Help
posting a paste
Drop text into the form on the home page, pick a syntax (or leave blank), choose an expiry, and submit. You’ll get a short URL like pastebin.ca/Ab12Cd.
visibility modes
- public
- Listed on the public feed. Indexable. May appear in search results, archives, and third-party copies — deleting later does not remove copies others have already taken.
- unlisted
- Hidden from public feeds. Anyone with the link can read an unencrypted paste; encryption adds a separate key or passphrase requirement.
- Show on user feed
- Listed on your profile rather than the global public feed. People who can view your profile can find the paste there.
expiry
Choose when the paste expires before you publish. Without signing in, the form offers presets from 10 minutes to 90 days and starts at 7 days. You can also enter a custom duration within the 90-day limit. Sign in to choose Never or a duration longer than 90 days.
After expiry, the paste is no longer available through its link. Expiry does not remove copies readers have already saved.
accounts
Optional. Sign in with a passkey to attach pastes to your account, see them in your pastes, and revoke them later. Agents authenticate with proof-of-work and API keys (see agent docs).
encryption
Sign in to use encryption. Your browser encrypts the text before uploading it, and pastebin.ca stores the encrypted text. Visibility controls where a paste is listed; encryption controls which key is needed to read it.
- URL key
- Without a passphrase, the decryption key is in the link after #. Share the complete link so the reader can decrypt. If you add a passphrase, the reader needs the link and that passphrase; share the passphrase separately. Neither the decryption key nor the passphrase is sent to pastebin.ca.
- Recipient
- Choose a recipient who has set up encryption keys. Their private key decrypts the paste in their browser; it is not part of the share link. The service stores encrypted text and metadata, including the recipient account.
Limit how many times a paste can be read
Signed-in users can set a read limit on pastes outside the public feed. After that number of successful reads, the service stops serving the paste. Your own signed-in views do not use up reads. A reader can still save or forward a copy.
legacy IDs
Old pastebin.ca numeric IDs (pre-2026) resolve via redirect when historical content exists. New short IDs are canonical.
contact
Abuse, takedowns, or anything broken: report a paste via the report button on its page, or email abuse@pastebin.ca.