head to head · open source
Files vs superfile
Files has 45,524 GitHub stars, 2,918 forks, 458 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. superfile has 23,287 stars, 855 forks, 269 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Files leads on adoption by 95% (45,524 vs 23,287 stars). Files is written in C# under MIT; superfile is written in Go under MIT. Files has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, superfile 4%. superfile 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 | superfile | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 23K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | C# | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 855 |
| 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 superfile if
- You want the superfile feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and superfile 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 superfile
superfile is a modern terminal file manager, written in Go, that gives Linux, macOS and Windows users a full screen text user interface for browsing and managing files, aimed at developers and command line users who want more than typed shell commands.
read the full superfile overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Files or superfile more popular?
Files has 45,524 GitHub stars and superfile has 23,287. Files has the larger community by that measure.
Are Files and superfile free?
Both are open source. Files is licensed under MIT and superfile under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Files and superfile?
Files is written in C# and superfile 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 superfile?
Choose Files if you want the larger community (45,524 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose superfile if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.