head to head · open source
cli vs API
cli has 31,040 GitHub stars, 1,840 forks, 131 open issues and last shipped yesterday. API has 2,503 stars, 623 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped 7 months ago. cli leads on adoption by 1,140% (31,040 vs 2,503 stars). cli is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; API is written in JavaScript under GPL-3.0. cli has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, API 25%. cli 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
| cli | API | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 31K | ★ 2.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Rust | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-02-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 623 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick cli if
- You weight community size — 31K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick API if
- You want the API feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and API fits your workflow better
About cli
gws is a command line tool for Google Workspace, written in Rust and released under the Apache 2.0 license. It provides a single interface for Drive, Gmail, Calendar, Sheets, Docs, Chat, Admin, and the wider set of Workspace APIs. Rather than shipping a fixed list of commands, it reads Google's own Discovery Service at runtime and builds its entire command surface dynamically, so new API endpoints and methods appear without a CLI release. The project lives in the Google Workspace ecosystem and is explicitly not an officially supported Google product.
About API
API is an open source JavaScript service for disease statistics under GPL 3.0. It lives in the JavaScript data API ecosystem and publishes information about COVID 19, Influenza, and related disease tracking topics. The project gives users one API for global case overviews, city or region mobility data, and official government data for some countries.
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Frequently asked questions
Is cli or API more popular?
cli has 31,040 GitHub stars and API has 2,503. cli has the larger community by that measure.
Are cli and API free?
Both are open source. cli is licensed under Apache-2.0 and API under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between cli and API?
cli is written in Rust and API in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, cli or API?
Choose cli if you want the larger community (31,040 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose API if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.