head to head · open source
esbuild vs build-server-protocol
esbuild has 40,120 GitHub stars, 1,368 forks, 622 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. build-server-protocol has 554 stars, 74 forks, 40 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. esbuild leads on adoption by 7,142% (40,120 vs 554 stars). esbuild is written in Go under MIT; build-server-protocol is written in Scala under Apache-2.0. esbuild has attracted 3% as many forks as stars, build-server-protocol 13%. build-server-protocol 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
| esbuild | build-server-protocol | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 40K | ★ 554 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Scala |
| Last push | 2026-08-09 | 2026-10-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.4K | ⑂ 74 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick esbuild if
- You weight community size — 40K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick build-server-protocol if
- You want the build-server-protocol feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Scala
- You evaluated both and build-server-protocol fits your workflow better
About esbuild
Website Getting started Documentation Plugins FAQ Why? Our current build tools for the web are 10 100x slower than they could be: The main goal of the esbuild bundler project is to bring about a new era of build tool performance, and create an easy to use modern bundler along the way. Major features: Extreme speed without needing a cache JavaScript, CSS, TypeScript, and JSX built in A straightforward API for CLI, JS, and Go Bundles ESM and CommonJS modules Bundles CSS including CSS modules Tree shaking, minification, and source maps Local server, watch mode, and plugins Check out the getting started instructions…
read the full esbuild overview →
About build-server-protocol
Build Server Protocol This project is an effort to improve the integration between language server/editors and build tools. This effort is led by the Scala Center together with the help of other tooling developers in the Scala ecosystem and beyond. Even though the protocol currently focuses on Scala developer tools, it's designed to be language agnostic. You can read the specification here. The specification text, docs and support libraries for some of the supported languages are automatically generated from the smithy model. Contribution If you'd like to contribute to the protocol, please check out our…
read the full build-server-protocol overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is esbuild or build-server-protocol more popular?
esbuild has 40,120 GitHub stars and build-server-protocol has 554. esbuild has the larger community by that measure.
Are esbuild and build-server-protocol free?
Both are open source. esbuild is licensed under MIT and build-server-protocol under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between esbuild and build-server-protocol?
esbuild is written in Go and build-server-protocol in Scala. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, esbuild or build-server-protocol?
Choose esbuild if you want the larger community (40,120 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose build-server-protocol if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.