CPYNET vs pastebin, termbin, transfer.sh, privnote

A short, honest comparison - what each tool is actually good for, and the three things that make CPYNET different.

Feature comparison

Feature	CPYNET	Pastebin	Termbin	transfer.sh	Privnote
One-time read by default	✓	✗	✗	✗	✓
Password protection	✓	partial	✗	✗	✗
Zero-knowledge encryption	✓	✗	✗	✗	✓
Live "it was read" notification	✓ (SSE)	✗	✗	✗	email, delayed
curl/terminal-first	✓	partial (API)	✓	✓	✗
Small file uploads	✓	✓	✗	✓	✗
Open source / self-hostable	✓	✗	✗	✓	✗
No signup required	✓	partial	✓	✓	✓

Scroll right to see the rest of the columns on a narrow screen.

Every claim about CPYNET here is verified against its own source; the other columns describe each tool's well-known core behavior, which can change over time - check their own docs for the current details.

What makes CPYNET different

One-time read, password protection, and a live "it was read" notification, all together. Privnote offers one-time reads and (on paid plans) passwords, but no instant notification - it emails you later. Pastebin, termbin, and transfer.sh don't do one-time reads at all.
Genuinely terminal-first. The cpy/pst shell functions, their PowerShell equivalents, and even a plain nc fallback mean the entire workflow - send, read, encrypt - can happen without a browser. The web UI is an option, not a requirement.
One file, zero dependencies, actually open source. The whole server is a single Go file with no external packages and no database - self-hosting it is docker compose up, not a multi-service deployment.

When something else might fit better

CPYNET is built around one-time, ephemeral text sharing from a terminal. If you need a persistent public paste with a permanent URL and syntax-highlighted archives (classic pastebin use), or large/streaming file transfer (transfer.sh's use case), those tools are built specifically for that and CPYNET isn't trying to replace them.