copyparty vs h5ai
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted file sync & storage options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
copyparty
Portable file server with accelerated resumable uploads
VS
h5ai
Modern HTTP web server index for browsing files
| Feature | copyparty | h5ai |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 23 · At risk |
| Category | File Sync & Storage | File Sync & Storage |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Python | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 46,774 | ★ 6,055 |
| First released | 2019 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Dropbox, Google Drive | Google Drive |
What are copyparty and h5ai?
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
h5ai
h5ai is a modern file indexer for HTTP web servers that provides a polished directory listing with previews, search, and multiple view modes. It enhances browsing of shared file directories.
- Polished directory listings
- File previews and search
- Multiple view modes
copyparty vs h5ai: key differences
Copyparty is written in Python, while h5ai is built with JavaScript. H5ai is the more established project (first released 2012), while copyparty arrived in 2019. Copyparty has the considerably larger community, at 46,774 GitHub stars versus 6,055. Copyparty lists first-class Docker deployment; h5ai does not.
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
Choose h5ai if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 6.1k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is copyparty or h5ai 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 h5ai free and open-source?
Yes. copyparty is licensed under MIT and h5ai under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run copyparty and h5ai with Docker?
copyparty: yes. h5ai: check the project docs for container support.