head to head · open source
devdocs vs mapnik
devdocs has 39,461 GitHub stars, 2,643 forks, 196 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. mapnik has 3,960 stars, 841 forks, 730 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. devdocs leads on adoption by 896% (39,461 vs 3,960 stars). devdocs is written in Ruby under MPL-2.0; mapnik is written in C++ under LGPL-2.1. devdocs has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, mapnik 21%. mapnik 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
| devdocs | mapnik | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 39K | ★ 4.0K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | LGPL-2.1 |
| Written in | Ruby | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.6K | ⑂ 841 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick devdocs if
- You weight community size — 39K stars and counting
- You want the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Ruby
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick mapnik if
- You want the mapnik feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-2.1 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and mapnik fits your workflow better
About devdocs
DevDocs is an API documentation browser that combines multiple developer documentations into a single, clean and organized web UI with instant search, offline support, a mobile version, a dark theme and keyboard shortcuts, and it is aimed at developers who need to read and search API and reference documentation quickly.
read the full devdocs overview →
About mapnik
Mapnik is an open source toolkit for developing mapping applications. It lives in the C++ and Python open source GIS, cartography, and map rendering ecosystem. At the core is a C++ shared library that provides algorithms and patterns for spatial data access and visualization. The project describes itself as a collection of geographic objects such as maps, layers, datasources, features, and geometries.
read the full mapnik overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is devdocs or mapnik more popular?
devdocs has 39,461 GitHub stars and mapnik has 3,960. devdocs has the larger community by that measure.
Are devdocs and mapnik free?
Both are open source. devdocs is licensed under MPL-2.0 and mapnik under LGPL-2.1. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between devdocs and mapnik?
devdocs is written in Ruby and mapnik in C++. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, devdocs or mapnik?
Choose devdocs if you want the larger community (39,461 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose mapnik if its feature set, stack or LGPL-2.1 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.