13 Feet Ladder

A site similar to 12ft.io but is self hosted and works with websites that 12ft.io doesn't work with.

Note: This is a fork with additional features. Original project by wasi-master.

Enhancements in this Fork

• PWA Support: Full Progressive Web App implementation with Android share target integration
• Cloudflare Bypass: Added cloudscraper fallback for sites with Cloudflare protection
• Service Worker: Enables installation as a native app on Android
• Mobile Optimization: Better mobile experience with share menu integration

What is this?

This is a simple self hosted server that has a simple but powerful interface to block ads, paywalls, and other nonsense. Specially for sites like medium, new york times which have paid articles that you normally cannot read. Now I do want you to support the creators you benefit from but if you just wanna see one single article and move on with your day then this might be helpful

How does it work?

It pretends to be GoogleBot (Google's web crawler) and gets the same content that google will get. Google gets the whole page so that the content of the article can be indexed properly and this takes advantage of that.

How do I use it?

Public Instance (No Installation Required)

You can use the public deployment at https://one3ft-wqxv.onrender.com/

No installation needed - just visit the URL and start using it immediately. For mobile users, install it as a PWA for the best experience (see PWA section below).

Self-Hosting Options

If you prefer to host your own instance:

Using Docker

Requirements:

• docker
• Docker Compose (available as docker compose)

First, clone the repo to your machine then run the following commands:

git clone https://github.com/corbettamarco/13ft.git
cd 13ft
docker compose up

Note: The original Docker image from wasi-master does not include the PWA and Cloudflare bypass features. To get the enhanced version, clone this fork.

Standard Python script

First, make sure you have python installed on your machine. Next, clone the git repo. Then go to a terminal (Command Prompt on Windows, Terminal on Mac) and run the following command:

From the git cloned directory on your computer:

cd app/
python -m pip install -r requirements.txt

If that doesn't work retry but replace python with py, then try python3, then try py3

Then run portable.py, click this link for a tutorial on how to run python scripts.

python portable.py

Then open the link shown in the terminal in the browser and you'll be able to use this

Installation using venv and running under specific bind address / port

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install -r requirements.txt
FLASK_APP=app/portable.py flask run --host=127.0.0.1 --port=9982

Using as a Bookmarklet in Chrome:

You can create a bookmarklet that performs the URL transformation by writing a small JavaScript snippet. Below is the JavaScript code for your bookmarklet:

javascript:(function(){window.location.href='one3ft-wqxv.onrender.com/'+encodeURIComponent(window.location.href);})();

You can replace one3ft-wqxv.onrender.com with your own 13ft instance if desired.

Steps:

1. Open Bookmarks Manager:

2. Click on the three dots (menu) in the top-right corner of Chrome. Go to Bookmarks > Bookmark manager, or simply press Ctrl+Shift+O on Windows/Linux or Cmd+Option+B on Mac. Create a New Bookmark:

3. In the Bookmark Manager, click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner of the window and select Add new bookmark. Enter Bookmark Details:

   • Name: Enter a name for your bookmarklet, such as "13ft-ize". This name will show as a bookmark title in the bookmarks bar
   • URL: Paste the JavaScript code provided above into the URL field.

4. Click Save.

Using the Bookmarklet:

Navigate to the page whose URL you want to use 13ft on.

Click on the bookmarklet you saved in your bookmarks bar. The browser will redirect you to the 13ft version of the URL using your service.

To show Bookmarks in Chrome, click the icon with three horizontal bars in the top right corner to open options. 2. In options, hover over "Bookmarks" to display a second menu where you can click the "Show bookmarks bar" text to toggle the bar on or off.

Instructions courtesy of @barakplasma

Using as a PWA (Progressive Web App) on Android

The best way to use this on mobile devices is to install it as a Progressive Web App. This enables seamless sharing from any app.

Installation Steps

1. Open https://one3ft-wqxv.onrender.com/ in Chrome on Android (or use your own deployed instance)
2. Tap the three dots menu (top-right corner)
3. Select "Add to Home screen" or "Install app"
4. Confirm the installation
5. Wait for the app to install as a WebAPK (will appear in your app drawer)

Using the Share Menu

Once installed as a PWA:

1. Open any paywalled article in your browser
2. Tap the Share button
3. Select "13ft" from the share menu
4. The article will open in the 13ft app with the paywall removed

Note: The PWA includes a service worker and proper icons, enabling it to appear as a native app in your Android app drawer and share menu.

Why PWA Instead of Bookmarklet on Mobile?

• Bookmarklets don't work reliably on most mobile browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Samsung Internet)
• Android restricts JavaScript execution from bookmarks for security
• PWA share targets provide a native, seamless experience

Customizing listening host and port, Systemd / Reverse-proxy example

Systemd Service

/lib/systemd/system/13ft.service

[Unit]
Description=13ft Flask Service
Wants=network-online.target
After=network-online.target

[Service]
Type=simple
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10
User=www-data
Group=www-data
Environment=APP_PATH=/var/www/paywall-break
Environment=FLASK_APP=app/portable.py

ExecStart=/bin/bash -c "cd ${APP_PATH};${APP_PATH}/venv/bin/flask run --host=127.0.0.1 --port=22113"

# Make sure stderr/stdout is captured in the systemd journal.
StandardOutput=journal
StandardError=journal

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Reverse Proxy

<VirtualHost *:22114>
    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/13ft-error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/13ft-access.log combined

    ProxyRequests Off

    SSLEngine on
    SSLCertificateFile      /etc/ssl/certs/ssl-cert-snakeoil.pem
    SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/ssl/private/ssl-cert-snakeoil.key
    Header always set Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=63072000"
    SSLProtocol             all -SSLv3 -TLSv1 -TLSv1.1

    SSLHonorCipherOrder     off
    SSLSessionTickets       off

    Protocols h2 http/1.1

    <Proxy *>
        Order deny,allow
        Allow from all
    </Proxy>


    ProxyPass / http://127.0.0.1:22113/
    ProxyPassReverse / http://127.0.0.1:22113/


</VirtualHost>

Screenshots

Step 1

Go to the website at the url shown in the console

Step 2

Click on the input box

Step 3

Paste your desired url

Step 4

Voilà you now have bypassed the paywall and ads

Alternative method

You can also append the url at the end of the link and it will also work. (e.g if your server is running at http://127.0.0.1:5000 then you can go to http://127.0.0.1:5000/https://example.com and it will read out the contents of https://example.com)

This feature was implemented by @atcasanova

Credits

• Original project: wasi-master/13ft
• PWA implementation, Cloudflare bypass, and mobile enhancements: This fork
• URL append feature: @atcasanova