head to head · open source
serenity vs Deta Surf
serenity has 33,847 GitHub stars, 3,544 forks, 739 open issues and last shipped today. Deta Surf has 3,572 stars, 251 forks, 32 open issues and last shipped 27 days ago. serenity leads on adoption by 848% (33,847 vs 3,572 stars). serenity is written in C++ under BSD-2-Clause; Deta Surf is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. serenity has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Deta Surf 7%. serenity 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
| serenity | Deta Surf | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 34K | ★ 3.6K |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | C++ | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-08-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.5K | ⑂ 251 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick serenity if
- You weight community size — 34K stars and counting
- You want the BSD-2-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Deta Surf if
- You want the Deta Surf feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Deta Surf fits your workflow better
About serenity
SerenityOS is a graphical Unix like operating system built for 64 bit x86, Arm, and RISC V computers. It is written in C++ and released under the BSD 2 Clause license, and it lives in the open source operating system ecosystem alongside other hobbyist and research kernels. The project describes itself as a love letter to 1990s user interfaces paired with a custom Unix like core, aiming for a marriage between the aesthetic of late 1990s productivity software and the power user accessibility of late 2000s Unix systems.
read the full serenity overview →
About Deta Surf
Deta Surf is an open source AI notebook and browser workspace. It combines tabs, split view, a sidebar, local files, web pages, and generated notes in one application. The project lives in the productivity and browser extension ecosystem, and it is built primarily with Svelte, TypeScript, and Rust. It runs on MacOS, Windows, and Linux.
read the full Deta Surf overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is serenity or Deta Surf more popular?
serenity has 33,847 GitHub stars and Deta Surf has 3,572. serenity has the larger community by that measure.
Are serenity and Deta Surf free?
Both are open source. serenity is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and Deta Surf under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between serenity and Deta Surf?
serenity is written in C++ and Deta Surf 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, serenity or Deta Surf?
Choose serenity if you want the larger community (33,847 stars) or its BSD-2-Clause licence terms. Choose Deta Surf if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.