head to head · open source
Docker vs Yearning
Docker has 72,113 GitHub stars, 19,233 forks, 3,902 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Yearning has 8,972 stars, 2,032 forks, 165 open issues and last shipped 27 days ago. Docker leads on adoption by 704% (72,113 vs 8,972 stars). Docker is written in Go under Apache-2.0; Yearning is written in Go under AGPL-3.0. Docker has attracted 27% as many forks as stars, Yearning 23%. Docker was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (go, golang), 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
| Docker | Yearning | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 72K | ★ 9.0K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-08-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 19K | ⑂ 2.0K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Docker if
- You weight community size — 72K 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 Yearning if
- You want the Yearning feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and Yearning fits your workflow better
About Docker
Docker, published here as the Moby Project, is the open source collection of container toolkit components and the framework for assembling them into custom container based systems, built for engineers, integrators and enthusiasts who want to modify, hack and build on container code rather than buy a commercially supported product.
read the full Docker overview →
About Yearning
Yearning is a locally deployed, open source SQL audit and query auditing platform for MySQL, built in Go and aimed at DBAs and developers who need SQL review, approval workflows and query control inside their own infrastructure.
read the full Yearning overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Docker or Yearning more popular?
Docker has 72,113 GitHub stars and Yearning has 8,972. Docker has the larger community by that measure.
Are Docker and Yearning free?
Both are open source. Docker is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Yearning under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Docker and Yearning?
Docker is written in Go and Yearning 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, Docker or Yearning?
Choose Docker if you want the larger community (72,113 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Yearning if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.