head to head · open source
dots vs wa-js
dots has 32,376 GitHub stars, 4,739 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. wa-js has 833 stars, 252 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped yesterday. dots leads on adoption by 3,787% (32,376 vs 833 stars). dots is written in TypeScript under MIT; wa-js is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. dots has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, wa-js 30%. wa-js was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (browser-automation), 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
| dots | wa-js | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 833 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-31 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.7K | ⑂ 252 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick dots if
- You weight community size — 32K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick wa-js if
- You want the wa-js 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 wa-js fits your workflow better
About dots
dots Every AI agent is a model and a browser. You can swap the model with one flag. The browser is what the website sees. Windows, in PowerShell: Linux: Then open The conversation on the left, the browser on the right, live. It all comes down to the browser When a web agent fails, the model is rarely why. The page never loaded, a challenge appeared, the login expired, the click did not land. All of that happens in the browser, before the model gets to think. So dots is built around one: A real Firefox engine, patched in C++. The fingerprint is decided inside the engine, not painted over with JavaScript that a…
About wa-js
English Português (Brasil) WPPConnect/WA JS Expose WhatsApp Web functions through the browser side WPP API. A project in the WPPConnect ecosystem, maintained by WPPConnect Team. Getting started Documentation Contributing Support WPPConnect Overview For extension and browser integration developers who need to execute code inside WhatsApp Web. The generated dist/wppconnect wa.js bundle exposes chat, contact, connection and other modules; it is not a Node.js WhatsApp client. Features Chat and media operations, groups, communities, channels and business catalog functions. Connection events, profile/privacy settings…
read the full wa-js overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is dots or wa-js more popular?
dots has 32,376 GitHub stars and wa-js has 833. dots has the larger community by that measure.
Are dots and wa-js free?
Both are open source. dots is licensed under MIT and wa-js under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between dots and wa-js?
dots is written in TypeScript and wa-js 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, dots or wa-js?
Choose dots if you want the larger community (32,376 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose wa-js if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.