head to head · open source
compose vs livecontext-ce
compose has 38,195 GitHub stars, 5,825 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. livecontext-ce has 502 stars, 59 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 12 days ago. compose leads on adoption by 7,509% (38,195 vs 502 stars). compose is written in Go under Apache-2.0; livecontext-ce is written in Java under AGPL-3.0. compose has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, livecontext-ce 12%. compose was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (docker), 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
| compose | livecontext-ce | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 502 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-08 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 59 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick compose if
- You weight community size — 38K 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 livecontext-ce if
- You want the livecontext-ce feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and livecontext-ce fits your workflow better
About compose
Docker Compose is an Apache 2.0 licensed Go tool that defines and runs multi container applications on Docker from a single Compose file, aimed at developers and operators who need several containers to start together as one isolated application.
read the full compose overview →
About livecontext-ce
LiveContext CE is the self hosted, AGPL 3.0 Community Edition of the LiveContext AI automation platform, a single Docker deployed service where a team describes a job in chat and gets back a readable workflow, scoped AI agents and a small app the team actually uses.
read the full livecontext-ce overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is compose or livecontext-ce more popular?
compose has 38,195 GitHub stars and livecontext-ce has 502. compose has the larger community by that measure.
Are compose and livecontext-ce free?
Both are open source. compose is licensed under Apache-2.0 and livecontext-ce under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between compose and livecontext-ce?
compose is written in Go and livecontext-ce in Java. 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 livecontext-ce?
Choose compose if you want the larger community (38,195 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose livecontext-ce if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.