head to head · open source
code-server vs lite-xl
code-server has 79,352 GitHub stars, 6,856 forks, 152 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. lite-xl has 6,387 stars, 317 forks, 330 open issues and last shipped 6 months ago. code-server leads on adoption by 1,142% (79,352 vs 6,387 stars). code-server is written in TypeScript under MIT; lite-xl is written in Lua under MIT. code-server has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, lite-xl 5%. code-server 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
| code-server | lite-xl | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 79K | ★ 6.4K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Lua |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-03-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.9K | ⑂ 317 |
| 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 lite-xl if
- You want the lite-xl feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Lua
- You evaluated both and lite-xl 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 lite-xl
Lite XL is a lightweight text editor written mostly in Lua and built on SDL2, released under the MIT licence for developers who want a small, fast, extensible editor whose entire source they can read and change.
read the full lite-xl overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is code-server or lite-xl more popular?
code-server has 79,352 GitHub stars and lite-xl has 6,387. code-server has the larger community by that measure.
Are code-server and lite-xl free?
Both are open source. code-server is licensed under MIT and lite-xl under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between code-server and lite-xl?
code-server is written in TypeScript and lite-xl 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 lite-xl?
Choose code-server if you want the larger community (79,352 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose lite-xl if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.