head to head · open source
Onlook vs tinyfilemanager
Onlook has 26,766 GitHub stars, 2,106 forks, 380 open issues and last shipped 26 days ago. tinyfilemanager has 5,980 stars, 1,813 forks, 308 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. Onlook leads on adoption by 348% (26,766 vs 5,980 stars). Onlook is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; tinyfilemanager is written in PHP under GPL-3.0. Onlook has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, tinyfilemanager 30%. Onlook 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
| Onlook | tinyfilemanager | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 27K | ★ 6.0K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-08-25 | 2026-07-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.1K | ⑂ 1.8K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Onlook if
- You weight community size — 27K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick tinyfilemanager if
- You want the tinyfilemanager feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and tinyfilemanager fits your workflow better
About Onlook
Onlook is an open source, Apache 2.0 visual editor for Next.js and TailwindCSS projects that lets designers and developers edit a running React app in the browser while the underlying code changes in real time.
read the full Onlook overview →
About tinyfilemanager
Tiny File Manager is a single file, zero configuration PHP web application that gives you a browser based file manager, uploader, archive tool and code editor from one tinyfilemanager.php script dropped into any web directory.
read the full tinyfilemanager overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Onlook or tinyfilemanager more popular?
Onlook has 26,766 GitHub stars and tinyfilemanager has 5,980. Onlook has the larger community by that measure.
Are Onlook and tinyfilemanager free?
Both are open source. Onlook is licensed under Apache-2.0 and tinyfilemanager under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Onlook and tinyfilemanager?
Onlook is written in TypeScript and tinyfilemanager in PHP. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Onlook or tinyfilemanager?
Choose Onlook if you want the larger community (26,766 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose tinyfilemanager if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.