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haiwen
seafile
C2013–2025
haiwen / seafile

seafile

Beyond file syncing and sharing, a new way to organize your files with extensible file properties and flexible views

ProductivityDevOps & CloudNetworking
Explore on GitHubRead Hacker News discussions
28Distinct people
30Mentions
1Explicit recommenders
15.5KGitHub stars
REPOSITORY AT A GLANCE

What to know before exploring

What it is

Beyond file syncing and sharing, a new way to organize your files with extensible file properties and flexible views

GitHub

Where it is used

No documented product use was verified in the last source check.

What people are saying

I have been using a self-hosted Seafile[0] instance since 2014 hosted on my Linux server. It's written in Python[1]. I have never had an issue with it. I sync to my desktops,…

herpderperator used a recommendation phrase. One indexed comment matches. This is a phrase match, not a verdict.

No classified warning is attached to this page. Read the discussions before treating silence as approval.

Also in these discussions

Mentioned in the same Hacker News threads. That is not proof they are substitutes.

This week on Hacker News

Nov 7–Nov 14 UTC · Direct repository links and separately labeled related project stories. Indexed through 11/14/2026, 5:04:57 PM UTC.

No direct repository links were found in the indexed HN discussions over the past seven days. Older discussions are available below.

Mentions over time

HN mentions by year30 dated mentions

Observed mentions: 2013-01-09 18:59:21 UTC to 2025-07-23 21:13:41 UTC.

024682013-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2014-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 8 mentions; 3 submissions, 5 comments20132014-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2015-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 6 mentions; 0 submissions, 6 comments2015-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 2 mentions; 0 submissions, 2 comments2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 8 mentions; 1 submissions, 7 comments2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 1 mentions; 0 submissions, 1 comments2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 1 mentions; 0 submissions, 1 comments2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 1 mentions; 0 submissions, 1 comments20192020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 1 mentions; 0 submissions, 1 comments2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 1 mentions; 0 submissions, 1 comments2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2026-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 1 mentions; 1 submissions, 0 comments2025

Counts come from the repository’s dated source evidence. Index cutoff: 2026-11-02 08:16:59 UTC.

View mention counts and date ranges
UTC ranges include their start and exclude their end. Select a period to filter the source evidence.
PeriodStart (UTC)End (exclusive, UTC)MentionsSubmissionsComments
20132013-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2014-01-01 00:00:00 UTC835
20142014-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2015-01-01 00:00:00 UTC606
20152015-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC202
20162016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC817
20172017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC101
20182018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC101
20192019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC101
20202020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC101
20212021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC000
20222022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC000
20232023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC000
20242024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC101
20252025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2026-01-01 00:00:00 UTC110

From the project README

An excerpt from the repository, fetched Nov 13, 2026.

Read the project’s introduction
Introduction Seafile is an open source cloud storage system with privacy protection and teamwork features. Collections of files are called libraries. Each library can be synced separately. A library can also be encrypted with a user chosen password. Seafile also allows users to create groups and easily sharing files into groups. Beyond sync and share, Seafile provides advanced metadata management features and handy collaboration features. Feature Summary Seafile has the following features: File syncing Selective sync for any folder. Correctly handles file conflicts based on history instead of timestamp. Only transfer content delta to the server. Interrupted transfers can be resumed. Sync with two or more servers. Sync with existing folders. File sharing and collaboration Sharing folders between users or into groups. Download links with password protection Upload links Version control Drive client Access all files in the cloud via virtual drive. Files are synced on demand. Privacy protection Library encryption with a user chosen password. Client side encryption when using the desktop syncing. Metadata Management Extensible file properties, like file owner, deadline, status Flexible file views to match your use cases, including table view, Kanban view, gallery view, map view and statistics view File tags with parent-child hierarchy Collaboration Integration with Online Office Suites, including OnlyOffice, Collabora SeaDoc: a built-in collaborative document editor Wiki: built-in knowledge bases Integrarion with Excalidraw for collaborative white-board Source repositories for Seafile components Each component of Seafile has its own source code repository on Github. Sync client daemon (this repository): https://github.com/haiwen/seafile Sync client GUI: https://github.com/haiwen/seafile-client Server core: https://github.com/haiwen/seafile-server Server web UI: https://github.com/haiwen/seahub iOS app: https://github.com/haiwen/seafile-iOS Android app: https://github.com/haiwen/seadroid WebDAV: https://github.com/haiwen/seafdav Before version 6.0, the source code of "sync client daemon" and "server core" was mixed together in https://github.com/haiwen/seafile. But after 6.0 version, the server core is separated into its own repository. For this reason, the sync client daemon repository is still the "front page" for Seafile project on Github. Build and Run See https://manual.seafile.com/build_seafile/server Bug and Feature Request Reports Please only submit bugs in GitHub issues (Pro customers should contact us via Email): Server, Web interface (Seahub) and desktop clients: https://github.com/haiwen/seafile/issues Android client: https://github.com/haiwen/seadroid/issues iOS client: https://github.com/haiwen/seafile-iOS/issues Feature requests can be made and installation/usage problems can be discussed in the forum https://forum.seafile.com/. Internationalization (I18n) Translate Seafile web ui Translate Seafile desktop client Translate Seafile Android app Translate Seafile iOS app Change Logs See https://manual.seafile.com/latest/changelog/server-changelog/ Why Open Source Our primary goal is to build a first-class product. We think this goal can only be achieved by collaborating with the whole world. Contributing For more information read Contribution. License Seafile iOS client: Apache License v2 Seafile Android client: GPLv3 Desktop syncing client (this repository): GPLv2 Seafile Server core: AGPLv3 Seahub (Seafile server Web UI): Apache License v2 Contact Twitter: @seafile https://twitter.com/seafile Forum: https://forum.seafile.com
Read the full README on GitHub

What Hacker News says

30 sources
commoner·Jan 22, 2020
Mega uses end-to-end encryption, and its clients are source-available. The hosting is fully managed, and there is no self-hosting option. https://mega.nz https://github.com/meganz Seafile is end-to-end encrypted and open core. They offer a managed hosting option, and you can also self-host. https://www.seafile.com https://github.com/haiwen/seafile Nextcloud is working on end-to-end encryption, but the feature is not yet stable. It is fully open source. https://nextcloud.com/endtoend https://github.com/nextcloud
In Apple dropped plan for encrypting backups after FBI complained
herpderperator·May 16, 2019Recommendation phrase
I have been using a self-hosted Seafile[0] instance since 2014 hosted on my Linux server. It's written in Python[1]. I have never had an issue with it. I sync to my desktops, laptops, phones, etc. It works on all major platforms. It has an online browser just like Dropbox too, supports link sharing, WebDAV, etc. Its server-side storage is based on git[2]. I was really impressed with all the upgrades throughout the years. The upgrade scripts that come with their installations which I run on my Linux box are clearly labelled (e.g. 5.1_to_5.2.sh) and run successfully without giving me random obscure messages that you might sometimes expect. I recommend people check it out to see if it could work for you. The only downside really is that since it's git-based storage, you can't just specify "this is the directory I want to serve", rather you h
Read the rest
ave to upload everything via Seafile and it will write it out in its git filesystem (which means it's duplicated if you already have a copy on your filesystem.) This is in contrast to OwnCloud[3] I think, which will let you access/serve remote files from their original location. [0] https://www.seafile.com/en/download/ [1] https://github.com/haiwen/seafile [2] https://manual.seafile.com/develop/data_model.html [3] https://owncloud.org/
In Free Dropbox Accounts Now Only Sync to Three Devices
replax·Oct 24, 2018
I would highly recommend nextcloud over seafile. Seafile does not appear to take security seriously in any capacity as can be demonstrated by the maintainers here: https://github.com/haiwen/seafile/issues/350 , https://github.com/privacytoolsIO/privacytools.io/issues/490 Nextcloud is written in PHP an so many people believe it to be insecure per default, but the devs are highly capable and put an emphasis on security from my experience.
In Ask HN: Self-hosted Alternatives to Dropbox?
jospoortvliet·Nov 10, 2016
unless, of course, you care about security or a project that is, well, alive... There have been 1 or 2 commits in the last month so I wouldn't bet my data on it. But I'm hopelessly biassed, working for Nextcloud, so please check github for yourself when you pick a solution for your data - at least look at the pulse over the last week or month before you pick a solution. If you don't know it, here is ours: https://github.com/nextcloud/server/pulse it shows you the activity in the project. For comparison, this is bad: https://github.com/haiwen/seafile/pulse Again, I'm biassed, so make your own conclusion, don't rely on mine. I'm just pointing the way.
In Introducing the Nextcloud Box
Kunix·Apr 11, 2016
I would strongly recommend against using Seafile. Seafile stores a lot of metadata in clear text (including filenames): https://github.com/haiwen/seafile/issues/350 The developers know about it, the issue is 3 years old, this huge limitation is still not reflected on their documentation. An attacker who obtains a copy of the encrypted library without the key can: - read the complete list of directory and file names. - know the size of every file - know which files share some of the same information - see the history of who changed each file, when, and what byte ranges were altered
In Pwncloud – Bad crypto in the Owncloud encryption module

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