head to head · open source
Files vs zrok
Files has 45,547 GitHub stars, 2,920 forks, 458 open issues and last shipped today. zrok has 4,711 stars, 224 forks, 125 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. Files leads on adoption by 867% (45,547 vs 4,711 stars). Files is written in C# under MIT; zrok is written in Go under Apache-2.0. Files has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, zrok 5%. 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 | zrok | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 4.7K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | C# | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-06-22 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 224 |
| 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 zrok if
- You want the zrok feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and zrok 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 zrok
zrok is an open source, Apache 2.0 licensed secure sharing tool written in Go that lets developers, operators, and self hosters expose web services, folders, and TCP or UDP resources over the internet or to specific users without firewall changes or port forwarding.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Files or zrok more popular?
Files has 45,547 GitHub stars and zrok has 4,711. Files has the larger community by that measure.
Are Files and zrok free?
Both are open source. Files is licensed under MIT and zrok under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Files and zrok?
Files is written in C# and zrok 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 zrok?
Choose Files if you want the larger community (45,547 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose zrok if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.