head to head · open source
compose vs origin
compose has 38,573 GitHub stars, 5,899 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped yesterday. origin has 8,692 stars, 4,806 forks, 319 open issues and last shipped yesterday. compose leads on adoption by 344% (38,573 vs 8,692 stars). compose is written in Go under Apache-2.0; origin is written in Go under Apache-2.0. compose has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, origin 55%. origin was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (go), 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 | origin | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 39K | ★ 8.7K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.9K | ⑂ 4.8K |
| 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 origin if
- You want the origin feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and origin 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 origin
Origin Kubernetes ================= This repo was previously the core Kubernetes tracking repo for OKD, and where OpenShift's hyperkube and openshift test binaries were maintained. As of July 2020, the purpose and maintenance strategy of the repo varies by branch. Maintenance of main and release x.x branches for 4.6 and above These branches no longer include the code required to produce hyperkube binaries, and are limited to maintaining the openshift tests binary. Responsibility for maintaining hyperkube has transitioned to the openshift/kubernetes repo. Backports and carries against upstream should be proposed…
read the full origin overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is compose or origin more popular?
compose has 38,573 GitHub stars and origin has 8,692. compose has the larger community by that measure.
Are compose and origin free?
Both are open source. compose is licensed under Apache-2.0 and origin under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between compose and origin?
compose is written in Go and origin in Go. 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 origin?
Choose compose if you want the larger community (38,573 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose origin if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.