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copyparty vs File Browser

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted file sync & storage options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
copyparty Portable file server with accelerated resumable uploads VS File Browser Archived Lightweight web file manager for a directory
FeaturecopypartyFile Browser
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score100 · Excellent15 · At risk
StatusActively maintainedArchived
CategoryFile Sync & StorageFile Sync & Storage
LicenseMITApache-2.0
LanguagePythonGo
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM64 MB64 MB
Deploymentdocker, binarydocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 46,774★ 35,937
First released20192017
ReplacesDropbox, Google DriveDropbox

What are copyparty and File Browser?

copyparty

copyparty is a portable file server with features including resumable uploads, deduplication, WebDAV, FTP, and media indexing. It runs from a single Python file with no dependencies.

  • Accelerated resumable uploads
  • WebDAV, FTP, and TFTP support
  • Single-file Python deployment

Read the full copyparty guide →

File Browser

File Browser provides a clean web interface to manage files within a specified directory, supporting upload, download, sharing, and user accounts. It suits users who want simple browser-based access to a folder rather than a full sync platform. It ships as a single Go binary and a small Docker image.

  • Single-binary web file manager
  • User accounts and share links
  • Built-in editor and previews
  • Minimal resource usage

Read the full File Browser guide →

copyparty vs File Browser: key differences

The biggest difference is maintenance: File Browser's repository is archived and no longer developed, while copyparty is actively maintained. Copyparty is written in Python, while File Browser is built with Go. Licensing differs — MIT for copyparty versus Apache-2.0 for File Browser. File Browser is the more established project (first released 2017), while copyparty arrived in 2019.

Why pick each one

Choose copyparty if…

  • Single-file deployment
  • Fast resumable uploads
  • WebDAV and FTP built in

Watch out for

  • Unconventional interface
  • Many flags to learn
copyparty details

Choose File Browser if…

  • Extremely lightweight
  • Trivial to deploy
  • Good for quick file access

Watch out for

  • No sync client
  • Limited collaboration features
File Browser details

Frequently asked questions

Is copyparty or File Browser better?

Neither is universally better. copyparty has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are copyparty and File Browser free and open-source?

Yes. copyparty is licensed under MIT and File Browser under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run copyparty and File Browser with Docker?

copyparty: yes. File Browser: yes.

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