Gokapi: Lightweight server for sharing files that expire
Gokapi is a self-hosted file sharing tool. Lightweight server for sharing files that expire after a configured amount of downloads or days.
Why self-host Gokapi
When you deploy Gokapi yourself, you own the instance. That means no rate limits, no pricing changes, and no worry about the service shutting down.
What it does
Gokapi falls into the File Sharing category of self-hosted software. It is designed to be deployed on your own infrastructure, whether that is a home server, a VPS, or a local machine running Docker.
Community traction
The project has 1k stars on GitHub, which is a reasonable proxy for how widely it is used. Active repositories tend to ship bug fixes faster and have better documentation than projects that stall after the initial release.
Deployment
Docker is the most common deployment path. If you are already running containers at home, adding Gokapi to a compose file is a low-friction way to try it.
Alternatives
If Gokapi does not fit your needs, common alternatives include DocSend. The self-hosted versions of these tools often differ in resource requirements and feature focus, so it is worth testing the one that matches your workload.
Maturity
The current release is 1.9.1. The project has moved past early development and tends to ship stable, documented releases.
License
It is licensed under AGPL-3.0, making it freely available for personal and commercial use.
Links
If the use case fits, Gokapi is a solid choice. Most of the complexity is in the initial deploy, and the day-to-day operation is low maintenance.