Open-source file sharing tools and BitTorrent clients

Ways to send files to other people without a commercial transfer service: peer-to-peer BitTorrent clients and a server that turns an upload into a download link.

14 open-source projects, checked against GitHub on 12 November 2026.

All 14 file sharing projects

Showing all 14, ordered by health score.

  1. 91 Active
    qBittorrent

    qBittorrent BitTorrent client

    GPL-3.0 relicensed 2022
    Setup
    Builds
    Stars
    41.5k
    Release
    20 October 2026
  2. 78 Active
    Zipline

    A ShareX/file upload server that is easy to use, packed with features, and with an easy setup!

    MIT
    Setup
    2 of 5
    Stars
    3.5k
    Release
    8 November 2026
  3. 77 Active
    DashBeam

    Share files nearby and beyond.

    AGPL-3.0
    Setup
    1 of 5
    Stars
    10.3k
    Release
    14 October 2026
  4. 73 Active
    ProjectSend

    Share files with your clients, from your own server. Free, open source (GPLv2), self-hosted — or use ProjectSend Cloud, the official hosted version run by the same team.

    GPL-2.0 CLA
    Setup
    4 of 5
    Stars
    2.1k
    Release
    9 November 2026
  5. 72 Active
    slskd

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

    AGPL-3.0
    Setup
    Docker
    Stars
    4.3k
    Release
    23 October 2026
  6. 69 Active
    OnionShare

    Securely and anonymously share files, host websites, and chat with friends using the Tor network

    GPL-3.0 paid features in repo
    Setup
    Builds
    Stars
    7.2k
    Release
    7 November 2026
  7. 68 Active
    Plik

    Plik is a temporary file upload system (Wetransfer like) in Go.

    MIT
    Setup
    Docker
    Stars
    1.8k
    Release
    21 October 2026
  8. 66 Active
    Transmission

    Official Transmission BitTorrent client repository

    GPL-3.0
    Setup
    Builds
    Stars
    15.4k
    Release
    24 October 2026
  9. 66 Active
    pyLoad

    The free and open-source Download Manager written in pure Python

    AGPL-3.0
    Setup
    Docker
    Stars
    3.9k
    Release
    1 January 2026
  10. 62 Active
    PicoShare

    A minimalist, easy-to-host service for sharing images and other files

    AGPL-3.0 CLA
    Setup
    Docker
    Stars
    3.1k
    Release
    26 May 2026
  11. 59 Active
    Gokapi

    Lightweight selfhosted Firefox Send alternative without public upload. AWS S3 supported.

    AGPL-3.0
    Setup
    1 of 5
    Stars
    3k
    Release
    10 March 2026
  12. 53 Active
    Chibisafe

    Blazing fast file vault written in TypeScript!

    MIT
    Setup
    3 of 5
    Stars
    2.8k
    Release
    22 October 2026
  13. 53 Active
    PsiTransfer

    Simple open source self-hosted file sharing solution.

    BSD-2-Clause
    Setup
    Docker
    Stars
    2k
    Release
    10 November 2026
  14. 49 Active
    transfer.sh

    Easy and fast file sharing from the command-line.

    MIT
    Setup
    Docker
    Stars
    15.9k
    Release
    4 December 2023

Our picks by use case

  • A desktop torrent client on every system

    qBittorrent offers the same Qt application on Linux, Windows and macOS, with PGP-signed releases and an interface in 48 languages.

  • Downloads on a NAS or server

    Transmission runs as a headless daemon controlled through a web UI or transmission-remote, and also comes as a native macOS app.

  • Sending a file with one command

    transfer.sh accepts uploads from curl and returns a link that can expire after a set number of downloads or days.

  • Making and inspecting torrent files

    Transmission ships transmission-create, transmission-edit and transmission-show for working with .torrent files from the shell.

How to choose a file sharing tool

BitTorrent spreads a large file across everyone downloading it, and each peer shares the load. A link-based server is simpler for one file and one recipient, but all traffic passes through your machine.

Peer-to-peer or a link

With qBittorrent or Transmission, the person receiving the file needs a BitTorrent client as well. transfer.sh only needs a browser or curl on the other side, which is easier for colleagues but routes every byte through your server.

Desktop or headless

qBittorrent is a desktop application with official builds for the three major systems. Transmission comes in more forms: GTK and Qt apps, a native Mac app and a daemon for servers and routers that you manage from a browser.

Storage and expiry

transfer.sh can keep uploads on local disk, Amazon S3 or compatible services such as MinIO, Google Drive or Storj. Download limits and retention days are set per upload through request headers, and each upload gets its own deletion URL.

Security before going public

The transfer.sh README warns that its IP filters and HTTP auth can be bypassed by spoofing the X-Forwarded-For header, so read that issue before opening a server to the internet. qBittorrent has signed its source tarballs and binaries with a PGP key since version 3.3.4.

License

qBittorrent, Transmission and transfer.sh are OSI open source with nothing sold separately. transfer.sh is MIT, while qBittorrent and Transmission are GPL with an exception that allows linking to OpenSSL. qBittorrent's binaries moved from GPL-2.0 to GPL-3.0 in September 2022.

Drafted with AI from the projects’ READMEs and our data, then checked against that data on 7 November 2026. Report a correction

Which of these are really open source?

Fully open source (13)OSI-approved license, no paid parts in the repository
qBittorrent, transfer.sh, Transmission, DashBeam, slskd, pyLoad, Zipline, PicoShare, Gokapi, Chibisafe, ProjectSend, PsiTransfer, Plik
Open source with paid parts (1)OSI license, but some features are under commercial terms
OnionShare
Not OSI open source (0)Code is public, use is restricted
None
License changesNewest first
qBittorrent: GPL-2.0 → GPL-3.0, 2022

Read automatically from each repository’s license files every day. How we read licenses

Questions about open-source file sharing

What are the most popular open-source file sharing projects?

By GitHub stars: qBittorrent (41.5k), transfer.sh (15.9k), Transmission (15.4k). By our health score, the most actively maintained are qBittorrent (91), Zipline (78), DashBeam (77).

Which file sharing projects are fully open source?

13 of the 14 use an OSI-approved license with no paid parts in the repository, including qBittorrent, transfer.sh, Transmission.

Which are the easiest to self-host?

Judged by the services in their compose files, DashBeam, Zipline, Gokapi need the least setup.

Which projects have changed their license?

qBittorrent (to GPL-3.0 in 2022). Each project page links to the commit that made the change.

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