What is FileShelter used for?

FileShelter is a self-hosted GPL web app for one-click file sharing: upload files, get a link with an expiry date, optional password and private edit link. It is a good fit for sharing large files from your own server and temporary download links on a Raspberry Pi.

Is FileShelter open source?

Yes. FileShelter is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at epoupon/fileshelter and is written mainly in C++.

Yes. FileShelter is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host FileShelter?

Yes. FileShelter can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.

What is FileShelter an alternative to?

FileShelter is an open-source alternative to WeTransfer, Filemail, TransferNow and Smash. Other open-source alternatives to WeTransfer include Gokapi, Plik and Sharry.

Is FileShelter actively maintained?

The most recent commit to FileShelter was on 1 March 2026, and the latest release is v6.4.0, published on 1 March 2026. The project has 536 stars on GitHub.

FileShelter: open-source alternative to WeTransfer, Filemail

About FileShelter

FileShelter is a self-hosted web application for sharing files over the internet. You upload one or more files and receive a URL to pass on, which keeps the workflow light for people who want to run their own sharing service instead of using a public one. A public demo instance exists with limits of three days and 1 MB per file.

Shares have a validity period from one hour to many years, optional password protection for downloads and uploads, and hard-to-guess UUID-based links. Multi-file shares are zipped on the fly, and a private edit link lets the uploader remove files or check download counters. It supports customizable terms of service, multiple languages and a command-line tool, fileshelter-cmd, to list, create and destroy shares.

FileShelter is written in C++ with low memory needs, and its demo runs on a Raspberry Pi. After a share expires, files are deleted roughly two hours later so that in-progress downloads are not interrupted. It is released under GPL-3.0, with installation steps in the repository.

Key features

Upload files and receive a shareable URL
Expiry from one hour to many years
Optional password protection
Multi-file shares zipped on the fly
Private edit links with download counters
Command-line tool to manage shares
Customizable terms of service

Good fit for

→Sharing large files from your own server
→Temporary download links on a Raspberry Pi

Built with: C++
Tags: file-sharing; self-hosted; file-upload; raspberry-pi; cpp; password-protection; expiring-links

FileShelter: questions and answers

What is FileShelter used for?: FileShelter is a self-hosted GPL web app for one-click file sharing: upload files, get a link with an expiry date, optional password and private edit link. It is a good fit for sharing large files from your own server and temporary download links on a Raspberry Pi.
Is FileShelter open source?: Yes. FileShelter is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at epoupon/fileshelter and is written mainly in C++.
Is FileShelter free?: Yes. FileShelter is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host FileShelter?: Yes. FileShelter can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
What is FileShelter an alternative to?: FileShelter is an open-source alternative to WeTransfer, Filemail, TransferNow and Smash. Other open-source alternatives to WeTransfer include Gokapi, Plik and Sharry.
Is FileShelter actively maintained?: The most recent commit to FileShelter was on 1 March 2026, and the latest release is v6.4.0, published on 1 March 2026. The project has 536 stars on GitHub.