head to head · open source
ansible vs ftpgrab
ansible has 71,204 GitHub stars, 24,474 forks, 837 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ftpgrab has 566 stars, 79 forks, 28 open issues and last shipped 10 days ago. ansible leads on adoption by 12,480% (71,204 vs 566 stars). ansible is written in Python under GPL-3.0; ftpgrab is written in Go under MIT. ansible has attracted 34% as many forks as stars, ftpgrab 14%. ansible was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| ansible | ftpgrab | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 71K | ★ 566 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 24K | ⑂ 79 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ansible if
- You weight community size — 71K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ftpgrab if
- You want the ftpgrab feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and ftpgrab fits your workflow better
About ansible
[ ][copying] Ansible Ansible is a radically simple IT automation system. It handles configuration management, application deployment, cloud provisioning, ad hoc task execution, network automation, and multi node orchestration. Ansible makes complex changes like zero downtime rolling updates with load balancers easy. More information on the Ansible website. Design Principles Have an extremely simple setup process with a minimal learning curve. Manage machines quickly and in parallel. Avoid custom agents and additional open ports, be agentless by leveraging the existing SSH daemon. Describe infrastructure in a…
read the full ansible overview →
About ftpgrab
About FTPGrab is a command line tool for pulling files from remote FTP and SFTP servers to your NAS, server, or computer. It is built for unattended transfers: you can point it at one or more remote sources, run it on a schedule, filter what should be downloaded, and avoid re downloading files that were already grabbed. It can also send notifications after runs, so you can keep track of successful downloads, failures, and other activity without babysitting the job. It works well for seedboxes, home servers, and any setup where files need to move reliably from a remote server to local storage. FTPGrab is…
read the full ftpgrab overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ansible or ftpgrab more popular?
ansible has 71,204 GitHub stars and ftpgrab has 566. ansible has the larger community by that measure.
Are ansible and ftpgrab free?
Both are open source. ansible is licensed under GPL-3.0 and ftpgrab under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ansible and ftpgrab?
ansible is written in Python and ftpgrab in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, ansible or ftpgrab?
Choose ansible if you want the larger community (71,204 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose ftpgrab if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.