head to head · open source
ecapture vs Tracecat
ecapture has 15,490 GitHub stars, 1,647 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Tracecat has 3,826 stars, 432 forks, 137 open issues and last shipped today. ecapture leads on adoption by 305% (15,490 vs 3,826 stars). ecapture is written in C under Apache-2.0; Tracecat is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. ecapture has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Tracecat 11%. Tracecat 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
| ecapture | Tracecat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 3.8K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C | Python |
| Last push | 2026-10-07 | 2026-10-08 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 432 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ecapture if
- You weight community size — 15K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Tracecat if
- You want the Tracecat feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Tracecat fits your workflow better
About ecapture
eCapture (旁观者) is an open source eBPF tool that captures SSL/TLS plaintext, database queries, and shell history on Linux and Android for security auditors, network engineers, and self hosters who need visibility into encrypted traffic without intercepting it.
read the full ecapture overview →
About Tracecat
Tracecat is an open source security automation platform for teams and AI agents. It lives in the security operations and incident response ecosystem, combining agents, workflows, lookup tables, and case management in one Python application. The project is licensed under AGPL 3.0, with a separate paid Enterprise Edition directory and feature gates.
read the full Tracecat overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ecapture or Tracecat more popular?
ecapture has 15,490 GitHub stars and Tracecat has 3,826. ecapture has the larger community by that measure.
Are ecapture and Tracecat free?
Both are open source. ecapture is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Tracecat under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ecapture and Tracecat?
ecapture is written in C and Tracecat in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, ecapture or Tracecat?
Choose ecapture if you want the larger community (15,490 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Tracecat if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.