head to head · open source
ranger vs Seafile
ranger has 17,448 GitHub stars, 940 forks, 896 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. Seafile has 15,418 stars, 1,675 forks, 94 open issues and last shipped 20 days ago. ranger leads on adoption by 13% (17,448 vs 15,418 stars). ranger is written in Python under GPL-3.0; Seafile is written in C under a custom or non-standard licence. ranger has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, Seafile 11%. Seafile 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
| ranger | Seafile | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 17K | ★ 15K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Python | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-09 | 2026-10-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 940 | ⑂ 1.7K |
| 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 Seafile if
- You want the Seafile feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and Seafile fits your workflow better
About ranger
Ranger 1.9.4 ============ Ranger is a console file manager with VI key bindings. It provides a minimalistic and nice curses interface with a view on the directory hierarchy. It ships with rifle , a file launcher that is good at automatically finding out which program to use for what file type. For mc aficionados there's also the multi pane viewmode. This file describes ranger and how to get it to run. For instructions on the usage, please read the man page ( man ranger in a terminal). See HACKING.md for development specific information. For configuration, check the files in ranger/config/ or copy the default…
read the full ranger overview →
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ranger or Seafile more popular?
ranger has 17,448 GitHub stars and Seafile has 15,418. ranger has the larger community by that measure.
Are ranger and Seafile free?
Both are open source. ranger is licensed under GPL-3.0, and Seafile has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between ranger and Seafile?
ranger is written in Python and Seafile in C. 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 Seafile?
Choose ranger if you want the larger community (17,448 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Seafile if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.