head to head · open source
code-server vs ecode
code-server has 79,384 GitHub stars, 6,864 forks, 152 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. ecode has 1,680 stars, 29 forks, 34 open issues and last shipped 16 days ago. code-server leads on adoption by 4,625% (79,384 vs 1,680 stars). code-server is written in TypeScript under MIT; ecode is written in Lua under MIT. code-server has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, ecode 2%. 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 | ecode | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 79K | ★ 1.7K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Lua |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.9K | ⑂ 29 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick code-server if
- You weight community size — 79K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ecode if
- You want the ecode feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Lua
- You evaluated both and ecode 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 ecode
ecode is a lightweight, multi platform code editor built on the hardware accelerated eepp GUI for developers who want responsiveness and performance on modern hardware, released under the MIT licence.
read the full ecode overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is code-server or ecode more popular?
code-server has 79,384 GitHub stars and ecode has 1,680. code-server has the larger community by that measure.
Are code-server and ecode free?
Both are open source. code-server is licensed under MIT and ecode under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between code-server and ecode?
code-server is written in TypeScript and ecode in Lua. 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 ecode?
Choose code-server if you want the larger community (79,384 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose ecode if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.