head to head · open source
Archon vs openworkflow
Archon has 23,823 GitHub stars, 3,520 forks, 321 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. openworkflow has 1,347 stars, 73 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Archon leads on adoption by 1,669% (23,823 vs 1,347 stars). Archon is written in TypeScript under MIT; openworkflow is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Archon has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, openworkflow 5%. openworkflow was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (typescript, workflow-engine), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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
| Archon | openworkflow | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 24K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.5K | ⑂ 73 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Archon if
- You weight community size — 24K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick openworkflow if
- You want the openworkflow feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and openworkflow fits your workflow better
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 →
About openworkflow
OpenWorkflow OpenWorkflow is a TypeScript framework for building durable, resumable workflows that can pause for seconds or months, survive crashes and deploys, and resume exactly where they left off all without extra servers to manage. Quick Start The CLI will guide you through setup and generate everything you need to get started. Documentation Documentation Quick Start Guide Core Concepts Advanced Patterns Production Checklist OpenTelemetry Architecture Read ARCHITECTURE.md for a deep dive into how OpenWorkflow works under the hood. Examples Check out examples/ for working examples. Contributing We welcome…
read the full openworkflow overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Archon or openworkflow more popular?
Archon has 23,823 GitHub stars and openworkflow has 1,347. Archon has the larger community by that measure.
Are Archon and openworkflow free?
Both are open source. Archon is licensed under MIT and openworkflow under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Archon and openworkflow?
Archon is written in TypeScript and openworkflow 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, Archon or openworkflow?
Choose Archon if you want the larger community (23,823 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose openworkflow if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.