head to head · open source
code-server vs stagewise
code-server has 79,492 GitHub stars, 6,873 forks, 152 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. stagewise has 6,822 stars, 507 forks, 27 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. code-server leads on adoption by 1,065% (79,492 vs 6,822 stars). code-server is written in TypeScript under MIT; stagewise is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. code-server has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, stagewise 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 | stagewise | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 79K | ★ 6.8K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-26 | 2026-09-23 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.9K | ⑂ 507 |
| 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 stagewise if
- You want the stagewise feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and stagewise 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 stagewise
stagewise is an open source, AGPL 3.0 agentic IDE written in TypeScript, developed by stagewise GmbH, that embeds a coding agent directly in the editor and is aimed at developers who want to browse, build, and orchestrate agents in one place while bringing their own model keys.
read the full stagewise overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is code-server or stagewise more popular?
code-server has 79,492 GitHub stars and stagewise has 6,822. code-server has the larger community by that measure.
Are code-server and stagewise free?
Both are open source. code-server is licensed under MIT and stagewise under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between code-server and stagewise?
code-server is written in TypeScript and stagewise in TypeScript. 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 stagewise?
Choose code-server if you want the larger community (79,492 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose stagewise if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.