SeaweedFS
Fast distributed storage system for blobs, objects, files and a data lake
Overview
SeaweedFS is a simple and highly scalable distributed file and object storage system that can store and serve billions of files quickly. It provides an S3-compatible API, a POSIX-like filer, tiered cloud storage, and WebDAV/FUSE mounts, making it suitable as the storage backend for self-hosted file platforms. It is infrastructure-grade rather than a consumer file UI.
Key features
- Distributed storage that scales to billions of files
- S3-compatible API
- POSIX-like filer interface
- Tiered cloud storage
- WebDAV and FUSE mounts
- Designed for fast blob and object serving
Our take
SeaweedFS is a fast, highly scalable distributed storage system that handles billions of files and exposes an S3-compatible API, a POSIX-like filer, tiered cloud storage, and WebDAV/FUSE mounts, which makes it an excellent storage layer to sit beneath other self-hosted platforms. Performance and scalability are its core strengths, and the S3 compatibility means it slots in wherever object storage is expected. The key thing to understand is that this is infrastructure, not a product: there is no consumer file UI like Dropbox, so end users will never touch it directly, and at 4/5 difficulty running a distributed cluster correctly takes real operational know-how. Reach for it when you are building a storage backend, not when you want a polished file-sharing app.
Ideal for: Infrastructure and platform engineers who need a scalable storage backend behind other self-hosted apps, not a consumer-facing file UI.
Where it falls short of Dropbox
- Storage infrastructure, not an end-user product: no consumer sync app, sharing UI, or collaboration
- Requires assembling master/volume/filer components and a frontend to behave like Dropbox
- Steeper operational knowledge needed for distributed deployment and tuning
- Documentation assumes infrastructure familiarity
We list the gaps honestly so you can decide if the trade-off is worth owning your data.
Tags
Claim this listing to keep it accurate, add a deploy template, or feature it on relevant pages.
Embed the SeaweedFS difficulty badge in your README — it links back here.
[](https://openreplace.com/seaweedfs)Similar open-source projects
Other self-hostable tools in the same space worth comparing.
Continuous peer-to-peer file synchronization between your own devices
High-performance S3-compatible object storage (now archived/commercialized)
Command-line program to sync files across 70+ cloud storage providers
File list program supporting multiple storages, with WebDAV and web UI