head to head · open source
copyparty vs ranger
copyparty has 46,739 GitHub stars, 1,905 forks, 252 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ranger has 17,405 stars, 942 forks, 896 open issues and last shipped 11 days ago. copyparty leads on adoption by 169% (46,739 vs 17,405 stars). copyparty is written in Python under MIT; ranger is written in Python under GPL-3.0. copyparty has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, ranger 5%. copyparty 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
| copyparty | ranger | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 47K | ★ 17K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-09 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 942 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick copyparty if
- You weight community size — 47K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ranger if
- You want the ranger feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and ranger fits your workflow better
About copyparty
copyparty is a portable file server that turns almost any device into a file server with resumable uploads and downloads through any web browser, built for self hosters, homelab operators, NAS owners and anyone who wants to share files directly from their own hardware.
read the full copyparty overview →
About ranger
Ranger is a console file manager with VI key bindings, written in Python and released under the GNU General Public License version 3, for terminal users who want to browse, preview, and manipulate files without leaving a Unix shell.
read the full ranger overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is copyparty or ranger more popular?
copyparty has 46,739 GitHub stars and ranger has 17,405. copyparty has the larger community by that measure.
Are copyparty and ranger free?
Both are open source. copyparty is licensed under MIT and ranger under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between copyparty and ranger?
copyparty is written in Python and ranger in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, copyparty or ranger?
Choose copyparty if you want the larger community (46,739 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose ranger if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.