head to head · open source
puck vs ByteChef
puck has 13,342 GitHub stars, 977 forks, 200 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. ByteChef has 1,004 stars, 170 forks, 455 open issues and last shipped yesterday. puck leads on adoption by 1,229% (13,342 vs 1,004 stars). puck is written in TypeScript under MIT; ByteChef is written in Java under a custom or non-standard licence. puck has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, ByteChef 17%. ByteChef was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (ai), 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
| puck | ByteChef | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 13K | ★ 1.0K |
| License | MIT | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 977 | ⑂ 170 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick puck if
- You weight community size — 13K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ByteChef if
- You want the ByteChef feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and ByteChef fits your workflow better
About puck
Puck is a modular, open source visual editor for React.js that lets teams assemble their own drag and drop editing experiences from their existing React components, and it is aimed at developers building internal systems or commercial products who want to own both the editor and the data behind it.
About ByteChef
ByteChef is an open source, Java based platform in the Productivity & Utilities / Automation category that unifies AI agent orchestration and workflow automation for developers, low code builders, and enterprises that need both capabilities in one system.
read the full ByteChef overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is puck or ByteChef more popular?
puck has 13,342 GitHub stars and ByteChef has 1,004. puck has the larger community by that measure.
Are puck and ByteChef free?
Both are open source. puck is licensed under MIT, and ByteChef has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between puck and ByteChef?
puck is written in TypeScript and ByteChef in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, puck or ByteChef?
Choose puck if you want the larger community (13,342 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose ByteChef if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.