head to head · open source
Files vs hfs
Files has 45,620 GitHub stars, 2,933 forks, 458 open issues and last shipped yesterday. hfs has 3,915 stars, 371 forks, 17 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Files leads on adoption by 1,065% (45,620 vs 3,915 stars). Files is written in C# under MIT; hfs is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. Files has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, hfs 9%. Files 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
| Files | hfs | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 3.9K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C# | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-22 | 2026-09-22 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 371 |
| 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 hfs if
- You want the hfs feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and hfs 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 hfs
HFS is a TypeScript web file server under the GPL 3.0 licence that turns a computer running Windows, Linux, macOS, FreeBSD or Android into a file sharing server whose folders and individual files are reachable from any browser.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Files or hfs more popular?
Files has 45,620 GitHub stars and hfs has 3,915. Files has the larger community by that measure.
Are Files and hfs free?
Both are open source. Files is licensed under MIT and hfs under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Files and hfs?
Files is written in C# and hfs in TypeScript. 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 hfs?
Choose Files if you want the larger community (45,620 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose hfs if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.