Filestash

What Filestash does

Filestash started as a Dropbox-like web file manager that works with any storage protocol, and that is still its core. Instead of storing files itself, it connects to storage you already have, such as SFTP servers, S3 buckets, SMB shares, WebDAV, FTP, NFS, IPFS and about twenty more, and gives users one browser interface to browse, upload, preview, edit and share files. Choose the local-storage preset and it also works as a simple self-hosted drive.

The project’s guiding rule is that nearly everything is a plugin: storage backends, authentication, authorization, search, thumbnails, viewers and parts of the interface. Plugins can be compiled in Go, or dropped in at runtime as a zip containing WebAssembly that runs in a sandbox with restricted network access. Ready-made plugins cover about 140 niche file formats, from camera RAW files and CAD drawings to GIS, astronomy and biomedical data, plus themes that restyle the interface.

Beyond the web client, Filestash can expose data through gateways, presenting your storage over SFTP, S3, FTP, WebDAV or MCP for other software and AI agents. A workflow engine chains actions on file events, from Slack or email notifications to managed file transfer pipelines. The Filestash Drive desktop client syncs a folder across devices.

Security and access control

Filestash does not add its own encryption at rest; data is as safe as the storage behind it. For sensitive files, a PGP plugin lets users create and edit PGP-encrypted files whose keys never reach the server. Access can be controlled with authorization rules, and runtime plugins run in a sandbox so installing one does not hand it full access. The project publishes a hardening guide for sensitive deployments.

Single sign-on through SAML, OpenID Connect or LDAP and role-based access control are listed with the commercial plans, not the free tier.

Self-hosting Filestash

There are two community builds: a single binary with no runtime dependencies that runs almost anywhere, and a Docker image that is faster at thumbnails and video transcoding. You download and run the binary, or start the Docker Compose file, then set an admin password in the browser. Kubernetes with Helm is documented, and Filestash is also available on the AWS Marketplace. With the community build you put a reverse proxy in front for HTTPS; loading certificates directly or getting them automatically through ACME is described as a customer feature.

Hosted version and plans

The pricing page lists a free self-hosted AGPL tier, described as up to three users, and paid commercial licenses for companies that add SSO, RBAC, audit and compliance, white labeling, high availability and support. Paying customers can choose a single-tenant cloud instance run by Filestash instead of self-hosting.

Limitations

Filestash is a front end, not a storage system: sync behavior, durability and backups depend on the backends and plugins you choose. Several features organizations need, notably SSO and RBAC, are tied to commercial plans, and the hosted option is for paying customers only.

Who it suits

Filestash fits teams and admins who want one web interface over several existing storage systems, or a quick way to give non-technical users access to SFTP, S3 or SMB. If you want a self-contained sync platform, look at Nextcloud or Seafile.