ProjectSend gives every client a private, signed-in page on your own server where only the files you assigned to them appear, so contracts, photo shoots, and quarterly reports skip the third-party file-sharing service. You upload once, then share a file or a whole folder with one client, a group, or anyone holding a public link, with an optional expiry date or download limit. Clients search, preview, and download files one by one or as a zip, whole folders included, comment on a document so questions stay beside it, and send files back within the quota you set. Uploads of up to 2 GB travel in resumable pieces, so a dropped connection pauses a transfer instead of ruining it. Folders, categories, custom client fields, and linked file versions keep a growing library tidy, while roles with granular permissions let staff work without becoming administrators. The activity log and download history record who received what and when, and the log exports to CSV. Sign-in works with email and password, LDAP, or Google and Microsoft accounts, with optional two-factor authentication. Your logo, watermark, themes, and editable email templates carry your brand, and the interface is translated into 16 languages. Optional virus scanning quarantines suspicious uploads, and a REST API with scoped tokens automates uploads, sharing, and account management. Running on a dedicated VPS on RepoCloud with guaranteed CPU, RAM, and SSD, full root SSH access, and a browser serial console. GPL-2.0-or-later licensed.

Upload files, get a share link, let it expire: PsiTransfer is a self-hosted WeTransfer with no accounts, no logins, and no third-party cloud with size caps and metadata harvesting. The engineering focus is large files over imperfect networks. Uploads use the tus.io resumable protocol, so a dropped connection on a multi-gigabyte video resumes exactly where it stopped once you're back online; downloads support HTTP range headers for the same resilience, and everything streams, so file size is bounded by your disk rather than memory. Files organize into upload buckets with retention you control: expire after a set time (up to weeks) or after a one-time download, with automatic cleanup when links lapse. Recipients need nothing installed - they open the link, preview files in modal views, and grab everything as a zip or tar.gz archive with one click. Buckets can be password-protected (AES-encrypted download lists), and security-through-obscurity is done properly: bucket URLs use hashed UUID tokens and stored filenames are replaced with UUIDs. An optional admin page (enabled by setting an admin password) lists bucket information and storage. The Vue.js frontend ships under 100 KB gzipped and is fully responsive. Honest caveat from the author: no end-to-end payload encryption yet. BSD-licensed, Docker-ready.

Upload a file, get a unique download link and a separate delete link - Jirafeau has done exactly this one thing since 2008. It is plain PHP with no database, no mail server, no JavaScript framework, and no external dependencies - files and metadata live on the filesystem, which is why it runs on nearly anything and why it has outlasted most of its imitators. Uploads use the HTML5 file API, so PHP's post_max_size ceiling does not constrain file size, with live progress showing speed, percentage, and time remaining. Every upload takes options: expiration from one minute to a year to unlimited, self-destruct after first download, and password protection with configurable policy - passwords can be optional, required, or server-generated with complexity rules. Server-side encryption (modern builds use XChaCha20-Poly1305) stores files encrypted at rest with the decrypt key embedded only in the download URL, never on the server, so a compromised host cannot read the contents. Unencrypted deployments get file-level deduplication - identical files stored once with multiple links. Upload access can be gated by password lists or IP allowlists, a small admin panel manages stored files, and a CLI cleanup script handles expired files via cron. Recipients can preview supported files in-browser.

QuickDrop functions as an ephemeral, self-hosted file distribution node and pastebin that eliminates account requirements for rapid data transfers. Users can drag individual files, paste plain text code snippets, or drop entire folder structures while preserving complete directory hierarchies through automated client manifests. Resumable chunked transfers split multi-gigabyte payloads into resilient blocks, ensuring dependable uploads over unstable network connections. Senders can protect sensitive documents with optional AES encryption at rest, individual passphrase requirements, and automatic metadata stripping that removes GPS coordinates and camera EXIF markers. Granular share token policies restrict access by enforce maximum download quotas, burn-after-reading limits, or strict calendar expiration timestamps. In-browser viewers generate instant previews for code syntax, Markdown documentation, PDF reports, audio tracks, and high-resolution images without downloading files locally. Built-in QR code generators allow mobile devices to retrieve shared payloads instantly across local wireless networks. System operators can govern storage lifecycles through an administrative control panel with configurable retention windows, automated background garbage collection, and custom storage caps. Running on a dedicated VPS on RepoCloud with guaranteed CPU, RAM, and SSD, full root SSH access, and a browser serial console. MIT licensed.

The project that proved organizations could have Dropbox-style convenience with complete data ownership: ownCloud is the original open-source file sync and share platform - the codebase Nextcloud later forked from. This deployment runs the classic ownCloud Server (PHP over PostgreSQL or MariaDB, with Redis caching), the battle-tested edition trusted across enterprises, universities, and public institutions worldwide. The core loop: store files on your server, sync them via desktop clients for Windows, macOS, and Linux plus iOS and Android apps, and access everything through the web interface or standard WebDAV. Sharing is granular - internal users and groups, external recipients via public links with passwords and expiration dates, and federated sharing that connects separate ownCloud instances into one network. Security controls include file firewall rules, multi-factor authentication, encryption, and detailed audit-friendly lifecycle management with versioning and trash-bin recovery. An app marketplace extends the platform, and Web Office integrations bring collaborative document editing through Collabora Online, OnlyOffice, or Microsoft Office Online directly into your files. LDAP and Active Directory integration slots it into existing identity infrastructure. For teams that need a proven, self-hosted alternative to Dropbox or Google Drive - where compliance demands knowing exactly which disk your data sits on - ownCloud remains a foundational choice.

Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, replaced by a platform you actually control: Nextcloud is the self-hosted digital workspace. Files is the core: file storage and sync across desktop, mobile, and web clients, with sharing, versioning, and collaboration built in. Around it, Talk provides private text chat, audio/video conferencing with screen sharing, SIP integration, and persistent voice rooms; Groupware bundles calendar, contacts, and mail with delegation support; and Office offers two collaborative suites - the Collabora-based option with deep ODF support, and Euro-Office, whose local-processing architecture delivers strong Microsoft Office compatibility and fast browser rendering with reduced server load. The Nextcloud Assistant threads AI through the platform via a context-aware sidebar, Whiteboard covers visual collaboration, Flow handles automation, and an app ecosystem of hundreds of extensions adds everything from Kanban boards to end-to-end encryption. Hub 26 brings a lighter UI with a unified app switcher and Nextcloud Governance for organizations under strict regulatory requirements. This is the flagship of data sovereignty: your files, chats, calendars, and documents live on your server, under your jurisdiction, with GDPR compliance by architecture rather than by contract.

Tools and applications that already speak S3 can use RustFS as their storage backend, so backup jobs, data pipelines, and services keep working while the data stays on infrastructure you control. A built-in web console on port 9001 manages buckets, object uploads and downloads, access keys, users, groups, and IAM policies, with a status page for cluster health, capacity, and scanner activity. Versioning, Object Lock retention, bucket quotas, and server-side encryption with Vault or AWS KMS backends protect objects once they land. Lifecycle rules expire or transition data, and tiering moves cold objects to remote targets such as Amazon S3 or Wasabi. Bucket replication and site replication keep clusters in sync, and event notifications call webhooks when objects change. Single-node mode suits a lab or small server, while distributed mode adds erasure coding, bitrot protection, background healing, and pool expansion or decommissioning as capacity grows. Sign-in works with local users, OIDC single sign-on, or OpenStack Keystone, and FTPS and WebDAV are available by default, with SFTP and the Swift API as opt-in builds. A preview of S3 Tables exposes an Iceberg REST catalog for tools such as DuckDB and PyIceberg, and a documented migration path moves existing MinIO deployments across. Typical uses include backups, container registries, logs and traces, data lakes, and AI training sets. Running on a dedicated VPS on RepoCloud with guaranteed CPU, RAM, and SSD, full root SSH access, and a browser serial console. Apache-2.0 licensed.

With nearly 9,000 GitHub stars and adoption by over 60,000 companies across 100 countries, Papermark is the open-source DocSend alternative that turns document sharing into a data-rich conversation between you and your viewers. Every shared document generates page-by-page analytics showing exactly which pages capture attention, how long viewers spend on each section, where they drop off, and whether they return for a second look, with real-time notifications the moment a document is opened. Virtual data rooms support unlimited folders with drag-and-drop organization, bulk uploads, granular per-viewer permissions, dynamic watermarking that stamps each page with the viewer's identity, and NDA gating that requires agreement before access. Custom branding applies your logo, colors, and custom domain to every shared link and download page, while email verification and password protection add authentication layers. The AI Data Room Copilot lets viewers chat with uploaded documents, ask questions, and receive contextual summaries directly within the data room interface. The developer platform exposes 43 REST API operations covering data rooms, documents, folders, links, visitors, and analytics, with an MCP server for AI agent integration and a CLI for automation. Built on Next.js with TypeScript, Prisma ORM, PostgreSQL, NextAuth.js authentication, and shadcn/ui components. Running on a dedicated VPS on RepoCloud with guaranteed CPU, RAM, and SSD, full root SSH access, and a browser serial console. AGPLv3 licensed.

ShareX and file uploads, next generation: Zipline is a Node.js/React/PostgreSQL server that turns screenshot sharing and file hosting into something you run yourself instead of renting from Imgur or a paid image host. The core workflow is built around ShareX: generate an .sxcu config from your account settings, import it, and every screenshot or clipboard capture uploads to your domain with a short link copied automatically. Uploads accept any file type, organized with folders and tags, with token-protected uploading, optional password protection, view-limited auto-deletion, image compression, metadata stripping, automatic video thumbnails, and chunked/partial uploads for large files. File URLs come in configurable formats - UUIDs, dates, random alphanumerics, original names, even zero-width spaces. A built-in URL shortener adds vanity slugs, passwords, view caps, and custom domains. Discord embeds are first-class: customize OG metadata titles, descriptions, and colors so links unfurl exactly how you want, and fire fully customizable Discord or HTTP webhooks on each upload. Authentication is serious: OAuth2 (Discord, GitHub, Google, OIDC), TOTP two-factor, and passkeys, with invite-based registration and per-user quotas for shared instances. Storage targets local disk or any S3-compatible backend, a full REST API automates everything, and custom themes plus a PWA round out the experience.

With over 1,200 GitHub stars, 12,000+ commits, and more than a decade of active development distributed under the AGPL-3.0 license, Cozy Cloud operates as a comprehensive personal data hub that goes far beyond file storage by connecting your documents, contacts, calendars, banking transactions, energy bills, and productivity tools into a single self-hosted platform where no third party profiles you. The cozy-stack Go binary handles file storage, CouchDB document management, job scheduling, app serving, and the REST API in a single process consuming approximately 150MB of RAM idle. Sandboxed konnectors import data from 50+ external services — banks, utility providers, telecom operators, cloud drives — running as isolated jobs via nsjail to prevent untrusted code from accessing other user data. The built-in app store serves web applications in subdomain-isolated environments with Content Security Policy headers, each app communicating exclusively through the documented REST API. Real-time synchronization via PouchDB replication and WebSocket keeps files, contacts, and documents consistent across desktop clients, mobile apps for iOS and Android with automatic photo backup, and the web interface. Security features include automatic Let's Encrypt TLS certificates, Argon2id password hashing, optional TOTP two-factor authentication, and GDPR-compliant data export via the CLI. Each user receives their own isolated instance with independent storage, database, and application configuration. Running on a dedicated VPS on RepoCloud with guaranteed CPU, RAM, and SSD, full root SSH access, and a browser serial console. AGPL-3.0 licensed.