Filestash vs Samvera Hyrax
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted document management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Filestash
Web-based file manager and document gateway
VS
Samvera Hyrax
Front-end for the Samvera framework, which itself is a Ruby on Rails
| Feature | Filestash | Samvera Hyrax |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Document Management | Document Management |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, bare-metal | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 14,451 | ★ 202 |
| First released | 2017 | 2026 |
| Replaces | Dropbox, SharePoint | — |
Why pick each one
Choose Samvera Hyrax if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Written in Ruby
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Filestash or Samvera Hyrax better?
Filestash is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Samvera Hyrax if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Filestash and Samvera Hyrax free and open-source?
Yes. Filestash is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Samvera Hyrax under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Filestash and Samvera Hyrax with Docker?
Filestash: yes. Samvera Hyrax: check the project docs for container support.