Seafile Cloud File Storage

Seafile is a free and open-source, self-hosted file synchronization and collaboration platform designed for teams and organizations. Founded in 2012 by Daniel Pan and Jia Zhangwei in Beijing, China, Seafile Technology Co. Ltd. (headquartered in Beijing with offices in Shenzhen) developed the platform to provide a secure, high-performance alternative to commercial cloud storage services. The company has raised funding from Matrix Partners China and has been downloaded over 10 million times. Key features: file synchronization: client-side software for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS automatically syncs files between local devices and the server. Block-level sync (delta sync) only transfers the changed portions of files, dramatically reducing bandwidth usage for large files. Git-like versioning: every file library is backed by a Git-like repository that tracks all changes. Users can browse file history, restore previous versions, and recover deleted files. Server-side file history is preserved indefinitely. Libraries (repos): organize files into separate libraries, each with independent sync settings, permissions, and encryption. This granular approach enables different sharing and access control for different teams or projects. Client-side encryption: files are encrypted on the client before upload using AES-256-CBC. The server never sees the unencrypted content or the encryption key. Sharing: share files and folders with specific users, groups, or generate public links with optional passwords and expiry dates. Download links and upload-only links (for collecting files). Team collaboration: group management with shared libraries, Wiki module for team documentation, and Discussions for team communication. WebDAV access: mount Seafile libraries as network drives via WebDAV. Audit logs: track file access, sharing, and modifications for compliance. Multi-tenant deployment for large organizations. C/Python. GPL-2.0 (community), proprietary (enterprise).