Flying Carpet vs Magic Wormhole
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted file sync & storage options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Flying Carpet | Magic Wormhole |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 96 · Excellent |
| Category | File Sync & Storage | File Sync & Storage |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Rust | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | binary, bare-metal | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,322 | ★ 22,946 |
| First released | 2017 | 2016 |
| Replaces | AirDrop, Snapdrop | WeTransfer, AirDrop |
What are Flying Carpet and Magic Wormhole?
Flying Carpet
Flying Carpet is an open source application that transfers files directly between two computers or phones over an ad hoc wireless connection, without needing a router or internet access. It supports Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS.
- Direct device-to-device transfer
- No router or internet needed
- Encrypted file transfer
- Five-platform support
Magic Wormhole
Magic Wormhole is a library and CLI tool for securely transferring files and directories between computers. It uses short human-pronounceable codes and PAKE encryption for safe transfers.
- PAKE-based encryption
- Human-readable transfer codes
- Self-hostable relay and mailbox
Flying Carpet vs Magic Wormhole: key differences
Flying Carpet is written in Rust, while Magic Wormhole is built with Python. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Flying Carpet versus MIT for Magic Wormhole. Magic Wormhole is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Flying Carpet. Magic Wormhole has the considerably larger community, at 22,946 GitHub stars versus 5,322.
Why pick each one
Choose Flying Carpet if…
- Works fully offline
- Cross-platform including mobile
Watch out for
- Two-device transfers only
- Setup varies by OS
Choose Magic Wormhole if…
- Dead-simple pairing codes
- End-to-end encrypted
- No account needed
Watch out for
- Terminal-based workflow
- Both ends online simultaneously
Frequently asked questions
Is Flying Carpet or Magic Wormhole better?
Neither is universally better. Magic Wormhole has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Flying Carpet and Magic Wormhole free and open-source?
Yes. Flying Carpet is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Magic Wormhole under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Flying Carpet and Magic Wormhole with Docker?
Flying Carpet: check the project docs for container support. Magic Wormhole: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Flying Carpet or Magic Wormhole?
Magic Wormhole has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Flying Carpet. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.