head to head · open source
compose vs happier
compose has 38,573 GitHub stars, 5,899 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped yesterday. happier has 2,117 stars, 211 forks, 160 open issues and last shipped yesterday. compose leads on adoption by 1,722% (38,573 vs 2,117 stars). compose is written in Go under Apache-2.0; happier is written in TypeScript under MIT. compose has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, happier 10%. happier 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
| compose | happier | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 39K | ★ 2.1K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.9K | ⑂ 211 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick compose if
- You weight community size — 39K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick happier if
- You want the happier feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and happier fits your workflow better
About compose
Table of Contents Docker Compose Where to get Docker Compose + Windows and macOS + Linux Quick Start Contributing Legacy Docker Compose Docker Compose is a tool for running multi container applications on Docker defined using the Compose file format. A Compose file is used to define how one or more containers that make up your application are configured. Once you have a Compose file, you can create and start your application with a single command: docker compose up . Note : About Docker Swarm Docker Swarm used to rely on the legacy compose file format but did not adopt the compose specification so is missing…
read the full compose overview →
About happier
One control room for all your coding agents. The way orchestrating agents should feel. From your phone, desktop and browser. Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Pi and more, working together and in parallel on your own machines. Sessions can spawn subagents across agents: e.g. Claude asking Codex for a review, or Codex delegating to Claude subagents. Switch agents mid session. Approve, steer, review and commit from wherever you are. Open source · Self hostable · End to end encrypted Get started · Downloads · Docs · Self host · Discord Latest Happier project update Happier is free and open source. Your agents keep…
read the full happier overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is compose or happier more popular?
compose has 38,573 GitHub stars and happier has 2,117. compose has the larger community by that measure.
Are compose and happier free?
Both are open source. compose is licensed under Apache-2.0 and happier under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between compose and happier?
compose is written in Go and happier 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, compose or happier?
Choose compose if you want the larger community (38,573 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose happier if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.