head to head · open source
compose vs Archon
compose has 38,573 GitHub stars, 5,899 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Archon has 23,807 stars, 3,518 forks, 321 open issues and last shipped yesterday. compose leads on adoption by 62% (38,573 vs 23,807 stars). compose is written in Go under Apache-2.0; Archon is written in TypeScript under MIT. compose has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, Archon 15%. Archon was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| compose | Archon | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 39K | ★ 24K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.9K | ⑂ 3.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick compose if
- You weight community size — 39K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Archon if
- You want the Archon feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Archon fits your workflow better
About compose
Table of Contents Docker Compose Where to get Docker Compose + Windows and macOS + Linux Quick Start Contributing Legacy Docker Compose Docker Compose is a tool for running multi container applications on Docker defined using the Compose file format. A Compose file is used to define how one or more containers that make up your application are configured. Once you have a Compose file, you can create and start your application with a single command: docker compose up . Note : About Docker Swarm Docker Swarm used to rely on the legacy compose file format but did not adopt the compose specification so is missing…
read the full compose overview →
About Archon
Archon The first open source harness builder for AI coding. Make AI coding deterministic and repeatable. Archon is a workflow engine for AI coding agents. Define your development processes as YAML workflows planning, implementation, validation, code review, PR creation and run them reliably across all your projects. Like what Dockerfiles did for infrastructure and GitHub Actions did for CI/CD Archon does for AI coding workflows. Think n8n, but for software development. Why Archon? When you ask an AI agent to "fix this bug", what happens depends on the model's mood. It might skip planning. It might forget to run…
read the full Archon overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is compose or Archon more popular?
compose has 38,573 GitHub stars and Archon has 23,807. compose has the larger community by that measure.
Are compose and Archon free?
Both are open source. compose is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Archon under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between compose and Archon?
compose is written in Go and Archon in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, compose or Archon?
Choose compose if you want the larger community (38,573 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Archon if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.