Burrow

Burrow logoA gopher hole is called a burrow

Encrypted peer-to-peer file transfer, entirely under your control.




Problem statement

Sending files between devices means either

  • Syncing Everything
    • Difficult or expensive
  • Using a middleman
    • Uploading files to a cloud drive just to download them somewhere else
  • Tolerating Sync delay
    • Files don’t always arrive immediately
Google DriveOneDriveDropbox

I want a tool that can

Transfer files between any device

Works on any device within my network

Avoid third parties / middlemen

Files go straight from sender to receiver, without being stored in the middle

Self-hosted — free for life

Runs on my own infrastructure, no subscriptions

Current solution:
Magic Wormhole

bash
% wormhole send important-stuff.txt

Wormhole code is: 7-guitarist-revenge
bash
% wormhole receive 7-guitarist-revenge

Receive file written to important-stuff.txt


Magic Wormhole

The Problem with
Magic Wormhole

Third-party relay servers

All file data travels through servers you don’t own or control.

Single file transfers only

Repeated commands to transfer multiple files

Not compatible with mobile

No iOS app available

Written in Python

…

Burrow

  • Encrypted P2P file transfer
  • Entirely self-hosted
  • Single and multi-file transfers
  • Built for cross-platform & mobile
Burrow logoA gopher hole is called a burrow

How it works

Connection sequence diagram


Burrow

is completely

self-hosted

Docker Compose

docker-compose.yml
services:
  burrow-exchange:
    image: maximiliancraig112/burrow-exchange:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"

  burrow-relay:
    image: maximiliancraig112/burrow-relay:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "9090:9090"   # P2P relay
      - "8082:8082"   # web dashboard
    environment:
      TUNNEL_PUBLIC_URL: http://your-server:8082
Optional, but recommended

Works anywhere with Tailscale

Connect all your devices in a private mesh network.

  • Works on any device
  • Works across the internet like a local network
  • No port forwarding required
  • Free for personal use
Tailscale






Feature
parity with
Magic Wormhole

Send

Sender initiates the transfer

bash
burrow send photo.jpg

# Connecting to exchange server...
Code: swift-copper-leaps
# Waiting for receiver

Receive

Receiver accepts the file via the nameplate

bash
burrow receive swift-copper-leaps

# Connecting to exchange server...
# Connecting to relay...

# Receiving photo.jpg (182.4 KB)
Saved to C:\Path\photo.jpg
Done!

Multi-file transfers & mobile support

Burrow demo


Written in Golang

  • Static binaries
  • Strong type + error checking
  • Fast running
Go gopher

Give it a try!

bash
go install github.com/maxcraig112/burrow/cmd/burrow@latest

Burrow repository