Open source alternative to iCloud Drive
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Sync private GitHub repos as a macOS drive with Finder integration, on-demand file downloads, real git history, and optional end-to-end encryption.
Developers already working in GitHub daily can extend the same workflow to personal documents, notes, and assets without adding another cloud service. Files in Finder and code in repos share the same GitHub account, authentication, and version history model.
Skip if your team includes Windows or Linux users who need access to the same files. GitDrive is macOS-only and does not expose files to non-Mac collaborators.
Users who want personal file storage without handing plaintext data to Apple or Dropbox benefit from GitDrive's private-by-default repos and optional post-quantum encryption. On macOS 26, enabling encryption makes GitHub's copy of any file completely unreadable to GitHub.
Skip if you need storage accessible from Windows, iOS, or Android devices. GitDrive has no mobile client and no Windows app.
Each file save in GitDrive creates a git commit, so the complete edit history of any document is available from GitHub's web interface or any git client. Deleted files remain in the repo history until a Compact History operation removes them, giving a recoverable archive for notes, contracts, or creative work.
Skip if your archive needs exceed GitHub's recommended 1 GB repo size limit, or if you need point-in-time backups of a large media library. GitDrive works best for text-heavy documents and moderately sized files.
Personal cloud storage puts your files on servers you do not control, at prices that increase as your storage grows. iCloud Drive and Dropbox charge monthly for storage above their free tiers, and every file you store is readable by the provider unless you add your own encryption layer. The practical alternative for most people is to live within free-tier limits and accept the trade-offs: limited space, provider visibility into your content, and a file format you cannot take with you if you leave.
For developers, the pain is sharper. The tools they trust for code, including git and GitHub, already handle branching, history, and access control better than any cloud drive. But those tools are built around code, not arbitrary files, so personal documents, notes, and assets end up in a separate cloud service with weaker versioning and no terminal access. The result is two systems: code in GitHub and files in Dropbox or iCloud, with no overlap.
GitDrive appears in the Finder sidebar alongside iCloud Drive and Dropbox, built on Apple's File Provider framework. The drive behaves like any other macOS drive: drag to add files, right-click to remove downloads, and search for files that have not been downloaded yet.
Every file in a linked GitHub repo appears in Finder immediately, but content downloads only when you open the file. Unused files can be removed from your Mac with a right-click or via Free Up Space in the menu bar, and macOS can reclaim them automatically when disk space runs low.
Each file save creates a real git commit in the backing GitHub repo. Any previous version of any file is recoverable directly from GitHub's history. Conflicts from edits made on github.com or a separate clone show up in Finder within a minute, with a side-by-side diff viewer available in the extras.
Optional encryption using ML-KEM-768 combined with X25519 hybrid key exchange stores only random ciphertext in GitHub. File names, folder layout, and file sizes are all hidden; GitHub sees none of it. The encryption key lives in iCloud Keychain, not on GitHub. Requires macOS 26.
Files exceeding a user-set size threshold are stored via Git LFS instead of standard git objects, supporting individual files up to 2 GB. GitHub Free includes 10 GiB of LFS storage and 10 GiB of monthly LFS bandwidth. The menu bar warns when a repo approaches GitHub's recommended 1 GB size limit.
iCloud Drive and GitDrive both surface files in macOS Finder, but they use different storage backends. iCloud Drive stores files on Apple's servers; Apple holds the encryption keys by default, and storage beyond the free tier requires a monthly subscription. GitDrive stores files as git objects in private GitHub repos you own, with an optional encryption layer where GitHub receives only unreadable ciphertext.
| Feature | GitDrive | iCloud Drive |
|---|---|---|
| License | MIT | Proprietary |
| Backend | User's GitHub account | Apple's servers |
| End-to-end encryption | Optional (macOS 26+) | Opt-in |
| Cross-platform | macOS only | macOS, iOS, Windows |
| Version history | Full git history per save | Limited rolling history |
| File size limit | 2 GB via LFS | Plan-dependent |
iCloud Drive is the better choice for users who need iPhone and iPad access, want files on Windows, or store files larger than 2 GB. GitDrive is worth using instead when you want every file save as a recoverable git commit, when you need encryption Apple cannot bypass, or when you prefer storage backed by your own GitHub account rather than a recurring subscription.
Dropbox is a cross-platform file sync service with clients for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android. It stores files on Dropbox's proprietary servers under a subscription billing model. GitDrive uses GitHub's API as its storage layer, is MIT licensed, and has no subscription cost within GitHub's included storage.
| Feature | GitDrive | Dropbox |
|---|---|---|
| License | MIT | Proprietary |
| Backend | User's GitHub account | Dropbox's servers |
| Cross-platform | macOS only | macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android |
| Version history | Full git history | Limited (plan-dependent) |
| Shared folders | Not yet (planned) | Yes |
| File size limit | 2 GB via LFS | Plan-dependent |
Dropbox is the better choice when the team includes Windows or Linux users, when mobile access is required, or when shared folder collaboration matters. GitDrive fits individual macOS developers who want file history backed by git and storage hosted under their own GitHub account, rather than a paid third-party subscription.
Install from source on macOS 14 or later using Xcode and a free Apple ID.
```bash
git clone https://github.com/deeeeone/gitdrive.git
cd gitdrive
./scripts/install.sh
```Downloaded files open and save normally when you are offline; GitDrive uploads changes when the connection returns. Files that have not been downloaded yet cannot be opened offline because the content has not been fetched from GitHub.
Yes. Every GitDrive folder is a standard GitHub repo, accessible from the GitHub web interface, the GitHub CLI, or any git client. Changes pushed to the repo from outside GitDrive appear in Finder within about a minute.
Nothing on GitHub changes. All your files remain in their GitHub repos exactly as you left them. Sign out of GitDrive before uninstalling to remove locally downloaded copies from your Mac. The repos stay accessible via the GitHub web interface or any git client.
GitDrive is MIT licensed and free to build and run. Storage is provided by your GitHub account at no additional cost. GitHub Free includes 10 GiB of LFS storage and 10 GiB of monthly LFS bandwidth for larger files. Most personal use cases fit within those limits without extra cost.
Keeping each folder in its own repo limits the size and API traffic per repo, lets you share or archive individual folders separately, and keeps git history for one folder independent of the others. The trade-off is that you cannot place files directly at the root of the drive; everything goes inside a named folder.
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