head to head · open source
espectre vs SmartIR
espectre has 9,746 GitHub stars, 741 forks, 13 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. SmartIR has 2,855 stars, 1,251 forks, 199 open issues and last shipped yesterday. espectre leads on adoption by 241% (9,746 vs 2,855 stars). espectre is written in Python under GPL-3.0; SmartIR is written in Python under MIT. espectre has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, SmartIR 44%. SmartIR 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
| espectre | SmartIR | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.7K | ★ 2.9K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-05 |
| Forks | ⑂ 741 | ⑂ 1.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick espectre if
- You weight community size — 9.7K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick SmartIR if
- You want the SmartIR feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and SmartIR fits your workflow better
About espectre
ESPectre Turn an ESP32 into a private, local Wi Fi motion sensor. When someone moves through a room, they change the way Wi Fi signals travel through it. ESPectre reads those changes and reports motion in real time. No camera, no microphone, no wearable, and no dedicated radar hardware: just a supported ESP32 and the Wi Fi network already in the room. ESPectre is an open source platform that brings together ready to flash firmware, an embeddable C++ SDK, a MicroPython implementation, browser tools, a host CLI, an open dataset, open model weights, and the research workflow used to build and validate the…
read the full espectre overview →
About SmartIR
⚠️ Warning You are free to fork, modify, and use the code in this repository in accordance with the applicable open source license. However, the name "SmartIR" must not be used in any capacity , especially for promoting, rebranding, or distributing your own fork or derivative works. Please respect this guideline to preserve the original project's identity. Overview SmartIR is a custom integration for controlling climate devices , media players , fans and lights via infrared controllers. SmartIR currently supports the following controllers: Broadlink Xiaomi IR Remote (ChuangmiIr) LOOK.in Remote ESPHome User…
read the full SmartIR overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is espectre or SmartIR more popular?
espectre has 9,746 GitHub stars and SmartIR has 2,855. espectre has the larger community by that measure.
Are espectre and SmartIR free?
Both are open source. espectre is licensed under GPL-3.0 and SmartIR under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between espectre and SmartIR?
espectre is written in Python and SmartIR 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, espectre or SmartIR?
Choose espectre if you want the larger community (9,746 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose SmartIR if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.