Submit to selfh.st
selfh.st is a self-hosting publication with a weekly newsletter, blog and a large app directory of self-hosted software, companion apps and alternatives. Its directory refreshes every morning and ranks projects using repo age, activity, stars and search interest, and new projects are added when their authors get in touch.
selfh.st · Checked
selfh.st at a glance
- Pricing
- Free
- No price details on their site when we checked.
- Link type
- Dofollow
- Newsletter issue https://selfh.st/weekly/2026-09-18/ links featured projects (e.g. github.com/bookorbit/bookorbit, tautulli.com) with no rel attribute; the /apps/ directory did not render per-app links — rendered via context.dev (checked 2026-09-23)
- Review
- Manual review
- Link back required
- No
- Account required
- No
- Domain Rating
- DR63
- Domain Rating by Ahrefs, checked Sep 24, 2026. A score of the whole site’s backlinks, not a Google metric.
- Tranco rank
- #153,928
- Research top-sites ranking. Lower is more popular.
- Who browses it
- Homelab and self-hosting enthusiasts
- Last checked
How to submit to selfh.st
Open the selfh.st submission page
This is the page makers use to add a product.
Have your assets ready
Name, tagline, description, logo and screenshots. The checklist below covers what to prepare so you can fill the form in one go.
Fill in the form carefully
Pick the most specific category the form offers and write the description for the people who browse selfh.st (Homelab and self-hosting enthusiasts), not for search engines.
Wait for review
A person reviews submissions, so it can take a while. Once it’s live, check the link on your listing points to the right page.
Tips for selfh.st
- The directory FAQ says to reach out with your project's details to get added; the Submit Content page also covers news and launches for the newsletter.
- Keep commits flowing: last-activity dates are color-coded and stale projects show in red after a year.
- Companion apps are only listed if they extend or manage a self-hosted project rather than being a core part of it.
From selfh.st’s own guidelines and pages, in our words.
What to prepare
The basics every directory asks for, plus what matters most for open-source directories.
- Product name and a one-line tagline (about 60 characters)
- A short description (1–2 sentences) and a longer one (a short paragraph)
- Square logo, at least 256×256 px, PNG or SVG
- 2–3 screenshots at a consistent size
- The exact page you want the link to point to
- Pricing model (free, freemium or paid) and a contact email
- Repo URL and the exact license name (e.g. MIT, AGPL-3.0)
- A README with install steps and a screenshot or example
- A one-line description in the list’s own format
- Whether there is a hosted or paid version alongside the open-source one
Is selfh.st worth it?
Good for your SEO foundation
selfh.st reviews listings by hand and the listing link we inspected was followed. That combination is what makes a directory link worth having for a new site.
- Domain Rating by Ahrefs: 63 (strong). That's the strength of links to the whole site, not a promise about what your listing passes on.
- Tranco rank #153,928: a mid-sized site, inside the top 500,000.
- A person reviews submissions, so expect a wait and a real quality bar.
- Free to list, so the only cost is your time.
This verdict is worked out from the facts above with fixed rules (link type, review, price, Domain Rating by Ahrefs, Tranco rank), not paid for. The directory has no say in it.
Questions about selfh.st
Is selfh.st free?
Yes. Listing on selfh.st is free. We checked on Sep 23, 2026.
Does selfh.st give a dofollow link?
Yes. The listing link we inspected was a followed (dofollow) link. Evidence: Newsletter issue https://selfh.st/weekly/2026-09-18/ links featured projects (e.g. github.com/bookorbit/bookorbit, tautulli.com) with no rel attribute; the /apps/ directory did not render per-app links — rendered via context.dev (checked 2026-09-23).
How do I submit to selfh.st?
Submit at https://selfh.st/submit/. A person reviews each submission before it goes live. Tip: The directory FAQ says to reach out with your project's details to get added; the Submit Content page also covers news and launches for the newsletter.
Alternatives to selfh.st
All open-source directoriesFree · Tranco #250
Free · DR 74 · Tranco #47,917
Free · DR 62 · Tranco #130,384
Paid · DR 60 · Tranco #388,407
Free · DR 53 · Tranco #569,531
Free + paid options · DR 50 · Tranco #1,065,053
Also in these lists
selfh.st appears on these niche lists, next to other places to submit the same kind of product.
Sources
The pages we opened on Sep 23, 2026 to write this page.