cPanel File Manager

Best Self Hosted Alternatives to cPanel File Manager

A curated collection of the 12 best self hosted alternatives to cPanel File Manager.

Web-based file management tool bundled with the cPanel hosting control panel. Provides uploading, downloading, editing, moving, compressing/extracting, and basic permissions/ownership management for website and server files via a browser interface.

Alternatives List

#1
File Browser

File Browser

File Browser is a lightweight web-based file manager to upload, download, edit, and organize files in a specified server directory with user authentication and management.

File Browser screenshot

File Browser is a single-binary web application that provides a browser-based interface for managing files within a configured server directory. It lets you securely access, upload, download, preview, and edit files through a clean web UI.

Key Features

  • Web-based file browsing and management within a specified root path
  • Upload, download, delete, rename, and move files and folders
  • In-browser preview and basic file editing
  • Authentication with an easy login flow
  • User management and permissions for controlled access
  • Custom commands and configurable behaviors for automation and workflows

Use Cases

  • Personal or team "private cloud" access to files on a home server or VPS
  • Lightweight web file manager for NAS folders, project assets, or shared documents
  • Remote file maintenance tasks such as quick edits, uploads, and folder organization

Limitations and Considerations

  • The project is in maintenance-only mode, with a focus on bug fixes and security rather than new features

File Browser is a practical choice when you want a simple, fast, and deploy-anywhere web file manager without a complex stack. Its single-binary approach and core file operations make it well-suited for straightforward file access and administration.

33kstars
3.6kforks
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#2
OpenMediaVault

OpenMediaVault

OpenMediaVault is a Debian-based network-attached storage (NAS) solution with a web UI, built-in file sharing services, and a modular plugin system for home and small office use.

OpenMediaVault screenshot

OpenMediaVault is a Debian-based network-attached storage (NAS) solution designed to simplify deploying and managing shared storage via a web administration interface. It bundles common storage and file-sharing services and can be extended through a modular plugin framework.

Key Features

  • Web-based administration for storage, users, permissions, and services
  • Built-in file transfer and sharing services such as SMB/CIFS, (S)FTP, rsync, and SSH
  • Modular plugin architecture to add features and integrations
  • Supports Linux software RAID management (mdadm) and common disk/filesystem workflows
  • Designed for home environments and small offices, while remaining flexible for other setups

Use Cases

  • Home NAS for centralized file storage and backups across multiple devices
  • Small office shared storage with user/group access controls and SMB shares
  • DIY server base for adding storage-related services through plugins

Limitations and Considerations

  • Intended to run as the primary OS with full control over system configuration; it is not designed to run inside a container
  • A graphical desktop environment is not meant to be installed alongside the NAS stack

OpenMediaVault provides an approachable NAS experience on top of Debian, combining a practical web UI with widely used network storage services. Its plugin ecosystem makes it a strong option for building a tailored storage server without extensive Linux administration expertise.

6.4kstars
557forks
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#3
FileBrowser Quantum

FileBrowser Quantum

Self-hosted web file browser to manage files, users, access control, sharing links, previews, and fast indexed search with real-time UI updates.

FileBrowser Quantum screenshot

FileBrowser Quantum is a self-hosted web-based file manager for accessing and managing files through a modern, responsive interface. It focuses on fast navigation and search, multi-source configuration, and flexible sharing and access controls.

Key Features

  • Web UI for browsing, uploading, downloading, renaming, and managing files and folders
  • Multiple configurable sources (mounts/paths) within a single instance
  • Indexed search with real-time results, filters, and UI updates as the filesystem changes
  • Directory-level access control scoped to users or groups
  • Share links with configurable expiration, audience (including anonymous), and permissions
  • Authentication options including OIDC, password login with 2FA, and proxy-based auth
  • Built-in API with support for long-lived API tokens and a Swagger endpoint
  • Media-friendly browsing with thumbnails and previews (including richer handling for common office/video/artwork scenarios)

Use Cases

  • Provide a simple web file portal for a server, NAS, or homelab storage
  • Securely share files and folders externally with expiring links and scoped permissions
  • Offer a lightweight, centrally managed file browsing UI for teams with SSO

Limitations and Considerations

  • Indexing is enabled by default and can increase memory usage on very large filesystems
  • Some features are still under development (for example jobs, metrics, tags, quotas, activity log)

FileBrowser Quantum is well-suited for users who want a fast, single-binary web file manager with strong access controls, modern UI, and powerful search. It is a fork with significant changes aimed at making installation, configuration, and day-to-day browsing more efficient.

6kstars
264forks
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#4
Tiny File Manager

Tiny File Manager

Tiny File Manager is a lightweight single-file PHP web file manager to upload, browse, edit, search, and manage files and folders directly from your browser.

Tiny File Manager screenshot

Tiny File Manager is a lightweight, single-file PHP application for managing files and folders through a web browser. It can be dropped into a server directory with minimal setup, providing a practical UI for basic file operations and quick edits.

Key Features

  • Single PHP file deployment with optional configuration file support
  • File and folder operations: upload, download, create, rename, copy, move, delete
  • Ajax uploads with drag-and-drop, multi-file upload, and URL-based upload
  • Built-in code editor (Cloud9/Ace-based) with syntax highlighting and themes
  • Multi-user support with per-user root directory mapping and session-based access control
  • Search and filtering for faster navigation in large directories
  • Archive management: create/extract ZIP and TAR archives
  • Optional controls such as IP allow/deny lists and basic backup capabilities

Use Cases

  • Quick server-side file maintenance and emergency edits without SSH access
  • Lightweight “personal cloud” style file access for small teams or internal tools
  • Temporary file upload and distribution area with browser-based management

Limitations and Considerations

  • Not intended for exposure on public/untrusted environments; harden access and remove after use when possible
  • Feature set and security model are intentionally simple compared to full-featured cloud storage platforms

Tiny File Manager is a convenient utility when you need a fast, low-dependency web file manager on a PHP host. It works best for controlled environments where simplicity and portability are more important than advanced collaboration features.

5.7kstars
1.8kforks
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#5
FileGator

FileGator

Self-hosted, open-source web file manager with multi-user access, roles, and chunked uploads. Manage local files or connect external storage like S3 via adapters.

FileGator screenshot

FileGator is a self-hosted, open-source web application for managing files and folders through a modern browser UI. It supports multiple users with roles and permissions and can work with local storage or external providers via storage adapters.

Key Features

  • Multi-user accounts with roles, permissions, and per-user home folders
  • Core file operations: upload, download, copy, move, rename, delete, create, edit, and preview
  • Chunked, resumable uploads with drag-and-drop and progress indication
  • Bulk download and on-the-fly ZIP/unzip support
  • Pluggable storage backends (local filesystem and third-party storage via adapters)
  • Designed to run without a mandatory database (depending on chosen adapters)

Use Cases

  • Provide a simple web-based alternative to FTP/SFTP for teams
  • Collect uploads from students, clients, or field workers into controlled folders
  • Manage and transfer files across local and supported cloud/object storage backends

Limitations and Considerations

  • Symlinks and file ownership changes (chown) are not supported in typical local adapter usage
  • Very large numbers of files in a single directory can reduce performance

FileGator is a practical solution for browser-based file administration and sharing with access control. It fits well for small to mid-sized deployments that need a lightweight, extensible file manager with optional external storage integration.

2.9kstars
436forks
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#6
Directory Lister

Directory Lister

Directory Lister is a PHP directory listing app that exposes web-accessible folders for browsing, searching, README display, hash verification, and zip downloads.

Directory Lister screenshot

Directory Lister is a lightweight PHP application for exposing the contents of a web-accessible folder through a clean, navigable web interface. It’s designed for quick deployment and simple configuration when you need to browse and share files over HTTP.

Key Features

  • Zero-config, drag-and-drop installation for rapid setup
  • Light and dark themes
  • Customizable sorting for files and folders
  • Built-in file search
  • File hash display to verify downloads
  • README rendering to show contextual information directly in listings
  • Download a full directory as a ZIP archive
  • Multi-language interface support

Use Cases

  • Publish a simple download area for releases, assets, or shared files
  • Provide an internal team folder browser for documentation bundles or artifacts
  • Host a browsable index for static content on a web server

Limitations and Considerations

  • Requires PHP 8.2+ and specific PHP extensions (Zip; DOM and Fileinfo for README rendering)

Directory Lister is a practical choice when you want a polished directory index without building a custom file portal. It focuses on fast setup and user-friendly browsing while adding useful extras like search, hashes, and ZIP downloads.

2.5kstars
525forks
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#7
Cloud Commander

Cloud Commander

Cloud Commander is a web file manager with a two-panel UI, built-in console, and code editor to manage server files and run commands from any browser.

Cloud Commander screenshot

Cloud Commander is a web-based file manager that lets you manage files and directories from a browser. It includes a built-in command console and text editor, making it useful for lightweight server administration and remote file work.

Key Features

  • Two-panel file manager interface with keyboard shortcuts
  • Built-in command-line console for running OS commands
  • Built-in text editors with syntax highlighting
  • File operations: upload, download, copy, move, rename, delete
  • Archive handling (pack and extract common formats)
  • Optional authorization with configurable username/password
  • Configurable via CLI flags and a JSON config file
  • Can run on Windows, Linux, macOS, and Android (via Termux)

Use Cases

  • Manage and edit files on a remote server without SSH client tooling
  • Quick web-based file browser for a NAS, VM, or container volume
  • Embed as middleware in a Node.js app to provide file management UI

Limitations and Considerations

  • Terminal functionality requires installing an additional dependency (gritty) and enabling it explicitly

Cloud Commander is a practical choice when you need a browser-accessible file manager that also provides an integrated console and editor. It works well for small admin tasks, homelab environments, and developer workflows where a lightweight web UI is preferred.

2kstars
264forks
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#8
Diskover

Diskover

Diskover indexes file systems with Elasticsearch to provide fast file search, metadata analytics, and storage visibility across on-prem, NAS, and cloud storage.

Diskover is a data management and analytics platform for unstructured file data that crawls storage, enriches file metadata, and indexes it for fast search and reporting. It is designed to help teams understand what they have, where it lives, and how storage is being used.

Key Features

  • Crawls and indexes heterogeneous storage (local file systems, NFS/SMB shares, and other supported sources)
  • Elasticsearch-backed indexing for fast file search and filtering
  • Storage usage analytics to identify cold data, growth trends, and large consumers
  • Duplicate file discovery and wasted-space analysis
  • Extensible metadata enrichment via plugins
  • Web UI for search, reporting, and operational visibility

Use Cases

  • Storage capacity planning and cost optimization by finding cold/unused or duplicate data
  • Rapid file discovery and investigation across large shares and mixed storage
  • Data hygiene initiatives such as organizing, tagging, and preparing curated datasets for analytics

Limitations and Considerations

  • Requires running and maintaining an Elasticsearch cluster for indexing and search
  • Crawling very large environments may require tuning and scheduling to manage resource usage

Diskover fits organizations and advanced homelabs that need centralized visibility into file data sprawl and want searchable metadata at scale. It pairs a crawler/indexer with a web interface to turn unstructured storage into actionable insights for cleanup, governance, and operations.

1.7kstars
180forks
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#9
Gossa

Gossa

Gossa is a lightweight Go web server for browsing, uploading, and streaming files from a directory with a simple, fast UI and optional PWA support.

Gossa screenshot

Gossa is a minimal, dependency-free web file server that serves a local directory over HTTP with a very fast, simple interface. It focuses on straightforward file browsing and lightweight media handling while keeping the codebase easy to audit.

Key Features

  • File and directory browser with basic handlers for common file types
  • Drag-and-drop uploads through the web UI
  • Built-in media viewing, including video streaming, image browsing, and PDF viewing
  • Simple in-browser note editor
  • Keyboard navigation and shortcut help overlay
  • Multi-account setups via reverse proxies; supports read-only mode
  • Designed to be PWA-capable for mobile-friendly access
  • Reproducible builds and high automated test coverage

Use Cases

  • Quick personal or homelab file sharing from a NAS or server directory
  • Lightweight media access (videos, photos, PDFs) on a local network
  • Simple “dropbox-like” upload endpoint behind a reverse proxy

Limitations and Considerations

  • HTTPS and authentication are intentionally not built in and are expected to be handled by a reverse proxy/middleware

Gossa is a good fit when you want an extremely small, fast file server with a usable UI and basic media capabilities. It prioritizes simplicity, performance, and auditability over being a full-featured cloud storage suite.

1.1kstars
78forks
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#10
IFM

IFM

IFM is a single-file web-based file manager (PHP + JavaScript) for browsing, editing, uploading, downloading and extracting archives with simple authentication and Docker support.

IFM is a lightweight, web-based file manager implemented as a single-file PHP application with a JavaScript frontend. It provides filesystem browsing and common file operations through a browser interface and can be run directly on a PHP-enabled server or inside a Docker container.

Key Features

  • Browse, create, edit, rename, copy, move and delete files and directories
  • Download files and directories and upload via direct upload, remote URL or drag-and-drop
  • Built-in editor (ACE) for in-browser file editing with fullscreen toggle
  • Extract archives (tar, tgz, tar.gz, tar.bz2, zip) and handle common archive operations
  • Change file permissions and view image previews for supported formats
  • Simple authentication support with optional LDAP binding and environment-driven configuration
  • Single-file distribution that can run on PHP >= 7.0 with common PHP extensions and an official Docker image for quick deployment

Use Cases

  • Server administration and quick file edits on web servers or shared hosting
  • Managing website assets, plugin/theme files, or static content without shell access
  • Lightweight file management front-end for development, debugging, or internal tooling

Limitations and Considerations

  • Authentication is simple by design; there is no built-in RBAC or advanced multi-user auditing
  • Requires several PHP extensions (bz2, curl, fileinfo, json, mbstring, openssl, phar, posix, zip, zlib) for full functionality
  • Not designed as a full-featured enterprise file storage solution; concurrency, detailed access controls and audit trails are limited

IFM is a pragmatic, compact file manager for administrators and developers who need browser-based access to server files with editing, upload, and archive capabilities. Its single-file approach and Docker support make it easy to deploy for small teams and personal servers.

364stars
72forks
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#11
Mikochi

Mikochi

Mikochi is a minimalist remote file browser for self-hosted servers and NAS. Browse, fuzzy-search, upload, download (tar.gz), manage and stream files via a Go API and Preact frontend.

Mikochi is a minimalist remote file browser designed for self-hosted servers and NAS devices. It provides a lightweight Go API backend and a Preact/JavaScript web UI to browse, manage, download and stream files to external players.

Key Features

  • Browse remote folders and view file metadata from a simple web UI
  • Fuzzy filename search for quick file discovery
  • Upload files, create folders, rename and delete items
  • Download files and directories (directories are archived as .tar.gz)
  • Stream media files to external players such as VLC or MPV via stream endpoints
  • Simple authentication using environment-configured username/password and JWT; option to disable auth
  • Multiple deployment options: single binary, Docker container, Helm chart for Kubernetes
  • Small, opinionated feature set focused on low resource usage and ease of deployment

Use Cases

  • Provide web-based access to files on a home NAS or self-hosted server
  • Stream media to local players without a dedicated media server
  • Share/upload files with trusted users in small deployments where complex permissions are unnecessary

Limitations and Considerations

  • Authentication is basic (single username/password via environment variables); no built-in multi-user or role-based access control
  • Lacks advanced permissioning, external identity provider integrations, or per-user isolation
  • Search is filename-based (not full-text); large directories or heavy concurrent transfers may affect performance
  • Directory downloads are provided as tar.gz archives only

Mikochi is best suited for users who need a small, easy-to-deploy file browser and simple media streaming on self-hosted infrastructure. It favors simplicity and minimal resource usage over enterprise features.

347stars
16forks
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#12
Easy-WI

Easy-WI

Responsive PHP web interface to manage and automate game servers, Teamspeak voice servers, webspace and databases with monitoring, REST API and reseller support.

Easy-WI screenshot

Easy-WI is a PHP-based web interface designed to manage and automate game servers, voice servers and web hosting resources. It provides a CMS, multi-tenant/reseller features and a REST API so hosting providers, clans or event organizers can run and monitor distributed server fleets.

Key Features

  • Responsive Bootstrap-based UI optimized for mobile and desktop
  • Manage game servers and Teamspeak voice servers with automated deployment and shared-image symlink support
  • Webspace management for Apache and Nginx, plus MySQL/MariaDB database management
  • Monitoring and auto-restart on crash with configurable checks and remediation
  • REST API for integrating modules into shops or external platforms (WHMCS, Magento, etc.)
  • Reseller and multi-tenant account support, plus import of existing servers
  • Multilingual interface and separation of PHP modules from HTML views for templating
  • Installer and packaged scripts for common Linux distributions, plus optional server-side helpers

Use Cases

  • Hosters offering automated game-server and voice-server rental services with reseller accounts
  • Clan administrators or LAN/event organizers managing multiple game and voice daemons centrally
  • Small web hosts requiring integrated webspace, database and daemon management with monitoring and automation

Limitations and Considerations

  • Requires PHP 7.4+ with extensions (openssl, json, hash, ftp, SimpleXML, curl, gd, PDO, pdo_mysql) installed
  • Game server module depends on system tools like sudo, cron, proftpd and bash at the game root; voice module works best with Linux Teamspeak setups
  • Official installers target specific distro versions; manual adjustments may be needed for newer or heavily customized environments

Easy-WI is a focused control panel for automating and monitoring game, voice and web hosting workflows. It emphasizes automation, REST integration and multi-tenant management for small to mid-sized hosting scenarios.

242stars
81forks
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Why choose an open source alternative?

  • •Data ownership: Keep your data on your own servers
  • •No vendor lock-in: Freedom to switch or modify at any time
  • •Cost savings: Reduce or eliminate subscription fees
  • •Transparency: Audit the code and know exactly what's running