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10 top picks · 1 audience ranking

Best open source file sharing apps

The best open source file sharing app is qBittorrent, with 40,592 GitHub stars and the GPL-2.0 license; Transmission and slskd are strong alternatives. This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: qBittorrent leads for freelancers. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 35 apps in the file sharing category of the appsgit catalog.

Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed nightly

Top picks

  1. Rank 1:

    qBittorrent

    qbittorrent/qBittorrent

    Free cross-platform bittorrent client with a feature rich Web UI for remote access.

    File SharingC++

    qBittorrent has 40,592 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 460 commits in the last year.

  2. Rank 2:

    Transmission

    transmission/transmission

    Fast, easy, free Bittorrent client.

    File SharingC++

    Transmission has 15,282 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license and had 566 commits in the last year.

  3. Rank 3:

    slskd

    slskd/slskd

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

    File SharingC#Docker

    slskd has 4,010 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,056 commits in the last year.

1 of 2 · 10 picks

Top picks

10 of the 35 apps in the file sharing category, ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    qBittorrent

    Free cross-platform bittorrent client with a feature rich Web UI for remote access.

    qBittorrent has 40,592 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 460 commits in the last year.

  2. 2

    Transmission

    Fast, easy, free Bittorrent client.

    Transmission has 15,282 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license and had 566 commits in the last year.

  3. 3

    slskd

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

    slskd has 4,010 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,056 commits in the last year.

  4. 4

    transfer.sh

    Easy file sharing from the command line.

    transfer.sh has 15,897 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 10 commits in the last year.

  5. 5

    Yopass

    Secure sharing of secrets, passwords and files.

    Yopass has 3,164 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,051 commits in the last year; it replaces Pastebin.

  6. 6

    Zipline

    A lightweight, fast and reliable file sharing server that is commonly used with ShareX, offering a react-based Web UI and fast API.

    Zipline has 3,441 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 312 commits in the last year; it replaces Imgur.

  7. 7

    OnionShare

    Securely and anonymously share a file of any size.

    OnionShare has 7,122 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license and had 170 commits in the last year.

  8. 8

    Plik

    Scalable and friendly temporary file upload system.

    Plik has 1,825 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 581 commits in the last year.

  9. 9

    Gokapi

    Lightweight server to share files, which expire after a set amount of downloads or days. Similar to the discontinued Firefox Send, with the difference that only the admin is allowed to upload files.

    Gokapi has 2,895 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 144 commits in the last year.

  10. 10

    PicoShare

    Minimalist, easy-to-host service for sharing images and other files.

    PicoShare has 3,045 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 97 commits in the last year.

2 of 2 · 5 picks

Best for freelancers

Ranked for freelancers on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    qBittorrent

    Free cross-platform bittorrent client with a feature rich Web UI for remote access.

    qBittorrent has 40,592 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 460 commits in the last year. For freelancers it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    slskd

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

    slskd has 4,010 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,056 commits in the last year. For freelancers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    Transmission

    Fast, easy, free Bittorrent client.

    Transmission has 15,282 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license and had 566 commits in the last year. For freelancers it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    transfer.sh

    Easy file sharing from the command line.

    transfer.sh has 15,897 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 10 commits in the last year. For freelancers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    Yopass

    Secure sharing of secrets, passwords and files.

    Yopass has 3,164 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,051 commits in the last year; it replaces Pastebin. For freelancers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

FAQ

Questions and answers

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

What is the best open source file sharing app?

The best open source file sharing app is qBittorrent, with 40,592 GitHub stars and the GPL-2.0 license; Transmission and slskd are strong alternatives. This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: qBittorrent leads for freelancers. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 35 apps in the file sharing category of the appsgit catalog.

Is qBittorrent free?

Yes. qBittorrent 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.

Which open source file sharing app is best for a freelancer?

qBittorrent ranks first for freelancers, with 40,592 GitHub stars and the GPL-2.0 license; slskd and Transmission follow. The freelancers ranking adds points for Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits on top of stars and activity.

Can I self-host these file sharing apps with Docker?

Yes, 7 of the 10 picks. slskd, transfer.sh and Yopass 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 file sharing apps open source?

All 10 apps on this list are open source. You can self-host and modify each one under its license.

Which of these file sharing apps is the most actively developed?

slskd, with 1,056 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, 0.26.0, from July 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.

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