head to head · open source
tinyfilemanager vs bb
tinyfilemanager has 5,977 GitHub stars, 1,814 forks, 308 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. bb has 3,946 stars, 553 forks, 463 open issues and last shipped yesterday. tinyfilemanager leads on adoption by 51% (5,977 vs 3,946 stars). tinyfilemanager is written in PHP under GPL-3.0; bb is written in TypeScript under MIT. tinyfilemanager has attracted 30% as many forks as stars, bb 14%. bb 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
| tinyfilemanager | bb | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 6.0K | ★ 3.9K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | PHP | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-07-20 | 2026-09-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 553 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick tinyfilemanager if
- You weight community size — 6.0K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick bb if
- You want the bb feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and bb fits your workflow better
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 →
About bb
bb is the agent IDE that builds itself: an MIT licensed TypeScript application that lets developers drive coding agents from a desktop app, a web app, a CLI, or an HTTP API, and extend the tool itself while it runs.
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Frequently asked questions
Is tinyfilemanager or bb more popular?
tinyfilemanager has 5,977 GitHub stars and bb has 3,946. tinyfilemanager has the larger community by that measure.
Are tinyfilemanager and bb free?
Both are open source. tinyfilemanager is licensed under GPL-3.0 and bb under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between tinyfilemanager and bb?
tinyfilemanager is written in PHP and bb 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, tinyfilemanager or bb?
Choose tinyfilemanager if you want the larger community (5,977 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose bb if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.