Quick Start (local dev)

# 1. Install
git clone https://github.com/Kiranism/what-the-link.git
cd what-the-link
npm install
cp .env.example apps/server/.env

# 2. Set APP_PASSWORD in apps/server/.env

# 3. Database
npm run db:push

# 4. Run
npm run dev

• Web: http://localhost:3001
• API: http://localhost:3000

Open the web app, enter your password, go to Settings, scan the QR with WhatsApp, and start sending links.

Deploy

One-command install (VPS)

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Kiranism/what-the-link/main/install.sh | bash

Installs Docker if needed, prompts for your password, builds and starts the app.

Docker Compose (manual)

git clone https://github.com/Kiranism/what-the-link.git
cd what-the-link
echo 'APP_PASSWORD=your-secure-password' > .env
docker compose up -d --build

Open http://<your-server-ip>:3000.

See how-to-deploy.md for the full guide — domain setup, HTTPS, backups, migration, and troubleshooting.

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Description
APP_PASSWORD	Yes	Password for web UI and API
DATABASE_URL	No	SQLite path (default: file:/data/bookmarks.db)
WA_AUTH_DIR	No	WhatsApp session dir (default: /data/whatsapp_auth)
WA_ALLOWED_GROUP_JID	No	Limit bookmarks to one WhatsApp group
CORS_ORIGIN	No	CORS origin (default: *)

API

• GET /health — Health check (no auth)
• POST /api/login — Login (sets httpOnly session cookie)
• POST /api/logout — Logout (clears session cookie)
• GET /api/whatsapp/qr — QR code for WhatsApp linking
• GET /api/whatsapp/status — Connection status
• GET /api/bookmarks — List (query: search, tag, domain, archived, limit, offset)
• GET /api/bookmarks/export?format=json|html — Export bookmarks
• POST /api/bookmarks/import — Import bookmarks (JSON)
• POST /api/bookmarks — Create bookmark
• PATCH /api/bookmarks/:id — Update
• DELETE /api/bookmarks/:id — Delete

All endpoints except /health and /api/login require authentication (httpOnly session cookie or Authorization: Bearer <APP_PASSWORD>).

Project Structure

what-the-link/
├── apps/
│   ├── web/            # TanStack Start frontend
│   └── server/         # Hono API + WhatsApp (Baileys)
├── packages/
│   ├── db/             # Drizzle schema + migrations
│   ├── env/            # Env validation (Zod)
│   ├── types/          # Shared TypeScript types
│   └── ui/             # Shared UI components
├── Dockerfile
├── docker-compose.yml
├── how-to-deploy.md           # Full deployment guide
├── knowledge.md        # Architecture deep-dive
└── .env.example

Scripts

• npm run dev — Run web + server
• npm run dev:web / npm run dev:server — Run one app
• npm run build — Build all
• npm run db:push — Push schema
• npm run db:generate — Generate migrations
• npm run db:migrate — Run migrations
• npm run db:studio — Drizzle Studio

License

MIT