head to head · open source
code-server vs ccls
code-server has 79,520 GitHub stars, 6,878 forks, 152 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ccls has 4,090 stars, 280 forks, 194 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. code-server leads on adoption by 1,844% (79,520 vs 4,090 stars). code-server is written in TypeScript under MIT; ccls is written in C++ under Apache-2.0. code-server has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, ccls 7%. code-server was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (ide), 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
| code-server | ccls | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 80K | ★ 4.1K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-10-02 | 2026-07-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.9K | ⑂ 280 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick code-server if
- You weight community size — 80K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ccls if
- You want the ccls feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and ccls fits your workflow better
About code-server
code server is an MIT licensed TypeScript project from Coder that runs VS Code on a remote machine and serves the full editor in a browser, aimed at developers who want one consistent development environment reachable from any device.
read the full code-server overview →
About ccls
ccls is an open source C, C++, and Objective C language server for developers who want cross references, code hierarchies, completion, and semantic highlighting inside an LSP compatible editor.
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Frequently asked questions
Is code-server or ccls more popular?
code-server has 79,520 GitHub stars and ccls has 4,090. code-server has the larger community by that measure.
Are code-server and ccls free?
Both are open source. code-server is licensed under MIT and ccls under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between code-server and ccls?
code-server is written in TypeScript and ccls in C++. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, code-server or ccls?
Choose code-server if you want the larger community (79,520 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose ccls if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.