head to head · open source
Files vs vifm
Files has 45,762 GitHub stars, 2,945 forks, 458 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. vifm has 3,279 stars, 146 forks, 146 open issues and last shipped 24 days ago. Files leads on adoption by 1,296% (45,762 vs 3,279 stars). Files is written in C# under MIT; vifm is written in C under GPL-2.0. Files has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, vifm 4%. 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 | vifm | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 3.3K |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | C# | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-24 | 2026-09-07 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 146 |
| 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 vifm if
- You want the vifm feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and vifm 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 vifm
Vifm is a curses based, Vim like file manager for the terminal that gives people who already use Vim complete keyboard control over their files without having to learn a new set of commands.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Files or vifm more popular?
Files has 45,762 GitHub stars and vifm has 3,279. Files has the larger community by that measure.
Are Files and vifm free?
Both are open source. Files is licensed under MIT and vifm under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Files and vifm?
Files is written in C# and vifm 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 vifm?
Choose Files if you want the larger community (45,762 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose vifm if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.