Netatalk
Ranked 6 of 6 self-hosted file managers by recommenders
Free open-source AFP file server that people run for Time Machine backups and long-term Mac file sharing. One critic reported many problems.
Free open-source AFP file server that people run for Time Machine backups and long-term Mac file sharing. One critic reported many problems.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 88%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Works with Macs, including System 7
“I use this for networked Time Machine backups for multiple Macs in my household. Works just as well over tailscale VPN.”
Comment from 27 Apr 2026 in “Apple is dropping AFP/TimeCapsule support in macOS 27” “Also works for System 7 based Macintoshes.”
Comment from 27 Apr 2026 in “Apple is dropping AFP/TimeCapsule support in macOS 27”
Other self-hosted file managers people recommend
The four most recommended other self-hosted file managers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
See all 6 self-hosted file managers, rankedWhat people said
7 of the 8 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“decommission my old Raspberry Pi Netatalk solution”
“I will continue to run Netatalk side-by-side with Samba.”
“they'd be better off just creating a driver and server around the open source Netatalk implementation”
“I've used the Netatalk server for more than 15 years.”
“I had so many problems with this.”
“Also works for System 7 based Macintoshes.”
“I use this for networked Time Machine backups for multiple Macs in my household. Works just as well over tailscale VPN.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.