head to head · open source
Seafile vs Firefiles
Seafile has 15,414 GitHub stars, 1,674 forks, 94 open issues and last shipped 18 days ago. Firefiles has 370 stars, 59 forks, 14 open issues and last shipped 1.0 years ago. Seafile leads on adoption by 4,066% (15,414 vs 370 stars). Seafile is written in C under a custom or non-standard licence; Firefiles is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. Seafile has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Firefiles 16%. Seafile was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (cloud-storage), 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
| Seafile | Firefiles | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 370 |
| License | Custom / other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-16 | 2025-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.7K | ⑂ 59 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Seafile if
- You weight community size — 15K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Firefiles if
- You want the Firefiles feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Firefiles fits your workflow better
About Seafile
Introduction Seafile is an open source cloud storage system with privacy protection and teamwork features. Collections of files are called libraries. Each library can be synced separately. A library can also be encrypted with a user chosen password. Seafile also allows users to create groups and easily sharing files into groups. Beyond sync and share, Seafile provides advanced metadata management features and handy collaboration features. Feature Summary Seafile has the following features: File syncing 1. Selective sync for any folder. 2. Correctly handles file conflicts based on history instead of timestamp. 3…
read the full Seafile overview →
About Firefiles
Firefiles Join Discord: Description Firefiles is an open‑source alternative to Dropbox which lets you setup a cloud drive with the backend of your choice and lets you seamlessly manage your files across multiple providers. Features A modern file system interface for your storage buckets. Manage files in the browser. Easily download and share files. File previews. File tagging and filtering (if provider supports). AWS S3 support. Dark theme. Screenshots Tech Used Sponsor this project Firefiles is an open source project. If you want to support the project, you can do so by funding / sponsoring the project. Here…
read the full Firefiles overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Seafile or Firefiles more popular?
Seafile has 15,414 GitHub stars and Firefiles has 370. Seafile has the larger community by that measure.
Are Seafile and Firefiles free?
Both are open source. Seafile has no licence declared in this registry, and Firefiles is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Seafile and Firefiles?
Seafile is written in C and Firefiles in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Seafile or Firefiles?
Choose Seafile if you want the larger community (15,414 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Firefiles if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.