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12 picks · data-backed ranking

Best open source apps written in C#

The best self-hosted apps written in C# are Jellyfin, Bitwarden and Sonarr. Jellyfin leads with 58,727 GitHub stars.

Candidates: the 30 apps whose main GitHub language is C#.

Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed daily

Top picks

  1. Rank 1:

    Jellyfin

    jellyfin/jellyfin

    Media server for audio, video, books, comics, and photos with a sleek interface and robust transcoding capabilities. Almost all modern platforms have clients, including Roku, Android TV, iOS, and…

    Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026

    FeaturedMedia ServersC#Docker

    Stands out for the most GitHub stars. Jellyfin has 58,727 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in C# and had 2,208 commits in the last year; it replaces Plex and Netflix.

  2. Rank 2:

    Bitwarden

    bitwarden/server

    Password manager with a webapp, browser extension, and mobile app.

    Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026

    Password ManagersC#Docker

    Stands out for the most recent release (v2026.10.1, October 2026). Bitwarden has 20,499 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in C# and had 1,729 commits in the last year; it replaces Bitwarden and 1Password.

  3. Rank 3:

    Sonarr

    Sonarr/Sonarr

    Automatic TV Shows downloader and manager for Usenet and BitTorrent. It can grab, sort and rename new episodes and automatically upgrade the quality of files already downloaded when a better quality…

    Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026

    Media ManagementC#Docker

    Stands out for the longest track record (since 2011). Sonarr has 17,471 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in C# and had 817 commits in the last year.

At a glance

Open source apps written in C# compared

Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

Top 10 picks compared, data as of Oct 28, 2026
AppStands out forLicenseGitHub starsCommits (12 mo)Last commitDocker image
Jellyfinthe most GitHub starsGPL-2.058,7272,208Oct 28, 2026Yes
Bitwardenthe most recent release (v2026.10.1, October 2026)AGPL-3.020,4991,729Oct 28, 2026Yes
Sonarrthe longest track record (since 2011)GPL-3.017,471817Oct 28, 2026Yes
Duplicatithe most commits in the last 12 months (2,792)MIT15,1722,792Oct 27, 2026Yes
Technitium DNS Server–GPL-3.010,238755Oct 24, 2026Yes
Kavita–GPL-3.011,956384Oct 27, 2026Yes
Radarr–GPL-3.014,667188Oct 28, 2026Yes
BTCPay Server–MIT7,860878Oct 28, 2026No
slskd–AGPL-3.04,2101,249Oct 27, 2026Yes
Prowlarr–GPL-3.07,459174Oct 27, 2026Yes

Full ranking

All 12 picks, ranked

Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

  1. 1

    Jellyfin

    Media server for audio, video, books, comics, and photos with a sleek interface and robust transcoding capabilities. Almost all modern platforms have clients, including Roku, Android TV, iOS, and…

    Stands out for the most GitHub stars. Jellyfin has 58,727 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in C# and had 2,208 commits in the last year; it replaces Plex and Netflix.

  2. 2

    Bitwarden

    Password manager with a webapp, browser extension, and mobile app.

    Stands out for the most recent release (v2026.10.1, October 2026). Bitwarden has 20,499 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in C# and had 1,729 commits in the last year; it replaces Bitwarden and 1Password.

  3. 3

    Sonarr

    Automatic TV Shows downloader and manager for Usenet and BitTorrent. It can grab, sort and rename new episodes and automatically upgrade the quality of files already downloaded when a better quality…

    Stands out for the longest track record (since 2011). Sonarr has 17,471 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in C# and had 817 commits in the last year.

  4. 4

    Duplicati

    Free backup software that stores encrypted, incremental backups on cloud storage and servers.

    Stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (2,792). Duplicati has 15,172 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image, is written in C# and had 2,792 commits in the last year.

  5. 5

    Technitium DNS Server

    Authoritative/recursive DNS server with ad blocking functionality.

    Technitium DNS Server has 10,238 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in C# and had 755 commits in the last year.

  6. 6

    Kavita

    Cross-platform e-book/manga/comic/pdf server and web reader with user management, ratings and reviews, and metadata support.

    Kavita has 11,956 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in C# and had 384 commits in the last year; it replaces Kindle and Calibre Cloud.

  7. 7

    Radarr

    Automatically download movies via Usenet and BitTorrent (fork of Sonarr).

    Radarr has 14,667 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in C# and had 188 commits in the last year.

  8. 8

    BTCPay Server

    Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies payment processor.

    BTCPay Server has 7,860 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, is written in C# and had 878 commits in the last year.

  9. 9

    slskd

    A modern client-server application for the Soulseek file sharing network.

    slskd has 4,210 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in C# and had 1,249 commits in the last year.

  10. 10

    Prowlarr

    Indexer manager and proxy that integrates with Sonarr, Radarr and Lidarr.

    Prowlarr has 7,459 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in C# and had 174 commits in the last year.

  11. 11

    Umbraco

    The friendly CMS. Free and open source with an amazing community.

    Umbraco has 5,278 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, is written in C# and had 2,926 commits in the last year.

  12. 12

    Ombi

    Content request system for Plex/Emby, connects to SickRage, CouchPotato, Sonarr, with a growing feature set.

    Ombi has 4,109 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in C# and had 355 commits in the last year.

FAQ

Questions and answers

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

Is Jellyfin free?

Yes. Jellyfin is open-source software released under the GPL-2.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.

Can I self-host these apps with Docker?

Yes, 10 of the 12 picks. Jellyfin, Bitwarden and Sonarr publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose. The others install from their own packages or source; follow each project's install guide.

Are all of these apps open source?

All 12 apps on this list are open source. You can self-host and modify each one under its license.

Which of these apps is the most actively developed?

Umbraco, with 2,926 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, release-18.2.2, from October 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.

How is this list ranked?

Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

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