head to head · open source
yazi vs File-Manager
yazi has 42,620 GitHub stars, 1,040 forks, 65 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. File-Manager has 1,791 stars, 129 forks, 98 open issues and last shipped today. yazi leads on adoption by 2,280% (42,620 vs 1,791 stars). yazi is written in Rust under MIT; File-Manager is written in Kotlin under GPL-3.0. yazi has attracted 2% as many forks as stars, File-Manager 7%. File-Manager was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (android, 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
| yazi | File-Manager | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 43K | ★ 1.8K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Rust | Kotlin |
| Last push | 2026-10-03 | 2026-10-05 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.0K | ⑂ 129 |
| 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 File-Manager if
- You want the File-Manager feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- You evaluated both and File-Manager 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 File-Manager
Fossify File Manager is an open source, ad free Android file manager for users who want to browse, organise, lock and clean up their device's storage without handing their file access to an advertising funded app.
read the full File-Manager overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is yazi or File-Manager more popular?
yazi has 42,620 GitHub stars and File-Manager has 1,791. yazi has the larger community by that measure.
Are yazi and File-Manager free?
Both are open source. yazi is licensed under MIT and File-Manager under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between yazi and File-Manager?
yazi is written in Rust and File-Manager in Kotlin. 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 File-Manager?
Choose yazi if you want the larger community (42,620 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose File-Manager if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.