head to head · open source
Files vs nimble-commander
Files has 45,982 GitHub stars, 2,966 forks, 458 open issues and last shipped yesterday. nimble-commander has 746 stars, 57 forks, 34 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Files leads on adoption by 6,064% (45,982 vs 746 stars). Files is written in C# under MIT; nimble-commander is written in C++ under GPL-3.0. Files has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, nimble-commander 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 | nimble-commander | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 746 |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C# | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-10-14 | 2026-10-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 57 |
| 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 nimble-commander if
- You want the nimble-commander feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and nimble-commander 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 nimble-commander
Nimble Commander is a free, open source, dual pane file manager for macOS, aimed at Mac users who want keyboard driven navigation and the speed of classic file managers instead of the pointer first workflow of the Finder.
read the full nimble-commander overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Files or nimble-commander more popular?
Files has 45,982 GitHub stars and nimble-commander has 746. Files has the larger community by that measure.
Are Files and nimble-commander free?
Both are open source. Files is licensed under MIT and nimble-commander under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Files and nimble-commander?
Files is written in C# and nimble-commander 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, Files or nimble-commander?
Choose Files if you want the larger community (45,982 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose nimble-commander if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.