head to head · open source
Files vs cloudreve
Files has 46,461 GitHub stars, 3,012 forks, 458 open issues and last shipped yesterday. cloudreve has 28,920 stars, 3,934 forks, 147 open issues and last shipped 14 days ago. Files leads on adoption by 61% (46,461 vs 28,920 stars). Files is written in C# under MIT; cloudreve is written in Go under GPL-3.0. Files has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, cloudreve 14%. Files was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (file-manager), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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
| Files | cloudreve | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 29K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C# | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 3.9K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Files if
- You weight community size — 46K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick cloudreve if
- You want the cloudreve feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and cloudreve fits your workflow better
About Files
Files is a modern file manager that helps users organize their files and folders. Our mission with Files is to build the best file manager for Windows, and we’re proud to be building it out in the open so everyone can participate. User feedback helps shape the features we work on, & the bug reports on GitHub help to make Files more reliable. Built and maintained by the open source community, Files features robust multitasking experiences, file tags, deep integrations, and an intuitive design. Installing and running Files Files is a community driven project that depends on your support to grow and improve. Please…
read the full Files overview →
About cloudreve
中文版本 Cloudreve Self hosted file management system with multi cloud support. Homepage • Try it • Discussion • Documents • Download • Telegram • Discord :sparkles: Features :cloud: Support storing files into Local, Remote node, OneDrive, S3 compatible API, Qiniu Kodo, Aliyun OSS, Tencent COS, Huawei Cloud OBS, Kingsoft Cloud KS3, Upyun. :outbox tray: Upload/Download in directly transmission from client to storage providers. 💾 Integrate with Aria2/qBittorrent to download files in background, use multiple download nodes to share the load. 📚 Compress/Extract/Preview archived files, download files in batch. 💻…
read the full cloudreve overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Files or cloudreve more popular?
Files has 46,461 GitHub stars and cloudreve has 28,920. Files has the larger community by that measure.
Are Files and cloudreve free?
Both are open source. Files is licensed under MIT and cloudreve under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Files and cloudreve?
Files is written in C# and cloudreve 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, Files or cloudreve?
Choose Files if you want the larger community (46,461 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose cloudreve if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.