head to head · open source
Files vs xplr
Files has 45,642 GitHub stars, 2,936 forks, 458 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. xplr has 4,828 stars, 96 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Files leads on adoption by 845% (45,642 vs 4,828 stars). Files is written in C# under MIT; xplr is written in Rust under MIT. Files has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, xplr 2%. Files was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (developer-tools, 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 | xplr | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 4.8K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | C# | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-23 | 2026-09-23 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 96 |
| 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 xplr if
- You want the xplr feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and xplr 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 xplr
xplr is a hackable, minimal and fast terminal UI file explorer, written in Rust and released under the MIT licence, for command line users who want a scriptable, keyboard controlled visual layer over the filesystem utilities they already run.
More in Productivity & Utilities
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Frequently asked questions
Is Files or xplr more popular?
Files has 45,642 GitHub stars and xplr has 4,828. Files has the larger community by that measure.
Are Files and xplr free?
Both are open source. Files is licensed under MIT and xplr under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Files and xplr?
Files is written in C# and xplr in Rust. 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 xplr?
Choose Files if you want the larger community (45,642 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose xplr if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.