head to head · open source
copyparty vs vifm
copyparty has 46,853 GitHub stars, 1,903 forks, 252 open issues and last shipped yesterday. vifm has 3,279 stars, 146 forks, 146 open issues and last shipped 24 days ago. copyparty leads on adoption by 1,329% (46,853 vs 3,279 stars). copyparty is written in Python under MIT; vifm is written in C under GPL-2.0. copyparty has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, vifm 4%. 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 | vifm | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 47K | ★ 3.3K |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-30 | 2026-09-07 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 146 |
| 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 vifm if
- You want the vifm feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and vifm 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 vifm
Vifm is a curses based, Vim like file manager for the terminal that gives people who already use Vim complete keyboard control over their files without having to learn a new set of commands.
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Frequently asked questions
Is copyparty or vifm more popular?
copyparty has 46,853 GitHub stars and vifm has 3,279. copyparty has the larger community by that measure.
Are copyparty and vifm free?
Both are open source. copyparty is licensed under MIT and vifm under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between copyparty and vifm?
copyparty is written in Python and vifm in C. 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 vifm?
Choose copyparty if you want the larger community (46,853 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose vifm if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.