SparkleShare: Dropbox's folder, Git's engine, your own server

Dropbox's shape, Git's engine

SparkleShare is a file sharing and collaboration app that works just like Dropbox and can be run on your own server, available for Linux distributions, macOS and Windows. The mechanics are familiar from any sync tool, it creates a special folder on your computer, you add remotely hosted folders, called projects, to it, and those projects are automatically kept in sync with both the host and all of your peers whenever someone adds, removes or edits a file. The difference is underneath, where the version control system Git and the large files extension Git LFS do the storage and transport, so every share is a repository with history, and the sync layer is an ordinary Git remote rather than a proprietary protocol. The application is written in C# and licensed under GPLv3 or later.

Issue 2006 and a laid off maintainer

The README opens with two notices that frame everything else. The first points to issue 2006, explicitly labeled as the place to read about the future of this project, an unusual link to promote above the feature pitch and a signal that direction is being discussed in the open. The second is personal, from Hylke, the project's author, who was laid off in the Microsoft layoffs of May 2025 as reported by the Guardian, and who would love to work full time creating apps for Linux and contributing design to free and open source software, gathering enough monthly sponsors through GitHub Sponsors to reach a minimum wage. A funding.json sits in the repository alongside the code, and the ask is repeated beside the download instructions. The state of the maintainer is part of the state of the project.

Flatpak recommended, distro packages warned about

On Ubuntu and Fedora the installation advice is blunt about the alternatives, you can install the package from your distribution, but it is likely old and not updated often, so the recommendation is the Flatpak with automatic updates, always enjoying the latest and greatest in the project's own words:

flatpak remote-add flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
flatpak install flathub org.sparkleshare.SparkleShare

After which SparkleShare runs from the apps menu. One Linux integration caveat follows, by default the app uses an AppIndicator status icon, so GNOME users on distributions other than Ubuntu need the AppIndicator extension, and anyone not on GNOME can start SparkleShare with --status-icon=gtk instead. It is a small configuration note that saves a confusing first launch where the app appears to have no interface at all.

macOS from releases, Windows and Linux from source

The macOS path is the simplest of the three platforms, download the app from the GitHub releases page, with 3.38.1 from September 2024 as the current published build. For building from source, which is also the documented Windows path, the repository carries per platform instructions, SparkleShare/Linux/README.md, SparkleShare/Mac/README.md and SparkleShare/Windows/README.md, each covering its own toolchain and dependencies. The source layout reflects the platform span, a SparkleShare solution file and the platform directories under it for the Windows and Mac builds, a meson build definition for the Linux side, and a scripts directory for automation. Free and open source here is a practical statement, the instructions to change and redistribute under the license conditions are one README section away.

Host it yourself, with Dazzle or GitLab

Because the engine is Git with Git LFS, setting up a host is described as relatively easy, and the motivations are enumerated, your own host gives you more privacy and control, as well as lots of cheap storage space and higher transfer speeds, the four advantages self hosters usually claim for any service brought in house. For the hard work of server configuration, the project provides Dazzle, a simple script repository that does the setup. And at larger scale the advice escalates, if you need to manage a lot of projects or users, hosting a GitLab Community Edition instance is recommended, turning the sync backend into a full collaboration platform with accounts, permissions and a web interface. The escalation path is honest about where a shell script stops being enough.

Two licenses: the app GPL, the library LGPL

The licensing is split deliberately across the two artifacts in the repository. SparkleShare, the application users install, is Free and Open Source software licensed under the GNU GPLv3 or later, welcome to change and redistribute under certain conditions. Sparkles, the library it is built on, sits under the GNU LGPLv3 or later with its own license file, LICENSE_Sparkles.md, beside the main one. The split means the reusable sync library is available to projects that cannot accept GPL terms for a linked library, while the end user application remains fully copyleft. For a tool whose whole point is user freedom from hosted services, the licensing consistency is part of the product.

Meson and a solution file in the same tree

The build story straddles two worlds. SparkleShare.sln is a Visual Studio style solution file for the C# codebase, the natural entry point on Windows and for IDE builds, while meson.build and meson_options.txt at the root define the Linux build in the meson system that GNOME adjacent projects favor. Maintaining both is the tax of a genuinely cross platform C# application that wants to feel native in Linux distributions rather than merely run there. A scripts directory holds the supporting automation, and RELEASE_NOTES.txt tracks the published history in plain text. The Sparkles library lives in its own directory, cleanly separated from the application code as the dual licensing implies.

Releases in 2018, 2020 and 2024

The release cadence is sparse, version 3.28 in July 2018, 3.38 in November 2020, and 3.38.1 in September 2024, a roughly every few years rhythm rather than a continuous delivery one, though the repository's last push landed 2026-09-01, so commits continue between tags. Community channels are current era tools, a Matrix channel at sparkleshare on matrix.org and the maintainer's Mastodon account, alongside the project website. The README closes with the sign off that has long ended it, have fun, make awesome, a period artifact of indie open source tone that survives alongside the very contemporary sponsorship appeal at the top, the two ends of the project's fifteen year span visible in a single file.

Editorial conclusion

Use SparkleShare when file collaboration should stay inside infrastructure you control and a Git plus LFS backing store is acceptable, since self hosting brings the privacy, cheap storage and transfer speeds the project names as its advantages. Read issue 2006 before adopting, the README itself directs readers there for the project's future, and weigh the release rhythm, 3.28 in 2018, 3.38 in 2020 and 3.38.1 in 2024, against your need for a fast moving tool. Prefer GitLab Community Edition as the host when managing many projects or users, the Dazzle script when the setup is small, and if the tool serves you well, the maintainer's sponsorship appeal is part of this project's present reality.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

1. hbons/SparkleShare on GitHub
2. License: GPL-3.0
3. Project website
4. README
5. Releases