Best Open-Source File Servers

A file server is a system exposed to a network (or the internet) that acts as a centralized hub for storing, managing, and sharing digital files such as documents, images, and videos across multiple users.

Below are some powerful and feature-rich open-source file servers that are easy to self-host.

1. Copyparty 🎉

Copyparty is a highly flexible file server that can turn almost any device into a powerful file-sharing system.

Key Features

Can run on nearly any device, even low-powered hardware
Supports resumable uploads and downloads directly from the browser
Multiple protocol support:
- HTTP / HTTPS
- WebDAV
- SFTP
- FTP / FTPS
- TFTP
- SMB / CIFS
Built-in image previews
On-demand music playback
Video streaming support
Advanced indexing and multimedia scanning

GitHub: https://github.com/9001/copyparty
Feature showcase: https://youtu.be/15_-hgsX2V0

Docker Setup

⚠️ If you're using host-path volumes, ensure the container user has proper read, write, and execute permissions on the mounted directory.

docker-compose.yaml

1services:
2  copyparty:
3    container_name: copyparty
4    image: copyparty/ac:latest
5    user: "1000:1000"
6    ports:
7      - 3939:3939
8    volumes:
9      - ./cfg:/cfg
10      - /data/copy-party:/data
11    security_opt:
12      - no-new-privileges:true

cfg/copyparty.cfg

1[accounts]
2  admin:changeme  # username:password for creating accounts
3
4[global]
5  e2dsa  # enable file indexing and filesystem scanning
6  e2ts   # enable multimedia indexing
7  ansi   # enable colors in log messages (both in logfiles and stdout)
8
9  # q, lo: /cfg/log/%Y-%m%d.log   # log to file instead of docker
10
11  # p: 3939          # listen on another port
12  # ipa: 10.89.      # only allow connections from 10.89.*
13  # ipa: 172.16.4.0/23  # ...or only 172.16.4.* and 172.16.5.*
14  # ipa: lan         # ...or allow LAN only; reject internet IPs
15  # df: 16           # stop accepting uploads if less than 16 GB free disk space
16  # ver              # show copyparty version in the controlpanel
17  # grid             # show thumbnails/grid-view by default
18  # theme: 2         # monokai
19  # name: datasaver  # change the server-name that's displayed in the browser
20  # stats, nos-dup   # enable the prometheus endpoint, but disable the dupes counter (too slow)
21  # no-robots, force-js  # make it harder for search engines to read your server
22  # cloudflared setup flags
23  # xff-hdr: cf-connecting-ip
24  # xff-src: 172.18.0.0/16
25  # rproxy: 1
26
27[/]
28  /data
29  accs:
30    rwmda: admin # giving read, write, move and delete permissions to the admin user for the /data directory

2. Dufs

Dufs is a lightweight file server with a clean and intuitive interface.

Key Features

Minimal and user-friendly UI
Supports resumable uploads and downloads
Built-in authentication and access control
Simple configuration

GitHub: https://github.com/sigoden/dufs

Docker Setup

docker-compose.yaml

1services:
2  dufs:
3    image: sigoden/dufs
4    ports:
5      - 5000:5000
6    volumes:
7      - dufs_data:/data
8    command: /data -A
9    environment:
10      - DUFS_AUTH=admin:admin@/:rw
11      - DUFS_ALLOW_ALL=true
12    security_opt:
13      - no-new-privileges:true

3. Filebrowser

Filebrowser is a web-based file manager with a very clean and polished interface.

Key Features

Modern and clean UI
Upload, download, move, and delete files and folders
Role-based access control

GitHub: https://github.com/filebrowser/filebrowser

Docker Setup

docker-compose.yaml

1services:
2  backup:
3    image: filebrowser/filebrowser
4    container_name: filebrowser
5    ports:
6      - 3000:80
7    volumes:
8      - filebrowser_data:/srv
9      - filebrowser_database:/database
10      - filebrowser_config:/config
11    security_opt:
12      - no-new-privileges:true

Best Open-Source File Servers

1. Copyparty 🎉

Key Features

Docker Setup

2. Dufs

Key Features

Docker Setup

3. Filebrowser

Key Features

Docker Setup

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