head to head · open source
compose vs hcom
compose has 38,573 GitHub stars, 5,899 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped yesterday. hcom has 624 stars, 103 forks, 38 open issues and last shipped 13 days ago. compose leads on adoption by 6,082% (38,573 vs 624 stars). compose is written in Go under Apache-2.0; hcom is written in Rust under MIT. compose has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, hcom 17%. compose 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 | hcom | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 39K | ★ 624 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-21 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.9K | ⑂ 103 |
| 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 hcom if
- You want the hcom feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and hcom 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 hcom
hcom Hook your coding agents together hcom is a CLI that coding agents use to message, watch, and spawn each other across terminals. Works with Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Kilo Code, Pi, Oh My Pi, Antigravity, Cursor, Kimi and Copilot in any combination, without changing how you use them. Use it to coordinate pipelines, run different AI CLIs as each other's subagents, or just instead of copy paste. Single Rust binary, no background services. Start an agent with hcom in front, then prompt normally. Install Other install options Quickstart Terminal 1: Terminal 2: Prompt: ask the other agent their favorite cake…
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Frequently asked questions
Is compose or hcom more popular?
compose has 38,573 GitHub stars and hcom has 624. compose has the larger community by that measure.
Are compose and hcom free?
Both are open source. compose is licensed under Apache-2.0 and hcom under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between compose and hcom?
compose is written in Go and hcom in Rust. 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 hcom?
Choose compose if you want the larger community (38,573 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose hcom if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.