head to head · open source
yazi vs FarManager
yazi has 42,574 GitHub stars, 1,038 forks, 65 open issues and last shipped yesterday. FarManager has 2,232 stars, 248 forks, 156 open issues and last shipped yesterday. yazi leads on adoption by 1,807% (42,574 vs 2,232 stars). yazi is written in Rust under MIT; FarManager is written in C++ under BSD-3-Clause. yazi has attracted 2% as many forks as stars, FarManager 11%. FarManager was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (command-line, 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| yazi | FarManager | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 43K | ★ 2.2K |
| License | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| Written in | Rust | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-10-02 | 2026-10-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.0K | ⑂ 248 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick yazi if
- You weight community size — 43K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick FarManager if
- You want the FarManager feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and FarManager fits your workflow better
About yazi
Yazi is a terminal file manager written in Rust on non blocking async I/O, aimed at developers and command line users who want fast, customizable file browsing without leaving the terminal.
About FarManager
Far Manager is a text mode file and archive manager for Windows, built in C++ under a BSD 3 Clause licence, aimed at users and administrators who prefer a keyboard driven console interface for file operations and who want to extend the tool through plugins.
read the full FarManager overview →
More in Productivity & Utilities
Related comparisons
More File Management & Sync projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the File Management & Sync field.
Frequently asked questions
Is yazi or FarManager more popular?
yazi has 42,574 GitHub stars and FarManager has 2,232. yazi has the larger community by that measure.
Are yazi and FarManager free?
Both are open source. yazi is licensed under MIT and FarManager under BSD-3-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between yazi and FarManager?
yazi is written in Rust and FarManager 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, yazi or FarManager?
Choose yazi if you want the larger community (42,574 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose FarManager if its feature set, stack or BSD-3-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.