head to head · open source
langchain vs CL4R1T4S
langchain has 146,696 GitHub stars, 24,530 forks, 492 open issues and last shipped yesterday. CL4R1T4S has 50,059 stars, 10,280 forks, 127 open issues and last shipped 10 days ago. langchain leads on adoption by 193% (146,696 vs 50,059 stars). langchain is written in Python under MIT; CL4R1T4S is written in various languages under AGPL-3.0. langchain has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, CL4R1T4S 21%. langchain was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 4 topic tags (agents, ai, chatgpt, gemini), 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
| langchain | CL4R1T4S | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 147K | ★ 50K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | — |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-10 |
| Forks | ⑂ 25K | ⑂ 10K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick langchain if
- You weight community size — 147K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick CL4R1T4S if
- You want the CL4R1T4S feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- You evaluated both and CL4R1T4S fits your workflow better
About langchain
LangChain is an open source framework for building agents and LLM powered applications, written in Python and released under the MIT license. It lives in the AI and machine learning ecosystem, specifically among AI development platforms, and it works by chaining together interoperable components and third party integrations so that AI application development becomes simpler. The project describes itself as the agent engineering platform, and its abstractions are designed to keep applications working as the underlying technology evolves.
read the full langchain overview →
About CL4R1T4S
CL4R1T4S is an AGPL 3.0 repository of full extracted system prompts, guidelines and tools from the major AI models and agents — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Perplexity, Cursor, Lovable, Replit and more — for anyone who wants to know what instructions sit behind the AI systems they use.
read the full CL4R1T4S overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is langchain or CL4R1T4S more popular?
langchain has 146,696 GitHub stars and CL4R1T4S has 50,059. langchain has the larger community by that measure.
Are langchain and CL4R1T4S free?
Both are open source. langchain is licensed under MIT and CL4R1T4S under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between langchain and CL4R1T4S?
langchain is written in Python and CL4R1T4S in various languages. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, langchain or CL4R1T4S?
Choose langchain if you want the larger community (146,696 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose CL4R1T4S if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.