Gokapi vs rustypaste
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted file sync & storage options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Gokapi | rustypaste |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 84 · Excellent | 83 · Excellent |
| Category | File Sync & Storage | File Sync & Storage |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,881 | ★ 1,207 |
| First released | 2021 | 2021 |
| Replaces | WeTransfer, Firefox Send | WeTransfer, Imgur |
What are Gokapi and rustypaste?
Gokapi
Gokapi is a minimalist file sharing server inspired by Firefox Send. It lets you upload files and generate download links that can expire after a set time or number of downloads.
- Expiring download links
- End-to-end encryption option
- AWS S3 storage support
rustypaste
rustypaste is a minimal self-hosted file upload and pastebin service written in Rust. It supports expiring uploads, one-shot files, and command-line usage with curl.
- One-shot expiring uploads
- Curl-friendly API
- Minimal resource usage
Gokapi vs rustypaste: key differences
Gokapi is written in Go, while rustypaste is built with Rust. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Gokapi versus MIT for rustypaste. Rustypaste is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 64 MB for Gokapi. Gokapi has the considerably larger community, at 2,881 GitHub stars versus 1,207.
Why pick each one
Choose Gokapi if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.9k GitHub stars)
Choose rustypaste if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Gokapi or rustypaste better?
Neither is universally better. Gokapi has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Gokapi and rustypaste free and open-source?
Yes. Gokapi is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and rustypaste under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Gokapi and rustypaste with Docker?
Gokapi: yes. rustypaste: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Gokapi or rustypaste?
rustypaste has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 64 MB for Gokapi. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.