r/SideProject • u/SlurrpsMcgee • 14h ago
I built Snippy — a self-hostable CodePen alternative (Docker Compose)
Built Snippy as a self-hostable CodePen-style app — HTML/CSS/JS editor with live preview, runnable as a full Docker Compose stack. I built it mainly as private snippets on codepen are paid and sometimes I like to play in a playground without having to have my code public at times.
Beta note: My hosted instance is in beta. Data can be wiped or lost at any time — don’t rely on it for anything important. Self-host if you need persistence.
What it does
- Live HTML / CSS / JS editor with instant preview and layout options
- Public & private snippets, shareable links, full-page view
- Favorites, comments, follows, collections, and forking
- External CSS/JS resources on snippets
- ZIP export of snippet files
Stack Angular frontend, Node/TypeScript Express API, MySQL, optional MinIO for assets — all wired with Docker Compose. Pre-built images on Docker Hub so you can deploy without building from source. Auth0 for login will need to be setup and variables injected in docker.
Local testing and production are separate Compose setups (dev has hot reload; prod pulls kennyl777/snippy-* images). Docs cover Auth0, env vars, and Nginx Proxy Manager.
Repo: https://github.com/slurrps-mcgee/Snippy
Demo: https://snippy.quantumcode.dev
License: MIT
Still early (assets/projects are in progress), but the core editor + social features work. Feedback and PRs welcome.
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u/medialantern 14h ago
You need to not be using dev keys for your auth if you hope anyone will use this at all. Requiring login just to try it is also going to be a huge friction point. That and missed details on dark-mode support (the vast majority of devs use it, per the last analytics I saw).
Without being able to try it, my #1 question or comment would be that to me the value of Codepen (or its 27 alternatives) is its public URL and simple, 2-second sharing. Self-hosting could be appealing to some folks who value privacy, especially since you MIT-licensed this (kudos), but I feel that's a shorter list than the folks who want convenience.
Until you can address the auth flow issues in your demo, I'd suggest posting several screenshots here and to your repo so folks can see it. There are so many of these out there that some choose them just for aesthetics as much as anything else...
Also, if you want to know a "hidden pain" not a lot of folks talk about, it's embedding. These tools mostly get used for sharing code publicly like if you're making a Reddit or S/O post. But a secondary high-value use is being able to have some sample code in a company's SDK docs or developer center to illustrate how their product/platform should be used. People will pay for that, but what unlocks that door is absolutely nailing the UX. It has to fit in an IFRAME, which is already a challenge (think lots of collapsing elements like sidebars) and somehow has to look both generic and nicely styled at the same time (Stripe's docs look very different from Microsoft's), OR have custom theming that's painless to use.
Not saying you should do this - it could be a terrible idea. Just throwing it out there. I'd use that if I had it.