Alist
title: alist type: tool created: 2026-05-26 last_updated: 2026-05-26 related: ["radar/techniques/PersonalBackupPipeline", "radar/tools/Syncthing", "radar/platforms/Vaultwarden"] sources: ["https://github.com/alist-org/alist"] radar_quadrant: Tools radar_ring: Assess radar_position: inner
Self-hosted file list and WebDAV server that unifies 40+ storage backends (S3, OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, local filesystem, SFTP, Backblaze B2, and more) into a single web UI and WebDAV endpoint.
alist runs as a single binary or Docker container. Storage backends are configured via a web admin panel or config file; alist presents all of them as a unified file tree accessible through:
- Web UI — browse, preview (video, images, documents), and manage files across all backends in a browser
- WebDAV endpoint — any WebDAV client (macOS Finder, Windows Explorer, rclone, Cyberduck, Mountain Duck) mounts the entire unified tree as a filesystem
- Direct links — shareable links for files and directories with optional password protection and expiry
Supported backends include: local filesystem, S3-compatible (AWS, Backblaze B2, MinIO), OneDrive, SharePoint, Google Drive, Dropbox, SFTP, FTP, WebDAV (pass-through), Aliyun OSS, Quark, and 30+ more. OAuth flows for cloud providers are handled in the admin panel.
alist sits in the access and presentation layer, distinct from sync and backup tools:
- rclone — command-line sync and backup across cloud providers; one-shot or scheduled operations
- Syncthing (Trial/inner) — peer-to-peer live file replication between devices
- Personal Data Backup Pipeline (Assess/inner) — rclone-based automated 3-2-1 backup
- alist — persistent server making all of the above browseable and WebDAV-mountable interactively
The combination of rclone (backup) + alist (access) covers both durability and interactive browsing without overlap.
alist sits in the Assess ring of the Tools quadrant, at inner position. First studied via GitHub (2024-08-22). 47,000+ stars; MIT licensed; actively maintained. The WebDAV aggregation model is a non-obvious solution to fragmented cloud storage — a single mount point instead of multiple provider-specific clients. Single Docker container deployment on minimal hardware. Inner position reflects broad homelab applicability and a clear trial path (one backend configured, WebDAV mounted in Finder or rclone). Remaining gate before Trial is a running instance serving at least two backends as a unified WebDAV mount used as the primary access method for those stores.
