Filestash vs OpenKM Community
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted document management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Filestash
Web-based file manager and document gateway
VS
OpenKM Community
Archived
Enterprise document management and content platform
| Feature | Filestash | OpenKM Community |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 93 · Excellent | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Document Management | Document Management |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 14,711 | ★ 849 |
| First released | 2017 | 2006 |
| Replaces | Dropbox, SharePoint | DocuWare, SharePoint |
What are Filestash and OpenKM Community?
Filestash
Filestash is an open-source web file manager that connects to many storage backends such as S3, SFTP, FTP, and WebDAV. It provides document viewing, organization, and editing through a single interface.
- Connects to many storage backends
- Document and media viewers
- Office document editing
- Lightweight single binary
OpenKM Community
OpenKM is an enterprise content management system with a community edition for storing and managing documents and records. It offers workflows, metadata, OCR, and granular security controls.
- Workflow automation
- Metadata and records management
- OCR and full-text search
- Fine-grained security
Filestash vs OpenKM Community: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: OpenKM Community's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Filestash is actively maintained. Filestash is written in Go, while OpenKM Community is built with Java. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Filestash versus GPL-2.0 for OpenKM Community. Filestash is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for OpenKM Community. OpenKM Community is the more established project (first released 2006), while Filestash arrived in 2017. Filestash has the considerably larger community, at 14,711 GitHub stars versus 849.
Why pick each one
Choose Filestash if…
- Unifies access to many backends
- Easy deployment
Watch out for
- Not a full archival DMS
- Some features require a license key
Choose OpenKM Community if…
- Comprehensive enterprise features
- Mature platform
Watch out for
- Heavy resource use
- Complex administration
Frequently asked questions
Is Filestash or OpenKM Community better?
Filestash is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider OpenKM Community if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Filestash and OpenKM Community free and open-source?
Yes. Filestash is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and OpenKM Community under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Filestash and OpenKM Community with Docker?
Filestash: yes. OpenKM Community: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Filestash or OpenKM Community?
Filestash has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for OpenKM Community. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.