head to head · open source
ranger vs nging
ranger has 17,418 GitHub stars, 940 forks, 896 open issues and last shipped 29 days ago. nging has 1,594 stars, 223 forks, 13 open issues and last shipped 16 days ago. ranger leads on adoption by 993% (17,418 vs 1,594 stars). ranger is written in Python under GPL-3.0; nging is written in Go under AGPL-3.0. ranger has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, nging 14%. nging 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
| ranger | nging | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 17K | ★ 1.6K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-09 | 2026-09-22 |
| Forks | ⑂ 940 | ⑂ 223 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ranger if
- You weight community size — 17K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick nging if
- You want the nging feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and nging fits your workflow better
About ranger
Ranger is a console file manager with VI key bindings, written in Python and released under the GNU General Public License version 3, for terminal users who want to browse, preview, and manipulate files without leaving a Unix shell.
read the full ranger overview →
About nging
Nging is a self hosted website server administration panel written in Go for sysadmins and self hosters who need to manage Caddy and Nginx sites, databases, scheduled tasks, and network tooling from one web interface across Windows, Linux, macOS, and ARM devices.
read the full nging overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ranger or nging more popular?
ranger has 17,418 GitHub stars and nging has 1,594. ranger has the larger community by that measure.
Are ranger and nging free?
Both are open source. ranger is licensed under GPL-3.0 and nging under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ranger and nging?
ranger is written in Python and nging 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, ranger or nging?
Choose ranger if you want the larger community (17,418 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose nging if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.