Unison
Unison is a file-synchronization tool for OSX, Unix, and Windows.
Activity has dropped noticeably. Check the repository before committing to it.
Commit activity more than 36% of tracked projects; popularity more than 68%. How this is calculated.
Commits, last 11 months
| Stars | 5.5k |
|---|---|
| Latest release | v2.54.0 · 1 May 2026 |
| Repo updated | 20 Sept 2026 |
| Licence | GPL-3.0 |
| Built with | deb, OCaml |
Is Unison actively maintained?
Over the last 11 months the project absorbed 132 commits, of which 18 arrived in the most recent quarter — roughly 6 commits a month.
Activity is cooling: commits are down 67% against the previous quarter. One slow quarter is normal; two in a row is a signal.
The most recent tagged release, v2.54.0, is about 5 months old.
Unison ranks #13 of 20 tracked file transfer & synchronization projects. Several better-maintained options exist in the same category — they are listed below.
What Unison actually does
Unison is a file synchronisation utility designed to operate across macOS, Unix, and Windows systems. It allows you to maintain identical copies of directory structures on two separate machines or storage locations. When files are modified in both places, it attempts to detect and handle conflicts during the sync process.
Best fit: It is well-suited for developers and system administrators who need bidirectional file synchronisation across disparate operating systems without relying on third-party cloud storage.
Worth knowing: Resolving complex bidirectional synchronisation conflicts can require manual intervention, and network topology must allow direct connectivity between the participating hosts.
Deployment notes
Packages are typically distributed via standard .deb formats or built from OCaml source, usually requiring persistent storage mounted to the directories being synchronised.
Links
Alternatives to Unison
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