head to head · open source
Files vs doublecmd
Files has 45,660 GitHub stars, 2,938 forks, 458 open issues and last shipped yesterday. doublecmd has 4,564 stars, 356 forks, 634 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Files leads on adoption by 900% (45,660 vs 4,564 stars). Files is written in C# under MIT; doublecmd is written in Pascal under GPL-2.0. Files has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, doublecmd 8%. 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 | doublecmd | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 4.6K |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | C# | Pascal |
| Last push | 2026-09-24 | 2026-09-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 356 |
| 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 doublecmd if
- You want the doublecmd feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Pascal
- You evaluated both and doublecmd fits your workflow better
About Files
Files is a modern, MIT licensed file manager for Windows, written in C and maintained by an open source community, for Windows users who want a customizable, actively developed alternative for organising files and folders.
read the full Files overview →
About doublecmd
Double Commander is a free, cross platform, open source file manager that shows two panels side by side (or one above the other), and it is aimed at desktop users who want a twin pane file manager they can inspect and run without paying for a licence.
read the full doublecmd overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Files or doublecmd more popular?
Files has 45,660 GitHub stars and doublecmd has 4,564. Files has the larger community by that measure.
Are Files and doublecmd free?
Both are open source. Files is licensed under MIT and doublecmd under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Files and doublecmd?
Files is written in C# and doublecmd in Pascal. 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 doublecmd?
Choose Files if you want the larger community (45,660 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose doublecmd if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.