Upgopher

A single self-contained binary to share files and clipboard content between devices—no database, dependencies, or mandatory configuration.

Important update · v1.21.0: encrypted file transfers

Upgopher can now encrypt file content in your browser before it travels through ngrok, Cloudflare Tunnel, trycloudflare, or another HTTP/HTTPS proxy. The destination decrypts uploads automatically; downloads are decrypted in the browser. Enable it with one flag, using the same browser interface and tunnel URL:

upgopher -dir ./shared -encrypt-transfers -user admin -pass 'choose-a-strong-password'

Uploads, downloads, ZIP archives, text previews, search excerpts, and shared images all use the encrypted transport. It adds application-layer encryption alongside HTTPS, using AES-256-GCM and RSA-OAEP, with no extra dependencies.

Read the encrypted-transfer guide and the v1.21.0 release notes.

Start sharing in three steps

# 1. Install
go install github.com/wanetty/upgopher@latest

# 2. Share a directory
upgopher -dir ./shared

# 3. Open http://localhost:9090 on this or another device

Upgopher binds to all interfaces by default. Use Basic Auth, a trusted local network, a VPN, or a properly configured reverse proxy before exposing it beyond your machine.

Install

Method	Command
Homebrew	brew install --cask wanetty/tap/upgopher
Scoop	scoop bucket add wanetty https://github.com/wanetty/scoop-bucket then scoop install upgopher
Docker	docker run --rm -p 9090:9090 -v "$PWD:/data" wanetty/upgopher:1.21.0
Go	go install github.com/wanetty/upgopher@latest
Binary	Download the archive for your OS from GitHub Releases and verify it with checksums.txt

The project-maintained container is also published as ghcr.io/wanetty/upgopher. See the installation guide for platform-specific instructions and persistent Docker examples.

What it is good at

• Move files across a LAN. Open a browser on a phone, laptop, VM, or lab machine and upload or download without setting up a client.
• Share text and screenshots between devices. The built-in shared clipboard supports multiple tabs and optional per-tab protection.
• Expose a development folder temporarily. Serve build output, logs, or test artifacts with one command.
• Publish a read-only download portal. Keep browsing and downloads available while disabling uploads and deletion with -readonly.
• Run a small homelab file drop. Put Upgopher behind your VPN, tunnel, or reverse proxy when you need a compact browser-based tool instead of a storage platform.

Included

Files: drag-and-drop file and folder uploads, download, directory creation and deletion, ZIP downloads, search inside text files, breadcrumbs, and a directory tree.

Sharing: copyable direct links, custom path aliases, and a shared clipboard for text and screenshots.

Controls: optional Basic Auth, built-in HTTPS with a self-signed or custom certificate, read-only mode, hidden-file controls, upload limits, server timeouts, and optional browser-to-server file encryption.

Everything required by the UI is embedded in the binary. Upgopher uses only the Go standard library and does not require a database or configuration file.

Choosing the right tool

Comparison checked for Upgopher v1.20.0 in July 2026. Projects evolve; follow the linked sources for their current feature sets.

Tool	Artifact / runtime	Upload and management	Auth model	Users / roles	HTTPS	WebDAV	Resumable uploads	Shared clipboard	Best fit
Upgopher	Self-contained Go binary	Browser file manager	Optional global Basic Auth	No	Built in	No	No	Text and screenshots	The smallest step from a folder to a practical browser sharing UI
python -m http.server	Python runtime	Browse and download	No built-in access control	No	CLI TLS options in current Python	No	No	No	Temporary, read-only serving during local development
Dufs	Single Rust binary	Upload, edit, search, archive	Access controls	Account rules	Built in	Yes	Yes	No	A compact server when WebDAV or resumable transfers matter
File Browser	Binary or container with persistent state	Full web file administration	Login and persistent auth	Yes	Commonly via proxy	No	No	No	Multi-user file management with administration and permissions
Copyparty	Python runtime or self-extracting bundle	Extensive file and media features	Accounts and per-volume permissions	Yes	Built in	Yes	Yes	No	Advanced transfers, protocols, indexing, deduplication, and media workflows

Upgopher deliberately does not provide WebDAV, resumable uploads, multi-user roles, storage backends, or a persistent administration database. If one of those is central to your setup, one of the alternatives above is likely a better choice.

Common commands

# Protect access
upgopher -dir ./shared -user admin -pass 'choose-a-strong-password'

# Download-only portal
upgopher -dir ./public -readonly

# Built-in HTTPS with an ephemeral self-signed certificate
upgopher -dir ./shared -ssl

# Encrypt file content before it crosses an HTTPS tunnel
upgopher -dir ./shared -encrypt-transfers -user admin -pass 'choose-a-strong-password'
# In another terminal: cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:9090

# Custom port and a 1 GiB upload limit
upgopher -dir ./shared -port 8080 -max-upload-size 1

Read the full configuration reference.

Security and limits

• Treat an unauthenticated instance as public to every device that can reach its port.
• Prefer a VPN or a reverse proxy with trusted TLS for internet-facing use.
• -ssl without -cert and -key creates a new self-signed certificate at startup; clients will not trust it automatically.
• -encrypt-transfers adds browser-to-server application encryption to uploads, downloads, ZIPs, file previews/search results, and shared images. Open the HTTPS tunnel URL or localhost in a browser with Web Crypto to use it.
• The browser and server encrypt file content with AES-256-GCM and exchange protected transfer keys using RSA-OAEP. Shared links handle decryption through a browser download page. Uploaded files are saved in their original format.
• Encrypted transfers include upload progress, cancellation, automatic temporary transfer cleanup, and direct-to-disk downloads in supported browsers.
• Basic Auth is global. Upgopher does not provide separate user accounts or per-folder permissions.
• Clipboard data and custom path aliases are held in memory and disappear when the process restarts.
• A read-only instance prevents uploads and deletion through Upgopher; it does not change host filesystem permissions.

See the security guide. Report vulnerabilities privately to @gm_eduard; do not open a public issue.

Documentation

• Website and overview
• Getting started
• Configuration reference
• Security
• Troubleshooting
• Contributing

Upgopher is available under the MIT License.