head to head · open source
LocalSend vs joshuto
LocalSend has 98,470 GitHub stars, 5,623 forks, 1,113 open issues and last shipped yesterday. joshuto has 3,744 stars, 164 forks, 102 open issues and last shipped 17 days ago. LocalSend leads on adoption by 2,530% (98,470 vs 3,744 stars). LocalSend is written in Dart under Apache-2.0; joshuto is written in Rust under LGPL-3.0. LocalSend has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, joshuto 4%. LocalSend 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
| LocalSend | joshuto | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 98K | ★ 3.7K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | LGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Dart | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-11 | 2026-10-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.6K | ⑂ 164 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick LocalSend if
- You weight community size — 98K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Dart
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick joshuto if
- You want the joshuto feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and joshuto fits your workflow better
About LocalSend
LocalSend [![CI status][ci badge]][ci workflow] [![Translations][translate badge]][translate link] [![Packaging status][packaging badge]][packaging link] [ci badge]: [ci workflow]: [translate badge]: [translate link]: [packaging badge]: [packaging link]: [Homepage][homepage] • [Discord][discord] • [GitHub][github] • [Codeberg][codeberg] English (Default) • 中文 [homepage]: [discord]: [github]: [codeberg]: LocalSend is a free, open source app that allows you to securely share files and messages with nearby devices over your local network without needing an internet connection. About Sponsors Screenshots Download…
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About joshuto
joshuto ranger like terminal file manager written in Rust. Dependencies cargo = 1.90 rustc = 1.90 xsel/xclip/wl clipboard (optional, for clipboard support) fzf (optional) zoxide (optional) Also see Cargo.toml Building Installation For single user For single user with cargo System wide From pre compiled binary Dependencies: curl openssl Latest release Installs the latest version using the default installation path ( $HOME/.local/bin/ ). nix { description = "My configuration"; inputs = { nixpkgs.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos unstable"; joshuto.url = "github:kamiyaa/joshuto"; }; outputs = { nixpkgs, joshuto…
read the full joshuto overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is LocalSend or joshuto more popular?
LocalSend has 98,470 GitHub stars and joshuto has 3,744. LocalSend has the larger community by that measure.
Are LocalSend and joshuto free?
Both are open source. LocalSend is licensed under Apache-2.0 and joshuto under LGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between LocalSend and joshuto?
LocalSend is written in Dart and joshuto 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, LocalSend or joshuto?
Choose LocalSend if you want the larger community (98,470 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose joshuto if its feature set, stack or LGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.