head to head · open source
frigate vs adaptive-lighting
frigate has 36,237 GitHub stars, 3,651 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped yesterday. adaptive-lighting has 3,486 stars, 228 forks, 148 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. frigate leads on adoption by 940% (36,237 vs 3,486 stars). frigate is written in Python under MIT; adaptive-lighting is written in Python under Apache-2.0. frigate has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, adaptive-lighting 7%. frigate was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (home-assistant), 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
| frigate | adaptive-lighting | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 36K | ★ 3.5K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-30 | 2026-09-28 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.7K | ⑂ 228 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick frigate if
- You weight community size — 36K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick adaptive-lighting if
- You want the adaptive-lighting feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and adaptive-lighting fits your workflow better
About frigate
Frigate NVR is a complete and local network video recorder built for Home Assistant, with AI object detection. It uses OpenCV and Tensorflow to run realtime object detection locally on IP cameras, so video analysis happens on your own hardware instead of a vendor cloud. Project lives in the Home Assistant home automation ecosystem, with tight integration through a custom component, and it talks over MQTT so other systems can consume its events. Written mainly in TypeScript, MIT licensed, 8 years old, 35,896 stars and 3,596 forks on GitHub.
read the full frigate overview →
About adaptive-lighting
Adaptive Lighting is an Apache 2.0 licensed custom component for Home Assistant that automatically adjusts the brightness and colour of lights according to the sun's position, for Home Assistant users who want their lighting to follow a natural circadian rhythm while still being able to take manual control.
read the full adaptive-lighting overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is frigate or adaptive-lighting more popular?
frigate has 36,237 GitHub stars and adaptive-lighting has 3,486. frigate has the larger community by that measure.
Are frigate and adaptive-lighting free?
Both are open source. frigate is licensed under MIT and adaptive-lighting under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between frigate and adaptive-lighting?
frigate is written in Python and adaptive-lighting 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, frigate or adaptive-lighting?
Choose frigate if you want the larger community (36,237 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose adaptive-lighting if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.